Freedom of Religion... not "Freedom of Worship"

     In today's Gospel, Jesus tells his followers, Go out like lambs among wolves... into the towns and proclaim to the people that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Our pastor made special mention that Jesus did not say, Go back to your rooms and pray quietly, making sure not to offend anyone. 
     Jesus was very specific. He said to take it to the streets. Into the public domain.
     Monsignor went on to point out that there has been a trend lately, among high ranking U.S. government officials, to replace the well-revered and broad term, Freedom of Religion, with the narrower, more restricted term, Freedom of Worship. This new term pigeonholes our freedom of religion, excluding religion from the public square.
     This explanation comes from a Washington Post article...

... "Freedom of worship" implies something overseas dictators view as controllable, manageable - the right to gather, pray, sing. "Freedom of religion" encompasses much more - the freedom to publicly display, advocate for, protest, and most notably: proselytize...

     Read more about this rhetorical trend here, from First Things. It appears to be no accident.
     Our Founders were very clear about our freedom of religious expression...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...  ~ U.S. Constitution

     Words do matter. Our president and our Secretary of State are tweaking what the Founders intended. And not in the direction of freedom. The American people would do well to pay attention to the language.