On July 30th, America is celebrating the 60th Anniversary of IN GOD WE TRUST being written into law as our National Motto by President Eisenhower.  IN GOD WE TRUST is more than just our Motto — it’s our country’s foundation and part of our core identity.

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Sadly, everywhere we look in America today, we see that God is being systematically removed and replaced with a culture of violence & death.  It doesn’t take long to notice that there are constant efforts to remove God and Judeo-Christian principles from our history, and our daily lives. Specific organizations are aggressively attempting to remove God from our schools, the workplace, public institutions, the military, and even our faith-based organizations. So, it’s really no coincidence that America is now economically, politically, spiritually, and morally, in a dumpster fire.

One woman who has been on the frontline to preserve God’s place in America and to protect our religious liberty– is Lea Carawan

Lea Carawan is the President and Executive Director of the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, Inc. A non-partisan, non-profit organization established to unite and mobilize government leaders nationwide who are committed to protecting religious freedom and preserving America’s Judeo-Christian heritage.

In an EXCLUSIVE interview, Carawan told PolitiChicks:

“Our foundation began in 2005 and was designed to stand with and to support the Congressional Prayer Caucus members which is now a group of about a 100 members of Congress who are committed to protecting religious freedoms and advancing Judeo-Christian principles, promoting prayer, and God’s place in America.

And not only are we designed to support them and help with the initiative, we were also designed to build a network of like-minded government leaders nationwide and connect this whole network. So, now we have over 700 leaders in 31 states. We have legislative prayer caucuses and again, together we unite in a meaningful way to be proactive and really at the very heart of it, it is because we many Americans, like these government leaders, feel like our country is slipping from our finger tips, is going in the wrong direction, and we believe that it’s important that we ensure that God’s place in America is followed and advanced, and that religious liberty is protected nationwide.”

With all the frequent mass shootings, terrorist attacks, political divisions, hate groups calling to kill law enforcement officers, and recent violent and disruptive protests, it seems like our nation is sitting on top of a powder keg.

Carawan explained why faith is so important in America now more than ever:

“John Adams once said, “… that it is religion and morality alone that can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand in our country.” And so if it is only those principles of faith and morality that can save our nation then it is no wonder we have all the problems that we have in our country. Because we’ve said, “God, there is no room for you in the marketplace of ideas. There’s no room for you in public education and in the government. There is no room for you anymore and you are not welcome.”

So, of course, when we start to speak like this, there are two critical things that are lost and are misunderstood: One, is religious liberty for everybody. That everybody has freedom of conscience. That it is a gift that is given by God Himself, that is not given by the king. So everybody has inalienable rights, have the freedom of religion. Second, is just as brilliant and must happen at the same time, which is America must reflect Judeo-Christian values in the laws and policies.  

People don’t understand that when any corporate group of people come together and try to live together, they reflect somebody’s values. You can’t be value-less when you are coming together as a corporate body. You choose somebody’s values, and in America, the Founders choose Judeo-Christian values– because they understood they were the only ones that would actually keep the freedom of religion, the freedom of conscience for all people. And so that is why you look around these other nations and you see this is the only way which you can have freedom of religion. Because everybody else wants to persecute and kill the people that don’t think like them. And that’s what’s real and true and powerful in America. So, both of those have to be true at the same time.

We are now seeing where bakeries are being fined for not baking cakes for gay couples, and how more and more ‘nondiscrimination’ bills and laws are threatening Christian colleges and religious freedom. We are also seeing more and more cases where private businesses are even being told to remove their “God Bless America” signs.

Carawan explained who is behind the relentless challenges to God (and our Christian precepts) in America, and what Christians need to do to fight back:

“There are quite a few people behind it and they are very bold about it. And they are not apologetic about it. We have several organizations that are well funded. We have a group of funders that have set up maybe over a hundred organizations like the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. They are a minority of people. They are not a majority of the people but they are well funded, they are orchestrated, they unite together around one concept and their one purpose is to remove God and to silence Christians. Because they know that is the only group of people that are standing between them and what they want to happen, and the power they want across this nation. So what people need to understand is that this is not just and organic slide. Everybody can see that it happened too fast. It happened too aggressively, too intentionally. The other side is bullying and threatening and they have been domineering all the basic messaging mechanisms that we get our information from. They are now defining the language. So, it’s brilliant. No question about it that it was clever and devious all at the same time. But, it is a devastation to this nation, and we are trying to expose them and we are trying to make people aware to not give into the lies and propaganda of the very people who are trying to take down America and take God out of every part of our past and our future.”

