Chuck Colson appeared on James Dobson’s show Family Talk last week to discuss how President Obama is trying to replace the freedom of religion with the more narrow “freedom of worship,” telling Dobson, “I have not seen ‘freedom of religion’ mentioned by an official in the Obama administration.” Colson also claimed that President Obama “used ‘freedom of religion’ only once, and that was when he was talking about the mosque in Ground Zero.”
As we have pointed out many times before, this right-wing conspiracy that Obama is avoiding the term “freedom of religion” by not using it in his speeches is patently false, as a search of the White House website return 123 uses of “freedom of religion” and just 4 uses of “freedom of worship.” A similar search for the Bush White House returned 33 uses of “freedom of worship,” but that was never seen as a ploy to eliminate freedom of religion.
In fact, you know who else used the term “freedom of worship”? James Dobson!
While appearing on a conference call with Champion The Vote, Dobson named the “freedom to worship as we choose” as a central tenet of American government.
Surely, no one will accuse Dobson of trying to erode the freedom of religion just for using that phrase.
Later in the program Dobson railed against the administration’s “arrogant” mandate that insurance plans include coverage of contraceptive, which Colson dubbed “the greatest threat to America” and “the greatest threat to us as Chrstians.”
Dobson: How dare! How dare the White House do this! This is arrogant beyond belief.
Colson: I tell you, listening to your voice and listening to the Jim Dobson I’ve known over the years and I’m listening to the rage build and I’m glad because we have to stay firm, there is no way we can equivocate on this issue.
…
Colson: This is the most important issue—I really think the most important I’ve faced in my ministry, and the greatest threat to America, the greatest threat to us as Christians.
