All posts filed under: Spiritual Warfare

Joseph beheaded in a violent attack on a church’s nativity scene

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The nativity scene at a church in Ipswich, England has been vandalized just four days after it had been set up at the 13th century All Saints Church. The display was torn apart with the life-size figurines scattered around the site. Many of the figurines were damaged and will require a significant amount of repair to make them suitable for display. The model of Joseph had also been decapitated. “Why would someone have so much hatred and desire to ruin and destroy something that is not their property, and something that is there to express someone’s belief?,” The Rev Danny Morrison who serves as the church’s vicar told the Daily Mail. “What state might their life be like if they find pleasure in doing this? I am trying to make sense which I really can’t.” The church has been putting up the Nativity scene for the past five years. It has a message beneath it that reads, “Jesus came to save us all.” Unfortunately, the nativity was also vandalized several times in 2018, the first …

The Christian and pagan roots of Halloween

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Halloween has its roots in both the ancient Roman Catholic tradition of All Saints’ Day and Celtic paganism. Traditionally, All Saints’ Eve or All Hallows Eve from which we get the term Halloween has been celebrated on Oct. 31 by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries. All Saints Day was first commemorated by Pope Gregory III (731-741) on Nov 1, to honor the construction of an oratory for Saint Peter. The day was set aside to commemorate all who had died, particularly the saints and martyrs. All Saints’ Eve was celebrated the night before on Oct 31. Since the Roman Catholic Church believes in praying for the souls of the dead, this quickly became the main feature of the All Saints’ Day/Eve celebration. Roman Catholic theology believes in purgatory, which is a place where people can go to pay penance for their sins, before continuing on to heaven. The prayers for the dead are intended to shorten a soul’s stay in this intermediary state. The practice dilutes Jesus perfect sacrifice for the sins of the …

What does the Bible say about ghosts?

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With Halloween around the corner, what does the Bible have to say about ghosts? Most of us are probably familiar with the story in the Gospels, when the disciples were crossing the sea of Galilee on a stormy night and thought they saw a ghost. Because of the storm, everyone was already apprehensive and Christ who had chosen to remain behind, joined them a bit later, walking out to them on the water. Seeing this apparition hovering over the rolling waves, the disciples immediately were fearful that they were seeing a ghost. They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Luke 24:37-39, NIV) The Greek word, ‘phantasma’, translated ghost by most modern translations in this verse, referred to how people believed that the souls of the dead could still …

France: 40% of under-35s seriously believe in witchcraft

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Surveys in France reveal that there is a growing interest in witchcraft in that country, with one finding that upwards of 40% of those under the age of 35 ‘seriously’ believe in witchcraft, Breitbart reports. The surveys were conducted by Ifop, a French opinion and marketing firm, in 2020 and 2022. The 2020 survey found: Ifop’s 2022 survey reported: The problem came to light after a group blackmailed French soccer star, Paul Pogba, by accusing him of casting spells. Breitbart provides the details: Paul Pogba, a star of the French national football (soccer) squad who currently plays for Italian side Juventus, allegedly paid off a group of blackmailers, including his own brother, 100,000 euros ($100,100) in April, and claimed masked men armed with rifles threatened him in a Paris apartment the month prior. The blackmailers, believed to be childhood friends of Pogba, are said to have demanded as much as 13 million euros. The case became public afterĀ Mathias Pogba began posting tweets regarding his brother, including allegations that Paul had used witchcraft to cast spells …

Exorcism, Casting Our Demons: Do we still do that?

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Do you remember the movie ā€œThe Exorcistā€? Did you watch it? That film is a horror movie from 1973. I am old enough to remember when everyone was watching it, and talking about it. Strangely, I have never seen the movie, but all my friends did. For a few weeks, they all became religious. To help us remember, here is a video trailer: That is scary! The whole point of a horror movie is to entertain us and to make a lot of money for the producers. Iā€™m sure ā€œThe Exorcistā€ did both. It was the first horror movie nominated for an Academy Award, and the highest-grossing horror movie, until 2017. We are still entertained by exorcism stories. Recently, a news story came from a Bible Camp in Saskatchewan, Canada. At least one adult, and some boys at the camp, did an exorcism on one boy. So far, the police have investigated, but they have not brought criminal charges. Apparently, exorcism is not illegal in Canada. Some people from the Camp claim that they did …

Under His Feet!

