{"id":26650,"date":"2026-04-14T09:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=26650"},"modified":"2026-04-14T09:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:28:12","slug":"canadas-hate-speech-bill-could-criminalize-christianity-is-america-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=26650","title":{"rendered":"Canada\u2019s \u201cHate Speech\u201d Bill Could Criminalize Christianity \u2014 Is America Next?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Reading Time:<\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s latest legislation is raising alarms among Christians and free speech advocates, as a new \u201chate speech\u201d bill could open the door to criminalizing biblical truth. And while some may dismiss this as a problem exclusive to Canada, a recent article from The Federalist shows this restriction of religious freedom may soon become reality in America as well.\n<\/p>\n

Let the IFA community know how to pray for you.<\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From The Federalist:\n<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s dominant Liberal Party has introduced legislation that may soon make Christian speech illegal.\n<\/p>\n

In March, the Canadian House of Commons passed Bill C-9, also known as the \u201cCombatting Hate Act.\u201d The bill was introduced under the guise of mitigating antisemitic attacks in the wake of Hamas\u2019 violent attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Liberals claimed it was developed to protect religious communities, but C-9 eagerly expanded to prohibit public displays of \u201chate,\u201d including \u201cIslamophobia, homophobia, and transphobia.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

C-9 intentionally uses vague language, allowing \u201chatred\u201d to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Canada\u2019s DOJ has admitted as much, stating, \u201cThe penalty for the new hate crime offence would reflect the harm caused by the illegal act.\u201d Under C-9\u2019s broad definitions, public prayers and Bible recitation could conceivably be prosecuted as criminal offenses if they\u2019re determined to be \u201chateful.\u201d Violators could face up to a decade behind bars.\n<\/p>\n

\n

This legislation raises serious concerns about how \u201chate\u201d is being defined and enforced. When laws rely on vague and subjective standards, they create the potential for uneven application and targeted enforcement. In this case, that ambiguity could place Christians and other people of faith at risk of legal consequences simply for expressing their beliefs.\n<\/p>\n

The removal of longstanding religious protections makes the situation even more concerning. Previous safeguards allowed individuals to express opinions rooted in Scripture in good faith, but this bill appears to weaken or eliminate those protections. Without them, the line between lawful expression and criminal speech becomes increasingly unclear.\n<\/p>\n

Similar debates have emerged in the United States. Last year, for example, both California and New York attempted to pass (or, in New York\u2019s case, passed) legislation forcing social media companies to restrict \u201chate speech.\u201d As intercessors know, laws restricting so-called \u201chate speech\u201d are often using to suppress biblical truth about issues such as homosexuality and transgenderism. Furthermore, as The Federalist points out, during the COVID-19 pandemic, several states forced churches to shut their doors. Christians in Florida and Idaho, for example, were arrested simply for choosing to worship God.\n<\/p>\n

This moment matters because it highlights how quickly freedoms can shift when laws are redefined. These challenges may be confined to our northern neighbor today, but tomorrow they may end up on our doorstep (or in our Capitol). Pray that leaders would uphold our crucial First Amendment rights, and that attempts to suppress faith would be exposed and restrained.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Leave a prayer below for Canada, the United States, and the protection of religious liberty below.<\/h4>\n

(Excerpt from The Federalist. Photo Credit: seechung\/Getty Images)
\n \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada\u2019s latest legislation is raising alarms among Christians and free speech advocates, as a new \u201chate speech\u201d bill could open the door to criminalizing biblical truth. And while some may dismiss this as a problem exclusive to Canada, a recent article from The Federalist shows this restriction of religious freedom may<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[236,130,8876,313,3945,575,318],"class_list":{"0":"post-26650","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-prayer","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-bill","10":"tag-canadas","11":"tag-christianity","12":"tag-criminalize","13":"tag-hate","14":"tag-speech"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}