By the Waters of Babylon: Christian Libertarianism in the Age of Obama

Abstract:     
In this short essay, I compare Secular America to ancient Babylon in order to convey my understanding of what it is like to live as a faithful Christian in a postmodern secular state. Just as the Jewish people wandered in exile in ancient Babylon, Christians wander today in an America that has rejected our God.

My pragmatic proposal for Christians living in the Age of Obama is to recognize that Babylonian law will typically reflect the morality and values of Babylon, not those of the America of our forefathers. The path to religious freedom in our society lies in an explosion of privatization, in a radical shrinking of the role of government in the lives of its citizens. As government retreats, religion will be free to advance. As government programs are cut and resources are returned to private citizens, we will be free to educate our children as we believe is best, to support causes we believe are right and good, to live our lives in accordance with our understanding of the good life and based upon our own theories of justice. In other words, a small Babylonian government should be the goal of Christians who find themselves living by the waters of Babylon here in Secular America.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 7

Keywords: Christian libertarianism, religious liberty, secular, liberty, school choice, Obamacare

JEL Classification: I2, I22, I28, K00, K19

working papers series