As the government continues to grow in strength and power, expanding ever further, it creates new ways to control the masses by brute force, enacting new laws, and monitoring and tracking our every move to ensure compliance or instill fear of punishment. Meanwhile, those who are spiritually inclined are also expanding.
Freedom of religion in the United States has afforded us the opportunity to play a particularly influential role in creating a better world for those of us who believe in a brighter future for our children, their children, and future generations.
We pray for a better life and a better world. People in the United States pray more than in any other nation, and even those who profess that there is no God, even 20 percent of those who profess no belief in God, can be found practicing prayer.
Within the medical community, the effect of prayer on healing and recovery is unrefuted; although it may be dismissed as a “placebo effect” in study after study, including double-blind studies, the results are consistently positive.
Churches have the most powerful impetus for change in the human condition. Every day, the less-than-desirables in the United States, the criminals, those who helplessly succumb to addictions, abusers (both legal and illegal), and other problematic members of society incredibly change their lives with the least amount of recidivism thanks to American churches.
Churches make the world a better place by reaching out to the disadvantaged, giving them a reason to live, and encouraging even the least of us to reach out and help to make the world a better place.
Thanks to churches, we see a reduction in crime, divorce rates, poverty, homelessness, drug and other addictions, depression, and other mental health issues.
Churchgoers tend to have a higher sense of obligation to do what is right, higher self-esteem, greater achievement among family members, and a more significant contribution to the community at large. They are more proactive and have happier, healthier families, increased immune systems, and greater life expectancy.
Spiritually minded individuals who profess a sincere connection to a higher power and regularly attend church, where they gather with like-minded people, live happier, more productive, law-abiding lives. They are more understanding, compassionate, and loving towards themselves and others.
The statistics reveal markedly and exponentially higher degrees of success and satisfaction in all areas of life among those who attend or gather together three times a month compared to those who gather once a month or less.
Many spiritually minded Americans who are ever-evolving into higher versions of themselves may have negative associations connected to the idea of church or a recognized religious gathering. The time has come for us to embrace the concept of religious freedom as part of our expanding consciousness.
Spiritual growth need not be a solitary journey. As we know, there is greater significance and more power for a better world when we combine our abilities with those of other like-minded individuals on a similar path.
We must ever be cognoscente about proceeding with such an idea in caution to prevent the interruption of our efforts by an oppressive ruling government.
Even though the founders of our country protected freedom of religion by declaring, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” in the First Amendment to the Constitution, effectively establishing a separation between church and State, since then, there have been attempts to integrate the church and state, giving government the final say in specific affairs of the church.
The primary method for controlling the church was for the United States to offer a deduction for financial contributions, exempting the church from tax debt owed to the IRS through registration and filing for 501(c)(3) non-profit status. Churches volunteer to do so to increase the financial support of their members but also become a corporation in the United States, clearly aborting the separation of their church from the state.
A church, as a non-profit organization of the United States of America, achieves the status of a state-recognized licensed church. Doing so may waive its freedom of religion and its ability to remain separate from the state, allowing for government intrusion.
You can see it in action: churches being violated, shut down, priests, pastors, preachers, and teachers being forced to testify in court, violating the penitent privilege. Churches, which may have otherwise been considered sanctuaries, are now subject to having their perimeters breached in the name of the state, and many compromises are made by voluntarily striking a deal with the state.
Is there a better way?
If you can’t find a church in your community that would welcome an expansion explorer like yourself, perhaps it’s time to create such a venue.
Could you be a part of this spiritual awakening and expansion?
Let your church be the antithesis of all those other churches.
It is your privilege, and your responsibility, after a time of healing, if you are so-called. You might be the key to providing a safe environment for others to discover themselves, engage in their own deep inner work, and do so in any way they see fit while being loved and supported by others who are doing similarly individual work.
My wish for you, for all of us, is that there is a church where any one of us would feel welcomed and supported without fear of not being accepted or threatened nearby.
This is the next step.