The Religious Liberty Work by K. C. B.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 28, 1909

The Religious Liberty Work

By K. C. B.

WE are pleased to report that the Lord has been greatly blessing in this department of his cause during the past year. Our work is now becoming quite thoroughly organized. In the ten union conferences, we have seven religious liberty union conference secretaries, and in the fifty-five local conferences, we have forty-seven religious liberty local secretaries. We trust it will not be long before all the union and local conferences will be supplied with secretaries. With the field thus thoroughly organized, we shall be able to accomplish our work with far greater dispatch than otherwise.

The Religious Liberty Department of the General Conference is supplying Congress regularly with Liberty, some five hundred copies, besides sending the magazine to four hundred thirty-seven colleges and universities in the United States. During the past year thirty-six States supplied their legislators with this magazine. It is to be hoped that during the year 1909 our conferences will see that every State legislator is furnished with Liberty.

The magazine Liberty has a large and unparalleled circulation for one that has so recently entered the field of journalism, and the outlook for the future of this periodical is encouraging, in view of the two new departments which have been added since it was first launched. Certainly the Lord has directed in broadening the scope of our religious liberty work by incorporating in it these important departments.

The temperance feature of this department, touching the question of legislation, has given a decided impetus not only to our religious liberty work, but to our work in general, as has been demonstrated by the little that has already been done by our people in placing ourselves in a proper light before the world upon this great question. Certainly this is one of the important ways by which we can disarm prejudice; for all fair-minded persons can not but see that even though we are opposed to Sunday legislation, and do not champion the cause of Sunday closing of the saloon, we are vigorously opposed to the open saloon upon every day of the week. It must be evident to all that if the saloon is closed on seven days of the week, it will certainly be closed on Sunday. We shall expect, during the coming year, that our conferences will be able to do more in the way of conducting temperance rallies and distributing temperance literature than they have during the past year.

During the year 1908 the officers of this department have attended fifteen camp-meetings, and conducted a number of special religious liberty campaigns in Pittsburg; Philadelphia; Albany, N. Y.; Trenton, N. J.; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and St. John’s, Newfoundland.

So far, the Lord has helped us in preventing the passage of a Sunday bill by Congress. Of course, we can not say how long we may succeed in staying such legislation, for we know, according to prophecy, that a law will sometime be enacted. We have been gratified in receiving recently a number of strong statements from congressmen who are opposed to Sunday legislation. One says: “I am against the proposed Sunday legislation, and you can depend upon my opposition to it.” Another says: “I believe Congress should leave matters of that kind alone.” One expressed himself freely on the question, as being utterly opposed to Sunday legislation of any kind. Another says that he is decidedly against Sunday legislation, and does not think such a law will ever be passed. Still another states that he stands against any and all Sunday legislation, on the ground that it is religious legislation, and, therefore, not within the sphere of civil government. He has invited correspondence with regard to further developments of the movement. We quote from another, who says: “In accordance with your suggestion, I shall watch the legislation to which you call my attention. I have had a large number of letters from grocers in favor of the bill.”

Still another writes: “I agree with you that there is nothing more important than the absolute separation of church and state, and if, upon a careful perusal of this bill, I find it fraught with the evils which you anticipate, and which it more than probably contains, I shall certainly oppose its passage.”

Another writes: “I am just in receipt of yours of July 13, and shall be pleased to read the leaflets when they arrive. As a member of the Committee on the District of Columbia, I am opposed to the legislation to which you refer. So far as my voice and my vote will go, I propose to maintain the noble attitude of our government thus far in regard to the separation of church and state, and the elimination from public acts of all religious legislation.”

We are planning to do more work during the coming year than we have heretofore. We intend to get out a revised and enlarged edition of the valuable work, “American State Papers;” also some new religious liberty tracts, such as, “Sunday Legislation and the Laboring Man,” “The Lord’s Day Alliance,” and “Prohibition and the Liquor Traffic.” The latter can be used to good advantage when we are holding temperance rallies.

Among other lines of work, we are contemplating a vigorous campaign by placing our literature in the hands of many ministers of the leading denominations, and sending it to the prominent magazines in the country. This work, of course, will be done in addition to our regular work with Congress, and in the field.

Only a little time remains in which to accomplish this great work that has been committed to our people. Now is our opportune time to labor, while the winds of strife are being held, and people are still susceptible to the influence of the truth. The forces of evil are rapidly increasing, which will result in closing the work. What we need in this great battle for freedom just now is plenty of volunteers and an abundance of means to carry on the work. To this end we pray that the Lord will impress our people to make a liberal offering for this work on our Religious Liberty day, Sabbath, February 6, when the annual offering for this department is to be received, and also to continue to pray that God will lead those in charge of this branch of his work in effectively warning the people against the worship of the beast and its image, and the reception of its mark.

K. C. B.