We are also witnessing in Iowa where a new law may censor the church’s teachings on biblical sexuality and force them to open its restrooms and showers to members of the opposite sex–which may ultimately censor pastors.

Carawan described that pastors need to protect their first amendment freedoms:

“This will affect pastors, no question about it. Not one single person in the United States is going to be immune from being attacked by this aggressive and all-out assault on the freedom of religion and of people not only being able to believe something but being able to express their faith in the public square. If pastors do not wake up and recognize that they have bought into the lie of ‘separation of church and state,’ that they somehow cannot stand in the pulpit and must only speak of the things that they feel the other side tells them are within the confines of what pastors should be talking about.

But if they don’t begin to speak out about the civic things that are going on in this country and the aggressive attack on Christianity and on faith in this country, they are going to find that all the rights that they so enjoyed and all the people that they were meant to inform and to shepherd as pastors, they are going to be in place that they never experienced before. And this is upon us right now. This isn’t some future something that is years down the road. Right now, people are losing their jobs, losing their freedoms in America. And pastors must wake up and the main thing they need to understand is that they don’t check their civic responsibility and voice at the door of the church.”

If we go back and actually read the original writings of our Founding Fathers, we can see just how spiritual they really were, and that wetruly are a nation that was inspired by Judeo-Christian values. Sadly, our children are NOT being taught our America’s spiritual heritage.

As Carawan told PolitiChicks:

“It is absolutely incumbent upon us that we teach the next generation. I love what Reagan said when he understood how perilous the times we live in, and this was even back n the 80’s. He said that, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” He understood that we could never forget that we are one nation under God. We can never forget that the foundational principles in which our nation was formed. And then Andrew Jackson said, “Eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty.”

Now, this is a very unique country and because it has been secured and most of us haven’t had to really worry about whether or not we were going to be persecuted for our faith, or lose or jobs. In America, that is happening right now. And the reason is because a whole generation of young people didn’t hear or learn about the foundational principles and concepts that are absolutely essential in order to be a free republic. Parents must be vigilant.” 

We are in the middle of presidential election and many Americans are feeling extremely frustrated, dissatisfied, and want real change (whether it be from all the political corruption, political correctness, the sluggish economy, our awful foreign policy, or even the way we are currently handling terrorism). However, it seems like our country’s problems are bigger than politics, and that all the political chaos is just one symptom of a massive disease. One politician, a new president, isn’t simply going to be able to swoop in and save us all from this mess.

As Carawan also described:

“I think people need to understand that the things that ail this country are much bigger and much beyond the political realm that we are in right now. Of course, there is an influence and a place for our government leaders who are put there by God to have an impact, to make a difference. And there is no question that the leaders will shape and have a huge influence on our nation and we must elect men and women who have a Godly-Biblically worldview in order to live in peace. The Bible tells us that.

However, the kinds of attacks that are happening on God, that are happening all the time right now, we must stand up and every single one of us must fight vigilantly when the cameras stop in November and the election is done. We must continue to stay vigilant. 

That is why we feel so strongly about the IN GOD WE TRUST campaign, for example, that we are involved with because it’s a positive, unifying message. And we have been encouraged by how many government leaders who have begun to pass legislation to get our national motto back up in full. And many faith-based organizations are pushing out positive messages around the fact that yes, our nation still is one that will trust in God.”

Carawan also spoke to PolitiChicks about the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation’s nationwide IN GOD WE TRUST blitz:

“This year marks the 60^th Anniversary of the “IN GOD WE TRUST” being written into law. We as a nation have turned consistently toward “IN GOD WE TRUST” as a fundamental characteristic. What we’ve done is renewed momentum through the 60^th Anniversary, and we’ve been joined by celebrities, faith-based organizations, and government leaders. First responders are putting it on their cars and police cars, fire trucks, and 1.3 million IN GOD WE TRUST decals have been distributed and are being displayed at home and on office windows.

We are asking people to get involved in a couple of ways. We have the bus tour which ends up back in Washington D.C. on July 30^th in celebration of the very day that it (IN GOD WE TRUST motto) was signed into law sixty years ago. We are just asking people to get involved and display IN GOD WE TRUST. They can either get a decal from our website INGODWETRUST.COM or display it through their social media through a post or a tweet. We have all of that on our website. Or if you are an organization, put it up on your marquis, or your church, or your business. We have people who are doing this in various ways as a rallying cry in saying, “We are a nation that trusts in God.” Just like our motto. Just like the beginning of our foundation.”

To get your IN GOD WE TRUST decal or to learn more about the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, go to: INGODWETRUST.Com

To read the original article, click here.