Former Sen. Rick Santorum is urging Americans to push back against the stripping of religious liberties in the U.S. In "One Generation Away," a documentary he coproduced, the escalation of Christian persecution in the U.S. is brought to light through interviews with politicians, business owners, experts on religious liberty, and individuals with opposing views.
In recent weeks, after the release of the film, Santorum has been criticized by the left for suggesting that Christian persecution in the U.S. could evolve into the same situation that Jews experienced living under the rule of Nazi Germany.
He cited abortion and same-sex marriage as issues that the government wants total control of.
"The government wants to tell you how to live your life," he said. "You either conform to what the government says you have to believe in, or you're going to lose certain privileges."
Former Mozilla Chief Executive Brendan Eich understands this loss. In April, after it went public that he made a donation of $1,000 six years earlier in support of the anti-gay marriage Proposition 8, Eich was bullied into resigning in April. Though he was heralded by his contemporaries as a profound contributor to his field - having invented Javascript programming language and co-founding Mozilla - Eich's beliefs cancelled out his successes and cost him his job.
But Eich is not alone. Other cases continue to pop up around the country, and some threaten the very lively hood of those targeted.
Santorum's documentary covers recent accounts of battles over religious liberty, including Hobby Lobby's fight to provide healthcare benefits that agree with the owner's Christian beliefs, the ACLU filed suit against a Gresham, Ore. baker who chose not to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, and the potential removal of the well-known cross at Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, Calif.
The film's title comes from President Ronald Reagan's 1967 speech during his inauguration as California's 33rd governor. "Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction," he said. "It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people."
Republican Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, agrees with Reagan's thoughts, as well as Santorum's prediction. His stance on current incidents of persecution is based on an understanding and belief in the U.S. Constitution.
"It is not the government's job to determine which symbols of faith are appropriate and proper, and the Constitution expressly forbids Congress from getting involved and making a law that would be an impediment to anybody's expression," he says in the documentary.
Santorum predicts that as the momentum of these incidents increase rapidly, the frightening effects will catch Americans off guard.
"Germany, prior to the Nazis getting there, was a very religious country," he told the Christian Post last week. "It was a Christian country. A very sophisticated country."
He discussed the decade long rise of Nazi ideals that transported Germany from a land of freedom to one where millions of innocent people were slaughtered for their ethnicity and religious beliefs.
"You wonder sometimes, well why didn't the Jews see this and move? It was unfathomable to them that in a country like [Germany] that could happen. Same thing here, you think it's just impossible for that to happen in America," he said.
Also feeling the heat for comparing the future of the U.S. to Nazi Germany is Alan Robertson, the beardless brother of "Duck Dynasty." In an interview last week with Family Research Council's President Tony Perkins, he expressed his disbelief over the subpoenas issued to Houston, Texas pastors for their sermons, notes and communications.
"Is this 2014 America or 1930s Germany that we're living in," he said to Perkins. "It was shocking and appalling."
This past weekend, Robertson participated in the I Stand Event to support Houston area pastors who are joining forces to fight for their freedom to preach the truth of God's word from their pulpits. He believes that the biggest struggles are yet to come for those pastors, as well as Christians all over the world.
"It's going be a continuing battle there, but also what we're going be talking about - what will be beaming out worldwide - is the importance of our spiritual and religious liberties, and where we've really got to work as a church to do our job," he told Perkins.
And Santorum agrees.
"Without religious freedom you could speak as long as you don't speak what you believe," he said. "You can assemble, but not for what you believe in. You can have freedom of the press, but you can't write freely about your conscience."
For the first time in history, freedom of religion - the foundation of this country - is under heavy attack, he says.
"If we don't nip it here, then things get a lot worse," Santorum said. "It starts with gradual erosion, you don't usually go from zero to 60 in a few days when it comes to religious persecution. It's something that grows over time."
To learn more about the documentary visit www.onegenerationawaymovie.com.
