There are many religions in this world, three of which are monotheistic: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Our love for God and belief in Him usually defines our actions. Traditionally, believers are free to worship God by assembling to express their belief in him in places of worship such as churches, synagogues and mosques. This being said, we do not leave our belief at the door when religious services are over. Our belief remains ingrained within us everywhere we go. We must be free to express ourselves religiously in the public sphere, without harming anyone, without imposing our convictions on anyone, and never forcing anyone to adhere to our religion. Faith in God cannot be compelled, nor should it be used as an excuse to hurt anyone.
To begin, faith in God is a gift from God. We cannot coerce someone to believe in Him. Christians propose; they must not impose. As a Catholic, I try to be an example to others of what it means to be a Christian.
For example, forgiveness is a major part of Christianity. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ forgave his persecutors from the cross on which they nailed Him. If we want to follow Him, we must forgive our enemies as well.
One His apostles, St. Peter, wanted to understand the concept of forgiving: “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Mathew 18:21-22) In other words, always. It’s not an easy task. But we try, as best we can. I was asked recently why I continue to be gracious and visit a rather difficult person in my extended family; my interlocutor asked me if it was because I forgave her, based on my religious belief. I smilingly nodded, nothing more. I had just evangelized without preaching; I merely answered a question. I was free to express my belief and my adherence to the teachings of Jesus. He accepted my answer; there was no pushback during this conversation.
Therein lies the beauty of freedom of religion: it is part and parcel of the right to express oneself. It goes hand in hand with freedom of speech. Certain countries, like Canada, among others in the Western hemisphere, seem to be eroding the freedom of its own citizens, especially when it comes to expressing disagreement with issues that go against their religious convictions.
Canada’s Bill C-9 for example, which is on the threshold of being passed, as of the writing of this article, would jeopardize the ability to express our opposition to abortion, euthanasia, transgender surgeries for minors, gay marriage, and any other issue that goes against Christian teaching. The excuse given by the government is the very broad banner of “hate speech”, which targets religiously based opinions and beliefs as non-conforming to the “Hate Law”. This effectively stifles any dissenting voices and undermines honest debate. Unfortunately, the Canadian Charter of Rights is not as iron-clad as the American Constitution. In Canada, it is the government who decides what constitutes hate speech. This means that expressing one’s disagreement and dissent, based on religious grounds, would not be accepted, since expression falls under speech, which is being curtailed because of hate laws. In a nutshell, freedom of religion and freedom of speech go hand in hand. This is why the First Amendment of the American Constitution binds them together.
The silencing of religiously expressed beliefs and customs began many decades ago, to be respectful towards non-believers and other religions. This was a mistake, because it opened the door to what we are witnessing currently: a wide-ranging explicit intolerance to any expression of belief in God, which is mainly perpetrated against Christians.
Statistically speaking, there is a large proportion of people who identify as religiously unaffiliated, which reflects a growing trend of discarding so-called “organized religion”. There are agnostics and atheists within this unaffiliated group. Some of them are quite vocal in their disagreement, disdain and downright animosity against belief in God. They are freely exercising their own freedom of speech when they express their unbelief. Why aren’t believers afforded the same right of expressing their belief? Reciprocity is a two-way street.
While some people are outwardly aggressive and combative, others use more subtle means to mock and laugh at someone’s belief, asking rhetorical questions such as “You don’t really believe that, do you”, or better yet, “So, do you still believe all that stuff ?” When I am questioned in this way, I smilingly answer “Yes, I do.” I refuse to be intimidated into either silence or denying my faith in God, just to “get along”. It is unavoidable that someone, somewhere, will start a skirmish when they don’t like my answer to a question. It can be quite intimidating. I often find myself being as unobtrusive as possible when I am in the company of aggressive non-believers, but if someone starts the debate, I hope God will grant me the words and the patience to see it through.
I have often noticed how non-believers are very free with their remarks, not caring about offending believers, or about how they approach the subject of belief in God and the bible. While they are afforded the leisure of voicing their opinions, quite loudly and unashamedly, we believers are not afforded the same respect. Again, lack of reciprocity. Christians are de facto supposed to stay silent, sometimes to the point of being persecuted for their faith, be it verbally, or worse.
Indeed, how many Christians are being killed around the world by intolerant ideologues? According to opendoors.org ‘s World Watch List, there are over 315 million Christians worldwide being persecuted for their faith, by either being harassed, detained and/or killed. This international religious agency also provides a detailed statistical map, by country, of these persecutions, as well as a comprehensive country-by-country rundown of what exactly is happening to our fellow Christians.
