Religious liberty defenders fight 'freedom of worship' rhetoric

When politicians talk about “freedom of worship” instead of “freedom of religion,” are they watering down First Amendment rights?

President Barack Obama has used “freedom of worship” instead of “freedom of religion” on several occasions. For example, in November 2009 he said: “We’re a nation that guarantees the freedom to worship as one chooses.” Similarly, in a 2009 speech at Georgetown University, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used “freedom of worship” three times and did not mention “freedom of religion” once.

But the change to “freedom of worship” may have started the year before: That phrase appeared in 2008 on the naturalization test offered for U.S. citizenship. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., wants to know why. On Monday, Lankford wrote a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson emphasizing the need to change “worship” back to “religion.”

Lankford said “freedom of worship” is “inconsistent with the text of the Amendment proposed 226 years ago. … Worship confines you to a location. Freedom of religion is the right to exercise your religious beliefs.” Others agree. In a 2010 First Things article, Ashley E. Samelson wrote: “Everyone knows that religious Jews keep kosher, religious Quakers don’t go to war, and religious Muslim women wear headscarves, yet ‘freedom of worship’ would protect none of these acts of faith.”

Heritage Foundation religious freedom policy expert Sarah Torre wrote in 2014 that Americans should be wary every time we hear talk of worship instead of religion: “Through expansive government mandates and cultural pressures, this incorrect view of religious liberty argues that faith should remain a private affair—relegated to personal activities or weekend worship services. Step outside the four walls of a home or house of worship and robust protection of religious freedom ends.”

Lankford’s letter said not changing the language back to “freedom of religion” on the U.S. citizenship test is a “great disservice to those seeking citizenship in this great country.” He said the Constitution is clear on the freedoms Americans possess and “the naturalization test and its corresponding materials must be equally as clear.”