Writing at the Washington Examiner, Hoover Institution research fellow and founder of the AHA Foundation Ayaan Hirsi Ali pointed out the Philadelphia Statement’s importance in fighting back against cancel culture and what she called “the ideological straightjacket of critical race theory”. Rather than bullying others into silence, Hirsi Ali wrote, now is the time to rally and “stand up against this new closing of American minds.”
Click here to read the piece.
In the midst of a pandemic and a rocky election season, there aren’t many things people of diverse opinions can rally around today. But one issue poses a threat for many across the political spectrum: cancel culture.
If you’re unfamiliar with “cancel culture,” this movement, often found on social media, seeks to demonize and blacklist people and groups of goodwill simply for expressing their views. And this “cancellation” does not discriminate among political and ideological factions.
Thankfully, signatories of the Philadelphia Statement prove that there’s a real desire for civil discourse even among people who disagree with each other.
One of those signatories is John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. In a recent appearance on the World and Everything in It podcast, Stonestreet explained why he signed the Philadelphia Statement: “It is important that we can at least demonstrate that those of us on different sides of all kinds issues can at least agree on this call to civility and the significance of debating ideals instead of just canceling them.”
Fostering a society that encourages a free exchange of diverse opinions is beneficial both for those whose ideas are being silenced and for those whose ideas are embraced by society. Cancel culture not only poses a unique threat to that foundation of free expression, but represents a “wasteful deception,” Stonestreet points out in a post at Breakpoint.org.
“After all, a free marketplace of ideas provides the best opportunity for people to discover the Truth,” Stonestreet writes. “I signed the Philadelphia Statement because I believe every person is created in the image of God, and to deny anyone’s freedom of expression is to deny their worth. Stewarding this very good freedom is, in my view, a way to love my neighbor.”
Free speech is vital for a healthy society and for every one of us. The freedom to express beliefs and ideas in the public square without fear of unjust punishment is vital to a free nation—and the common good. But there’s still much work to do to ensure that our freedoms are preserved.
Sign the Philadelphia Statement to Stand for Free Speech Today!
Your voice is needed today. Right now, you can sign the Philadelphia statement and join the growing list of scholars, professionals, and community members who affirm free speech and reject the censorship and blacklisting that is threatening our democracy.
Please act now.
Raise your voice to defend free speech by signing the statement today!
At Breakpoint.org, Colson Center for Christian Worldview President John Stonestreet tells host Maria Baer why he signed the Philadelphia Statement, and why Christian leaders should follow suit and join the statement.
“I signed the Philadelphia Statement because I believe every person is created in the image of God, and to deny anyone’s freedom of expression is to deny their worth,” Stonestreet said. “Stewarding this very good freedom is, in my view, a way to love my neighbor.”
Read and listen to the segment here.
Can the freedom of speech that Frederick Douglass held so dear make a comeback? That’s the question asked by Jay Hobbs of Alliance Defending Freedom in a Wednesday column at Ricochet.com. Quoted in the Philadelphia Statement, Douglass believed free speech to be at the heart of liberty itself.
Read the article in full here.
Chris Stigall talks with Pete Peterson, dean of the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, about The Philadelphia Statement. Our public discourse is being undermined by cancel culture and ideological blacklisting – it’s time to bring that to an end.
Listen to the podcast here.
Writing at the Daily Wire on Tuesday, ADF Senior Counsel Jeremy Tedesco called attention to the Philadelphia Statement as a much-needed first step to reversing cancel culture. “[I]f we want to protect free speech — and indeed, freedom itself — for our children, we’ll need to do more than sign our names to statements,” Tedesco wrote. “We must live out those statements’ principles in our daily lives, especially when we encounter someone with whom we disagree.”
Read the article in full here.
Colson Center for Christian Worldview President John Stonestreet describes how last week he was included among the original signatories of The Philadelphia Statement, an essential appeal at an important moment in our cultural history. Acknowledging the current crisis overwhelming speech rights, the Philadelphia Statement calls for it to be protected, as an essential condition for the survival and flourishing of self-governing people.
Read the full article here.
Editor at The Fix Jennifer Kabbany reports today how nearly four dozen prominent scholars and faith leaders have signed the Philadelphia Statement, an 851-word essay that defends the right to and need for free speech and civil discourse amid a country entrenched in what signers describe as social media mobs, cancel culture and campus speech policing.
Read the full article here.
In his Friday appearance on “The World And Everything In It,” Colson Center for Christian Worldview President John Stonestreet discussed the unique ways in which free speech is under assault in today’s culture, as well as how the Philadelphia Statement addresses those concerns.
Read the full article here.
Writing at the Christian Post, reporter Michael Gryboski outlines how a group of scholars and faith leaders, including prominent Southern Baptists including Albert Mohler and Russell Moore, have signed a statement supporting discourse and opposing "cancel culture." Known as the Philadelphia Statement and made public Tuesday, dozens of individuals have signed the statement supporting discourse and opposing "cancel culture."
Read the full article here.
