Why is Religious Liberty the First?

Shiry Sapir, Kim Miller and Peter Gentala engage at a recent luncheon with Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter.

This question came to mind while at a small, round-table gathering of Arizona leaders of faith, politics and business to meet the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter. It was an honor to be invited, and to hear his first-hand experience in Israel’s continual religious struggles. He emphasized what’s at stake, both for Israel and for America.  

Beyond his official position, he spoke to us as a father –one who lost his son during the October 2023 massacre of 1200 in southern Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists. I’m even more convinced now that Americans need to understand and defend EVERYONE’S religious liberty, especially for those who are most under attack. 

This week in Washington, D.C., the President’s Religious Liberty Commission holds its fifth hearing. The Commission turns its focus to antisemitism, as well as issues in the private sector.  

“There is nothing more important than religious liberty”: Eric Metaxas stated at the September 2025 White House Religious Liberty Commission. “You cannot have America, a self-governing nation, without a robust expression of Christian faith among its citizenry…. Our founders understood that.” For EVERY American, liberty, self-governance and overall freedom completely depend on religious liberty. 

Moreover, you cannot legislate Christian faith—or ANY faith, including for example atheism, or any type of Muslim belief, as we’re seeing suggested in some American cities. For Americans to enjoy ANY liberty at all, we have to let religion be utterly free.  

What makes America so strong and so free is the same thing that makes us fragile: The Constitution of our Republic. As Benjamin Franklin famously replied to a prominent socialite on the last day of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when asked what kind of government we have: “A Republic, ma’am, If you can keep it.” 

“Franklin uttered “the most prescient warning ever given by an early American. A Republic is the hardest form of government to maintain. It’s also the most fulfilling and satisfying way for people to govern themselves,” according to an article by the Federal Observer. 

A Republic is completely impossible without a moral citizenry. The founder John Adams wrote: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” 

This article makes the point that it’s necessary “for a moral compass and religious principles in the individuals who govern and are governed. (Adams) suggests that a constitution alone, no matter how well-crafted, cannot secure the stability and prosperity of a nation without the active participation of virtuous citizens.”  

So, how do you encourage “virtuous citizens” if morals aren’t defined? Who decides what is good or just? Where do “moral and religious people” come from? Here’s where America is fragile by design. Government must encourage virtue and goodness—in a sense, ‘religion’--without favoring one over another. 

The First Amendment of our Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and religion: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” 

These days many are concerned and confused about the role of religion in America. How can diverse people of faith be good neighbors and pursue the American Dream alongside each other? On the other hand, how can we guard against imposed religious ideas that contradict Americans’ rights and principles? The answers require a renewed resolve to understand the purpose of America herself, and the religious philosophies grounding our nation’s Constitution. Every person must have the freedom to ‘exercise’ their religion, but in the delicate balance our Republic affords. We also need a renewed understanding of the importance of religious faith when it comes to human flourishing.  

Let’s take some time in the midst of our busy schedules to seriously consider this precious Freedom of Religion. Let’s learn, think, pray, and vote to defend it. It will determine whether our children and grandchildren will have any freedom at all.