One doesn't have to look far these days to find examples of religious freedoms being curtailed by our society and government, whether it is a student being told to change their beliefs or face expulsion from school, or teenagers being told they cannot pray on the steps of the Supreme Court.

Last week in the American Spectator, Ken Blackwell writes that Robert George, the founder of our American Principles Project, is "emerging as a leader in today's movement for [religious] freedom":

Hailed as "this country's most influential conservative Christian thinker," George was recently featured in a long profile in the New York Times. He is considered a bridge between academia, policy, and religion. Politicians, including several presidential contenders, seek his scholarly insight and religious leaders seek his political acumen. As Rev. John Myers, Archbishop of Newark, has put it, "Whenever I venture out into the public square, I would almost invariably check it out with Robby first."

George does not shy away from the culture wars. In fact, he seems to relish confronting the "secularist orthodoxy" of today's liberals. He sits squarely on the side of the so-called Religious Right, though that would be a far too simplistic characterization of his dogma.

At the center of George's philosophy is the premise that the principles of morality are not necessarily divined through faithful revelation; they are born of right reason and natural law. In spite of this seeming dissociation with faith -- or perhaps because of it -- George passionately defends the right of every person to pursue his relationship with his Creator in the way that suits his conscience.

Dr. George believes in putting these principles into action, as Blackwell writes:

And Washington better start listening. As George recently said: "The moral foundations of economic conservatism are precisely those of social conservatism, namely, respect for the human person, which grounds our commitment to individual liberty and the right to economic freedom and other essential civil liberties…."

The mainstream media and the political elites may not have made the connection yet, but freedom is at the heart of this grassroots insurrection. And they are ignoring this at their own peril.

To copy the article headline from Blackwell, "It's Not Only About the Economy, Stupid."