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And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.ā€” Ephesians 1:22 By Rick Renner In the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, there is an exquisite display of the treasures of King Tut (Tutankhamun) ā€” the boy pharaoh who died at a very early age and whose tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in the year 1922. Iā€™ve been to Tutā€™s Tomb in the Valley of the Kings, and on multiple occasions Iā€™ve seen the display of treasures found in his tomb that are on view in the Egyptian Museum. This museum is one of the worldā€™s greatest ā€” filled with artifacts from the ancient world. However, of all the relics on display, there is something uniquely breathtaking about the treasures of King Tut. Each time Iā€™ve been there, Iā€™ve found myself especially fascinated by one group of items in the collection ā€” the walking canes that were used by King Tut. As one might expect, these canes are long and slender and are …

Human sacrifice and the spirit of fear?

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A Bolivian man, VĆ­ctor Alvarez, recently told the incredible story of how he escaped after allegedly being buried alive as a human sacrifice to Pachamama, the goddess of fertility and earth, in early August, The Daily Mail reports. Some Bolivians believe that the goddess Pachamama opens her mouth for offerings at the Mother Earth Festival and those participating will make sacrifices including sweets, cocoa leaves, sheep fetuses and even live animals. Stories have even circulated of human sacrifices in the ancient past. Alvarez, 30, who was attending this year’s festival held on August 5, 2022 is convinced that he was buried alive as a sacrifice to Pachamama after he passed out from drinking. Because when he awoke, Alvarez found himself inside a coffin buried in the ground. Fortunately, he was able to break through the coffin and dig his way out. The Bible mentions several instances of human sacrifice. When the Egyptian Pharaoh ordered the killings of the Hebrew baby boys while in their Egyptian captivity, he did a very unusual thing. Instead of killing …

Back to basics

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Well, it finally happened, I got COVID. During a heat wave in August, I am well ….. sick! I now understand what the phrase ‘fellowship of His suffering’ means. So on my way to the Futon, I randomly grabbed one of my martial arts books off our bookcase. Just something to read and get my mind off the ughā€¦ I have found it strange, that I have had very few prophetic words concerning direction during this pandemic, but I got a word for the church while reading this ‘random’ martial arts book. The book by Richard Kim, called ‘The Weaponless Warriors,’ is a series of stories about an Okinawan Karate master from the past. Reading a book, while your eyes feel like they are running with what appears to be gorilla glue, is not fun. But I randomly read one chapter and could not see past the goo to read anymore. I initially thought this would be a good story to share with my karate class. Then I felt like God saying, how about sharing …

Did Baal show up at the Commonwealth Games?

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In his vision of the end times, the Apostle John saw a time coming when the people would openly worship the beast, which of course is none other than Satan, the god of this world. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beastā€”all whose names have not been written in the Lambā€™s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear. (Revelation 13:8-9 NIV) It is difficult to imagine how the world could be so deceived, that humanity would be enticed into worshiping this false god. But a bizarre thing happened at the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England in August 2022. As part of the opening ceremonies, a massive (six-story high) bull with flashing red eyes and smoke pouring out of its nostrils was dragged into the main arena. As strange as that was, this wasn’t even the bizarre part. When the mechanical bull entered the arena, a woman walked in front of it, to calm it down. After this happened, dancers …

Reincarnation? UFOs? Ghosts? Do you believe?

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1) Do you believe in reincarnation? I know a man, and when he was born, his grandmother held the new baby and said, ā€œThis one has been here before.ā€ I donā€™t think there has ever been evidence to support that belief. He has never mentioned memories of a previous life, for instance, but the family remembers that story. His grandmother believed. Many people believe in reincarnation, or at least they are interested enough to investigate: 2) Do you believe in UFOs? When I was a boy, my big brother was very serious about UFOs. We called them flying saucers, and my brother found some interesting books. I was a good reader, and I learned a lot about UFOs and the people who believe in them. One Sunday, the pastor of our church told us all that those ideas were not true and that we shouldnā€™t believe in them. I think my mother put him up to that. We kept our ideas quiet, after that, but I did see ET when it came out. I also …

Reality star Kat Von D announces major changes stating ‘There is a spiritual battle taking place’

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I am not exactly sure what it all means, but reality star Kat Von D, whose real name is Katherine von Drachenberg, recently announced on Instagram that she is making some major changes in her life, the Daily Wire reports. Over the years, Kat Von D has gained fame as a model, author, tattoo artist who starred in the reality shows LA Ink and Miami Ink, recording artist, and entrepreneur who developed her own goth look beauty line. But there may be significant changes coming, as Kat announced that she is ending her association with the occult and will no longer be selling items associated with the occult or tarot cards. Explaining her decision, Kat added, “itā€™s never been more clear to me that there is a spiritual battle taking place, and I want to surround myself and my family with love and light,ā€ The Daily Wire provides more details from Kat’s Instagram post: ā€œI donā€™t know if any of you have been going through changes in your lives right now, but in the last …

