One of the greatest blessings of living in a free country is the religious liberty that we enjoy. Our constitutionally guaranteed religious freedoms include two facets. On one hand, the government cannot force us to worship in a certain way. On the other hand, the government cannot prevent us from worshiping in the way that we choose. We are thankful that our founders recognized that our responsibility in religious matters is to God, not to the government.
A Broken Guarantee
Wisconsin’s Constitution guarantees us the right to worship as we choose: “The right of every person to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of conscience shall never be infringed.” One way that many people of faith choose to worship is by gathering in houses of worship such as churches. According to this guarantee in our Constitution, the government does not possess the right to tell us when we may or may not go to church.
Unfortunately, as we probably all remember clearly, in 2020, that guarantee was broken. During the pandemic, lockdown orders prevented us from exercising our rights—often with discrimination when compared to secular organizations. In one instance, police interrupted a service at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in West Bend and sent attenders home – even though the church had carefully complied with Governor Evers’s “safer-at-home” order.
In another instance, in May 2020, Dane County allowed entertainment activities such as restaurants, bowling alleys, and trampoline parks to operate at twenty-five percent capacity while capping in-person worship services at 50 people. After issuing the order, the Madison/Dane County Health Department contacted religious leaders informing them that overseers would be attending their churches to ensure that they adhered to the 50-person limit. Churches were also informed that they would be fined up to $1000 for every instance the order was broken. In this case, Dane county officials used the COVID lockdowns as a means of discrimination against people of faith.
Religious Freedom on Your Ballot
This November, you have the opportunity to protect your religious freedoms through a constitutional amendment. On January 21st, the Wisconsin Senate passed Assembly Joint Resolution 10, a constitutional amendment that protects houses of worship from government shutdown – even in public health emergencies. Now that the amendment has passed through the legislature twice, it will be turned to the people for a vote in November giving voters the opportunity to protect churches and other houses of worship from future government shutdowns.
“Wisconsin Family Action commends those who voted for AJR 10,” said Wisconsin Family Action President Daniel Denger. “Sadly, in 2020, we saw the government use emergency powers to abridge the people’s right to assemble in places of worship. Religious liberty is not granted by government; it is given by God and protected by our Constitution. In the months ahead, Wisconsin Family Action will work alongside churches and mobilize Christians across the state to educate, engage, and turn out voters in support of the amendment ahead of the 2026 election.”
Religious Liberties Protected
The events of the 2020 pandemic revealed loopholes that government officials across our nation and in our state used to restrict religious freedoms. At the time, all three liberals on the Wisconsin Supreme Court believed that the Constitution did not guarantee a right to gather for worship in a state of emergency. Since our Wisconsin Supreme Court is now under activist control, constitutional amendments securing our freedoms are more essential than ever before. In this case, passing this amendment would protect individuals from government overreach and ensure that religious freedoms remain unassailable. This amendment eliminates any room for confusion by clearly stating that our constitutionally guaranteed religious liberties prevent the government from closing houses of worship.
In January, Wisconsin Family Action released polling which shows that 55% of Wisconsin voters would support a constitutional amendment to prohibit the government from forcing churches to close in emergencies. This November, we strongly encourage you to support religiously freedom by voting “Yes” on the religious freedom constitutional amendment. In the meantime, we encourage you to share the importance of this amendment with your friends and family.
People of faith should never need to ask the government for permission to gather for worship. Wisconsinites deserve the security of knowing that their religious freedoms will be protected regardless of the situation.
The work of Wisconsin Family Action is possible because of generous friends who partner with us financially and in prayer. If you value the work WFA does, we invite you to invest in this unique work that is all about you, your family, your faith, your freedom, and your future! As always, we welcome and covet your prayers.
