{"id":13208,"date":"2019-05-14T11:47:58","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T15:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=13208"},"modified":"2019-05-14T11:56:05","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T15:56:05","slug":"v-p-mike-pence-warns-christian-grads-faith-discrimination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2019\/05\/v-p-mike-pence-warns-christian-grads-faith-discrimination","title":{"rendered":"V.P. Mike Pence Warns Christian Grads of Faith Discrimination"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gage<\/a>
Gage Skidmore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vice President Mike Pence shared a bit of reality to the graduating class of Liberty University: be prepared to face discrimination because of your religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

Pence, who is known for having strong Evangelical roots, gave the commencement address at Liberty University, know for also being tied to the Christian faith, over the weekend. He warned the graduates of what it’s like to live out a Christian faith in a secular America.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in a time when it\u2019s become acceptable and even fashionable to ridicule and even discriminate against people of faith,\u201d Pence told the Class of 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, throughout most of American history, it\u2019s been pretty easy to call yourself Christian. It didn\u2019t even occur to people that you might be shunned or ridiculed for defending the teachings of the Bible,\u201d Pence told the nearly 21,000 graduates. \u201cBut things are different now. Some of the loudest voices for tolerance today have little tolerance for traditional Christian beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pence further warned them that their values would be questioned and thrown aside.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to be asked not just to tolerate things that violate your faith; you\u2019re going to be asked to endorse them. You\u2019re going to be asked to bow down to the idols of the popular culture,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

During the speech, Pence spoke from personal experience, referencing several examples of what he called discrimination against faith-based people.<\/p>\n

His wife Karen Pence, who was in the crowd during the ceremony, had faced attacks in January after she returned to teach art at a Christian school that bans LGBTQ teachers and students. Pence characterized the incident as an \u201cun-American\u201d attack on Christian education.<\/p>\n

Pence told the crowd he was dedicated to upholding the first amendment, which grants us freedom of religion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to report our administration has already taken decisive action to protect religious liberty, and we\u2019ll continue to do just that,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I promise you: We will always stand up for the right of Americans to live, to learn, and to worship God according to the dictates of their conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch his entire speech below.<\/p>\n