“He trains my hands for war:” the Christian who started ‘Top Gun’

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In a fallen world, war is inevitable, and according to Jesus, ‘wars and rumors of wars’ will be one of the signs that we have entered the end times. But in the Book of Psalms, King David made a couple of intriguing statements about war. He stated that God actually trained his hands and fingers for battle and even helped subdue his enemies. Blessed be the LORD my Rock,Who trains my hands for war,And my fingers for battleā€”My lovingkindness and my fortress,My high tower and my deliverer,My shield and the One in whom I take refuge,Who subdues my people under me. (Psalm 144:1-2 ESV) The Hebrew word for train, ‘lĆ¢mad’, speaks of repeated exercises to attain skill. It speaks of a goad, a sharp stick, being repeatedly used to guide and train an ox. The finger training undoubtedly referred to learning how to use the bow, being able to quickly grab the next arrow, and redraw the string. A properly trained bowman could unleash six arrows in a minute. And in Psalms 18:2 and 34, King …

Cofounder of South African Satanic Church turns to Christ after experiencing God’s love

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One of the co-founders of the South African Satanic Church (SASC), Riaan Swiegelaar, has renounced his involvement in Satanism and become a Christian, CBN reports. Swiegelaar made the announcement in a video posted on Facebook on July 4, 2022, after several people asked why he had left Satanism. Swiegelaar said: “I’m doing this live video because many, more than 100 people, on WhatsApp and almost 200 on Facebook, are sending me messages wanting to know why did I leave the South African Satanic Church as well as why did I turn my back on Satanism.” Swiegelaar, who was involved in Christian ministry decades earlier, had left the ministry, become an atheist and later found himself drawn to Satanism. In his video, which has been viewed over 212,000 times, Swiegelaar explained what happened: “I got involved with Satanism because at the time it resonated with me, being very broken and sad without realizing it. I think the reason a lot of people resonate with Satanism is they come from a very broken place. I have met …

Some lessons on spiritual warfare

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Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade and returned the authority for abortions to state legislatures, there have been dozens of reactions by pro-abortionists that included throwing Molotov cocktails at pro-life centers. READ: Wisconsin anti-abortion group targeted in Molotov cocktail arson attack: police But perhaps the most revealing involved a group of Satanists and witches who launched spiritual attacks against a group of believers who had gathered to pray for peace across America outside the US Supreme Court after the ruling. These attacks included summoning demonic forces to come against those who were praying. Mike Staver, the CEO of Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal nonprofit that was actually a part of the court case that saw Roe vs Wade overturned, described the scene. “Black-robed men and women began arriving on the scene, screaming obscenities over the prayers,” Staver reported. “A pro-abortion demonstrator brought a wagon carrying a large boom box blaring satanic ‘music’ and noise. A woman walked right up to our podium and stood next to the pro-life speaker.” “Every time the pro-lifer spoke, …

‘Vile, satanic attack’ in Nigeria leaves over 50 worshipers dead, including children

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This past Sunday, June 5, 2022, gunmen attacked a church in Southwestern Nigeria, killing at least 50, many of them children. The governor of Ondo State, where the attack took place, described it as a ‘vile and satanic attack,’ and he may have a point. According to reports, the people were just gathering for morning mass, when the gunman opened fire on members of St. Francis Catholic Church. One group of terrorists entered the church firing their weapons, while others remained outside, gunning down members of the congregation fleeing the carnage. The group also set off explosives inside the church, and there are reports that they kidnapped the church’s priest. It is suspected that the attackers were connected to Islamic terrorists in Nigeria that have been attacking Christians in the northern regions of Nigeria for the past several years. Nigeria has a population of 216 million and 54% of them are Muslim, who are concentrated in northern Nigeria, and 46% are Christians with nearly three-quarters protestants. Since the beginning of January, CBN reports that Islamic …

Former child actor Richard Keith explains how God saved and delivered him from a demonic attack

