by Jorge Gomez • 3 minutes
As we celebrate Thanksgiving with our family and friends, there’s no shortage of things that we can be thankful for. Every year, one of the things that we as Americans can and should express gratitude for is religious freedom.
If you’ve been around First Liberty for long enough, you’ve probably heard us say that Thanksgiving will always come with a big helping of religious freedom. It’s not always evident at first sight or even in popular culture, but Thanksgiving is a holiday deeply rooted in religious significance—a time specifically set aside to thank God for all the blessings He bestows on each of us and on our nation.
Today, it’s perhaps more important to be thankful for our First Freedom than at any point in our nation’s history. When we look at the religious persecution that’s happening across the world, it’s clear that we are truly blessed to live in a country where we’re free to exercise and live out our beliefs.
Aid to the Church in Need (CAN)—an international religious freedom watchdog—recently released its 2025 Religious Freedom Report documenting global trends in religious persecution. It found that almost two-thirds of people in the world (5.4 billion) live in countries where serious religious freedom violations take place.
Thanksgiving is perhaps the perfect time to pause and reflect on this reality. Religious freedom is a constitutionally and legally protected right for Americans. And even amidst attacks and discrimination here in the Land of the Free, religious freedom is still largely valued by our culture and society. That’s simply not the case for billions around the world. For them, it’s a privilege—even a life-and-death decision—to go to church, share their faith in public or to even own a Bible.
Some of that persecution is happening right on our doorstep. According to the report, religious groups in Mexico “face systematic restrictions on worship, expression, and legal equality. While not subject to violent repression, discrimination often results in marginalization and legal inequality.”
Just 90 miles from our shores, Cuba’s communist regime has severely repressed religious freedom for more than a half century. And that type of oppressive government and ideology has spread to other countries.
“Far from being confined to Cuba, this model has been replicated, with variations, in Venezuela and Nicaragua,” ACN reports, “where similar patterns of repression, institutional co-option, and erosion of fundamental freedoms can be observed.”
That could never happen in America, right? The numbers suggest it can. Attacks on religious liberty in America are not at the same scale or level as other nations. Still, there’s no denying the rising hostility against people of faith and houses of worship right here at home.
For six consecutive years, Family Research Council’s Hostility Against Churches report has documented rising attacks, vandalism and violence against houses of worship all across America. Between 2022 and 2024 alone, there were more than 1,000 acts of violence. And that number, of course, doesn’t take factor in hundreds more—if not thousands—of legal attacks and constitutional violations.
For Americans, the takeaway couldn’t be any clearer. We first have to be thankful and appreciative for our First Freedom. But our calling and duty doesn’t end with reflection. It demands action. This is a time to stand—to boldly protect and defend religious liberty.
America is exceptional for many reasons. From our economic prowess, to our military strength, and our revered system of justice and laws, there are countless reasons why we can be thankful for living in this great republic.
But religious freedom is the foundation to it all. It’s the freedom that undergirds every other right and liberty that we cherish. The Founders understood that freedom of conscience is essential to all our other rights: speech, press, assembly, and appeal. If government can infringe on your deepest beliefs, nothing is off limits—not your property, your family, or your conscience. Without the free exercise of religion, America would be unrecognizable.
As our nation approaches its 250th birthday next July, this moment is more than a date or anniversary. It’s a moment to renew our conviction, courage and calling to protect the freedom that started it all. Because religious freedom is the right that matters the most, it’s also the right that gets attacked the most. If we fail to protect it today, America—as we know it—may not have a future.
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