The 1st Amendment makes two guarantees:
The Government will not establish a state church.
Citizens are guaranteed the free observance of their religion.
The New Testament explains in Romans 13:3-4 that the role of government is to punish evil deeds, reward good deeds, and render justice. There is no conflict between these biblical principles and the principle of religious freedom found in the 1st Amendment. Jesus explained in Matthew 22:20-22 that as citizens, Christians are to live under the authority of their government as long as the authority of their government does not require them to disobey God.
This excerpt from the Religious Liberties section of the 2009 Manhattan Declaration provides a good summary of Christian citizenship:
Manhattan Declaration, 2009.
The religious liberty freedom of some Christians has recently been contested. Decisions made by Christians related to expression of beliefs on marriage, gender, education, and other issues affecting home and the workplace have been challenged and taken to the courts with Christians losing some of the cases.
Live and Proclaim Ministries seeks to apply biblical perspective and principles to questions that arise related to the freedom to observe Christian faith in daily life and work. A good rule of thumb when one’s practice of faith is challenged is to respond with kindness and civility. The gauge of strength and courage is not how loud we speak nor our level of sarcasm. The gauge of strength and courage is our ability to define our position in relation to the hope we have in Christ and to do so with loving intelligence and wisdom (1 Peter 3:15).
Christians are ambassadors of Christ and ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). To address conflict with anger, scorn, and malice negates our credibility as bearers of the love of Christ. Love, through Christ, is the greatest attribute we offer. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1).