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In a recent interview with The 700 Club, child-actor Keith Thibodeaux, 71, shared how his involvement in the occult led him to become suicidal and how this was broken after he received a vision of Jesus, CBN reports. Thisbodeaus, who later changed his name to Richard Keith, is best known for playing the role of “Little Ricky Ricardo” on the 1950s TV hit series I Love Lucy. He would later go on to have roles in The Luci-Dezi Comedy show and the Andy Griffin show. I addition, Keith played in a secular band, called David and the Giants. At the age of 5, Keith was already earning $2,000 a month playing drums for a band called Horace Heidt Orchestra, when His father took him to an audition for the I Love Lucy Show. In his interview, Keith shared two stories that dramatically impacted him and sent him on a downward spiritual slide. It started when his mom and dad divorced after his father had an affair. Keith said the divorce made him extremely angry not …

The spirit of Leviathan

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Don Nicely

Has someone ever twisted the truth into a lie about you? Maybe someone saw something that you were doing and misread your intentions. Has a talebearer ever distorted what you said or did? Have you ever been told something which you allowed the enemy to twist your mind until it was no longer the truth when you retold it?

A depressed Muslim woman becomes a believer after audibly hearing the word ‘Jesus’

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CBN recently reported on the remarkable conversion of a Muslim woman, Aisha, who was born in Amman, Jordan to a very strict Muslim family. After her family moved to the US, Alisha became pregnant when she was 17 years old. Fearing that her father would kill her, Alisha secretly had an abortion. But in the years that followed, Aisha experienced condemnation because of her illegitimate child and abortion. She had been taught that Allah hated her and though she repeatedly begged Allah for mercy, she didn’t believe it would ever come. As she struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts, Aisha stated that her remarkable conversion started when she audibly heard the name Jesus as she was pleading to Allah for mercy. Hearing Christ’s name, who is considered a healing prophet in the Islamic faith, Aisha decided to pray to Jesus and immediately felt a great peace come over her. It is also important to note, that though Muslims do not believe Jesus died on the cross, the Koran says that Christ was taken to heaven …

The Real Battle is Spiritual

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By C. Peter Wagner    Warfare prayer, as I have been describing it, is a new concept to the great majority of American Christians. Many are beginning to ask whether given their traditions and training it could ever be integrated into their ministry. But Americans are not alone. Even Argentine pastors struggle with some of the same theological practical issues. Learning the Lesson I greatly enjoyed talking to Pastor Alberto Prokopchuk of the Los Olivos Baptist Church in the city of La Plata, Argentina, because I could identify so closely with his background. His traditional Baptist ministerial training had not included a course in Spiritual Warfare 101. His ministry at Los Olivos Baptist was not much different from what we observe in so many typical churches in our American cities: good, solid Bible teaching ministry; a relatively high moral standard; the fruit of the spirit manifested to a reasonable degree and church members who pray, tithe, attend service, and witness to their neighbors when the opportunity presents itself. All this, and no growth! Under Alberto’s …

Does forgiveness have a role in spiritual warfare?

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Premier Christian News reports that in the letter that Rev Vlasenko, head of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, wrote to the World Council of Churches, he specifically apologized for the actions of the Russian government and asked for forgiveness: “Today, as a citizen and as General Secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, I apologize to all those who have suffered, lost loved ones and relatives, or lost their place of residence as a result of this military conflict.”[…] My prayer is that you will find strength from the Lord to extend your hand of solidarity and forgiveness, so we can live as the people of God to our world.” It’s an interesting request that may have broader implications when it comes to spiritual warfare. The role of forgiveness in spiritual warfare In the Book of Daniel, we see definite indicators of spiritual warfare in Persia. Israel had been taken into captivity by Babylon and after it was in turn defeated by Persia, Daniel sensed a time of change was coming that would involve a great conflict …

Is Satan manipulating Vladimir Putin through a spirit of fear?

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A curious story emerging out of the Russian invasion of Ukraine involves a Roman Catholic priest in Ukraine who is performing a ‘ritual’ exorcism on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Father Tykhon Kulbaka, who made the announcement on Facebook on Feb. 25, 2002, believes an evil spirit is influencing Putin and the priest has committed to performing this exorcism daily during the war. Faithwire reports that there are two levels of exorcism in the Roman Catholic Church, major and minor. Major exorcisms are intended for people whose bodies have been possessed by an evil spirit, and minor is for those who are being unduly influenced by an evil spirit. It seems, that the priest is performing the latter on behalf of Putin. I have no doubt that evil spirits can influence political leaders. In the book of Daniel, we read after defeating the demonic spirit over Persia (Prince of Persia Daniel 10:12-13), a godly angel took a position in the spiritual realm beside the Persian King to strengthen and protect him (Daniel 11:1). This …

