On the Magistrate's Promotion of False Religion

North Carolina's governors must remember our constitution.

May 29, 2026

By: Forrest R Perrigo

PREAMBLE

We, the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for the preservation of the American Union and the existence of our civil, political and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those blessings to us and our posterity, do, for the more certain security thereof and for the better government of this State, ordain and establish this Constitution.

This week, Governor Josh Stein used his social media to promote the celebration of Eid al-Adha among North Carolina’s small Muslim population.  Previously this year, the Governor made similar posts advocating for Ramadan.  These celebrations have become an annual ritual for North Carolina’s Governors, with Roy Cooper using his official pages to promote Muslim holidays since at least 2020.

This year’s posts invited increased scrutiny toward Gov. Stein, in part because the Ramadan post came without a corresponding Good Friday post.  The Governor’s celebration of Easter this year also highlighted only secular misunderstandings, rather than the beauty of celebrating Christ’s resurrection.

Governor Stein’s promotion of Islam is misguided at best and malicious at worst.  His promotion flies in the face of our state’s constitution, and it invites cultural change that the state neither wants nor needs.

North Carolina’s Constitution opens with an expression of gratitude toward Almighty God for the blessings in our state, and our Constitution acknowledges our collective reliance on God for the preservation of our Union and our civic happiness.  Almighty God as used in this preamble is universally understood to be the triune God of the Bible.  Further, in Article XI, our Constitution refers to North Carolina as a Christian state.  Therefore, the state and its leaders should not take actions that undermine worship of the God on whom we rely.

By way of analogy, it would be foolish for my son to acknowledge that he is reliant on his parents for his material well-being, thank us for our provision, but then tell his siblings that they should love some other couple more than us.  It would also be foolish for my son to invite friends into our home who mock his parents, and more foolish still for him to join in with them.

Yet this is exactly what our Governors have done for several years.  Like Gomer, our Governors seek spiritual support in a false god and political support in the worshipers of said god.  Why must our rulers reject the God of our fathers and show preference for a faith nowhere found in our state’s history and traditions?

When our state’s governor chooses to promote another God than the one taught by Holy Scripture and acknowledged by our Constitution, he invites the people to join in both sinful and unconstitutional actions.  Celebration of Muslim holy days is a sinful act because it requires a rejection of the Triune God of the Bible, and it is unconstitutional because it is contrary to our acknowledged gratitude to God.

Some will ask, “Do we not have religious liberty in this state? Why should the Muslim holy days not be treated the same as Christian?”  To answer that question, look to what our constitution says on religious liberty.  That section affirms that North Carolinians have the natural right to true worship of Almighty God, and that matters of conscience shall not be controlled or interfered with by the state.  The Constitution does not say that true religion should not be promoted, nor that false religion should be given equal standing.

Religious liberty does not mean that religion has no place in the public square, nor that government officials are incapable of promoting religion, nor that harmful religious actions are to be always allowed.  Religious liberty means that the state cannot take action to coerce a change of belief or punish a man for his opinion.

Since religious liberty does not prevent the promotion of Christianity by North Carolina’s government, and since North Carolina’s government acknowledges Almighty God as the sustainer of our common blessings, North Carolina’s governing authorities are obligated, at a minimum, to not disparage Almighty God.  In advocating for the celebration of Muslim holidays, Gov. Josh Stein rejects North Carolina’s constitution and encourages North Carolina to sin.

Even if his promotion of Islam were not sinful or unconstitutional, it would still be imprudent.  As mentioned above, Islam has no part in our state’s rich history and tradition.  The great liberties which North Carolinians enjoy were developed through centuries of Christian thinking and cooperation. Islam shares no part in our intellectual, spiritual, or legal tradition.  Therefore, promoting Islam in this state undermines the liberties which North Carolinians have worked for centuries to protect.

I call on Governor Josh Stein to cease his promotion of Islam and to use his office to call North Carolinians back to proper worship of Almighty God, as is required in our Constitution.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

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[Originally posted here: https://forrestperrigo.substack.com/p/on-the-magistrates-promotion-of-false]