And who are the persecutors of Christians? According to the independent organization Geopolitical Intelligence Services (GIS Report), the persecution of Christians is a worldwide issue, from many different factions, such as, for example, Nigeria, which harbors the Boko Haram terrorists, and where Sharia law is enforced in several states, mainly in the north, contributing to police harassment against Christians : “United States President Donald Trump has previously accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians from radical Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram terrorists. In response, he ordered the military to prepare for action in Nigeria against these extremist threats. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed this, stating that the Department of War is gearing up for military action. The message is clear: Either the Nigerian government steps up to safeguard its Christian population, or the U.S. will be compelled to consider direct intervention against the terrorists responsible for these horrific atrocities.”
In addition to what is happening in Nigeria, there are many other perpetrators of persecution, such as Islamic extremists, including ISIS, among others: “Due to the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) and similar jihadist movements, Christianity has been nearly eradicated from its historical strongholds in Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile, Egypt’s Coptic Christians, an ancient and important minority, continue to face significant challenges.“
Let us not forget that “…in addition to Muslim-majority countries, some non-Islamic nations also rank highly for Christian persecution – notably North Korea, China and Laos, where it stems largely from communist ideologies. Similar discrimination occurs in Myanmar and certain regions of India. Christians also face hostility in parts of Latin America, including Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua and Colombia.” In other words, plainly stated, Christians are being targeted by many different groups, throughout the globe. Nowadays, we are also being intimidated in our own western countries by others who disagree with our beliefs, customs, and traditions.
For example, not only Christians, but Jews as well, are being menaced repeatedly, for various unknown reasons, by actions such as arson (i.e. burning churches) and vandalism (i.e. desecrating Jewish cemeteries) in Canada, a multicultural country in the Western Hemisphere. According to The Catholic Register, quoting from the most recent report by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN): “Between 2021 and 2024, at least 44 churches in Canada were burned to the ground, with 24 confirmed as arson....a rise in the number of religiously motivated hate crimes, particularly against Jews.“
As Marie-Claude Lalonde, National Director of ACN Canada said: “Church fires are terrible tragedies for the Christian communities affected by them. It is more than just a building: it represents the life of an entire community — baptisms, weddings, funerals and Sunday gatherings, in addition to catechetical activities, youth gatherings and more. These are incalculable losses” She further added that the refusal to include religion in public discourse is being enacted, saying that “…the rise of a laicity that increasingly refuses to include religion in public discourse, notably in Quebec. Religion is truly being viewed as a privilege, when in fact it is a fundamental right recognized by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If we want to be a credible international actor on human rights issues — which Canada prides itself on being — then we must take all violations of the rights set out in Article 18 seriously.”
There is also the political push for secularism, based on atheism and the outlawing of religion as such, particularly in Quebec, Canada, “where laicité or a rigid interpretation and application of the principle of secularism has led to the suppression of religious expression in public. In December 2024, Premier Francois Legault of Quebec announced a proposal to ban praying in public, saying; “Seeing people praying in the streets, in public parks, is not something we want in Quebec.” Legault suggested he would use the notwithstanding clause to elevate the bill into law…. “
These examples demonstrate the restraining of the God given right of personal freedom of religion. There are literally thousands of abuses going on every day, throughout the world, aimed at curbing any expression of belief in God. And, make no mistake, I am talking about true and sincere belief in God; not an ideological extremist view which permits the abuse of women and children to instill fear and blind obedience. I am talking of the freedom to bear witness to the Ten Commandments of God, to the loving commandment of Jesus Christ to love one another and to love thy enemy and to do good to those who hate you, to the call for conversion of heart and soul in imitation of Christ, to the beauty of God. Extremism, and any other “ism” is not a true religion. Abducting and executing people is not representative of the love of God for our fellow man. Quite the opposite. It is not acceptable to jail and kill converts who have decided to follow Jesus, the Prince of Peace and the Son of God. We must all speak up for our freedom of religion and our freedom of speech, because it affects us all.
In closing, remember that once they come for one of our freedoms, they will come for all of them. George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984” was prophetic; if you haven’t already read it, I recommend that you do so. Other prophetic voices of the past have warned us, time and again. We now have living proof of those warnings. Ideological entities around the globe are shutting down our freedoms, one by one, without fail. Let us be meek as lambs, but wise as foxes, and speak up, peacefully, but truthfully, in defense of our God given rights.
Written by Marie Brousseau, March 18, 2026 (Feast Day of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, defender of Catholic orthodoxy)
Marie Brousseau, Author of “Defending Human Dignity: Catholic Answers to Gender, Abortion and Relativism” (2025)
Website: mariebrousseau.com
Follow on X: @MBrousseau28915
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