Joining together in praying for Ukraine

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Several years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a service at a Ukrainian Orthodox church. Having come from an Evangelical background, there was one thing that I found very unusual. Even though the church was based in North America, as the priest performed various rituals, he prayed for the military at least three or four times during that one service. I can’t remember a time during an Evangelical service when someone actually prayed for the military. This is not to say it didn’t happen, but it never caught my attention like it did that morning. But it shouldn’t surprise anyone. For a church that finds its roots in Ukraine, it reflects the country’s deep insecurity, as it has been the target of war and occupation by megalomaniacs and tyrants for centuries. People still remember Josef Stalin’s forced starvation of millions of Ukrainian farmers under the country’s brutal occupation by the former Soviet Union after it supposedly rescued Ukraine from its occupation by Nazi Germany. So, the church prays for the country’s military. And today, …

A weird thing happened to actress Joey King while filming ‘The Conjuring’

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Faithwire recently reported on comments that actress Joey King, 22, made in her appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show” concerning what happened to her while filming the supernatural horror movie, The Conjuring, which was released in 2013. The movie revolved around demonic events that took place at a farm owned by Roger and Carolyn Perron. King played the role of one of the family’s daughters, Christine. Though it happened over nine years ago, King added there are times she still has a slight shudder about what took place. During the 38 days it took to film the movie, King came down with a serious blood disorder. It required daily medical treatments at the hospital before the start of filming and then immediately after because of concerns it could cause serious internal bleeding. They diagnosed the blood condition after bruises started appearing on King’s body. Coincidentally, these bruises showed up as they were filming the scene when bruising appeared on the body of the family’s mother, Carolyn, after she was possessed by an evil spirit. Initially, …

No Open Doors

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By Rick Renner Neither give place to the devil. ā€” Ephesians 4:27 Have you ever felt like you were under spiritual attack or that the devil was trying to wage a vicious warfare against your very existence? Today I want to talk to you about doing all you can to keep every door shut to the enemy so he is unable to find easy access into your life. I can personally testify to many attacks that have come against our ministry and family as we have pressed forward to take new territory for the Kingdom of God over the years. I have learned that the enemy is always looking for ways to sabotage anything that is of significance to the overall plan of God. Therefore, we have had to stand our ground and fight many times. Part of a long-term protection plan against the enemyā€™s attacks has been making sure that we left no open doors for the enemy to find easy access to us or our ministry. Believe me when I tell you that …

Why evil things happen in the world

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A complaint commonly heard today is why does an all powerful God allow evil to happen on earth. Though this argument is often used by atheists to disprove the existence of God, Pew Research Center recently surveyed Americans to discover if the average person blames God when bad things happen? Its survey of 6,500 Americans in September, that included nearly 1,500 Evangelicals, found that the majority do not blame God when terrible things take place, such as the recent COVID pandemic that saw millions die. According to Christianity Today, the survey revealed several interesting results: 86% of Americans believe (44%) or somewhat believe (42%) that ‘sometimes bad things just happen.’ 70% of Americans believe that bad things are consequences of our own decisions; 70% also believe that bad things happen because of the way societies are structured; 70% believe men have a free will that allows them to act contrary to what God wants us to act; and 80% believe in the Biblical God (58%) or a higher power (22%), but say that suffering is …

78 | What the Septuagint Bible tells us about fallen angels and spiritual warfare

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We are living in perilous times as governments of all political stripes seem intent on restricting peopleā€™s liberties and freedoms, either under the guise of protecting us from COVID or banning speech that some consider offensive, because it disagrees with their beliefs. In this podcast, I discuss the Septuagintā€™s odd translation of a Bible verse in Deuteronomy that may help explain why this is happening.

Poll: The vast majority believe governments should not force Americans to violate their religious beliefs

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A recent poll by Summit.org, found that the vast majority of Americans believe in religious freedom, despite the messages we are receiving from the mainstream media and some politicians, that Christians must bow to secular authority and opinions. The poll, conducted by McLaughlin and Associates, asked 1,000 Americans, who were likely voters, if they agreed with the statement that government has the right to force religious people to participate in practices that would violate their religious beliefs. Seventy-five percent said that the government does not have the right to force a person to violate their religious beliefs, and only 16% believed that government should be able to do this. Of course, once politics were thrown into the mix, the number varied, with 80% of Republicans and 78% of Independents stating the government does not have the right to violate a person’s religious beliefs. While still in a clear majority, only 64% of Democrats held the same position. And in a second question, people were asked if they agreed with a statement by America’s founders “that …