Throughout history, American and World, Religious Freedom has become a growing issue. It has been addressed in various ways, but how can we, as a people, preserve our rights to religious freedom? What is the government doing to protect our religious freedom? How have others actions affected our rights concerning religious freedom? There are organizations working internationally to protect our rights and there are religious groups working individually and together to assure that we can exercise our rights fully.
The first amendment addresses freedom of religion, speech, and the right of the people to peacefully assemble and petition the government (U.S. Constitution). This amendment specifically states that the people preserve the right to worship how, where, and who they want. They also have the freedom to not worship as an atheist. Congress cannot make any laws that take away these rights or prohibit the exercise of them. This is only law in the United States though, so what is being done to ensure that this right is ensured worldwide?
The Office of International Religious Freedoms head is the Ambassador-at-large for international freedom (U.S. Department of State). The offices mission is carried out through the following: an annual report on International religious freedom, monitoring “Countries of particular concern,” meetings with foreign government officials, testimony before U.S. congress on issues of International religious freedom, and close cooperation with the U.S. commission on international religious freedom. The U.S. department of state sponsors programs in disputes that divide groups along the lines of religious identity. They offer programs of outreach to American religious communities.
The first amendment establish...
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... religious freedom of the Catholic Church, its charitable institutions, and the conscience of the faithful we will lose these rights that have been infringed upon by a flawed political agenda (American Catholics for Religious Freedom).
Jews have supported the separation of church and state for a long time. They do this because they believe it protects the religious freedom of all. Students of the American Jewish Life believe that the struggle to expand the separation of church and state in the U.S. is one of the greatest contributions Jews have rendered to the enlargement of American Freedom. The Jewish beliefs do not completely explain the Jews commitment to religious freedom and the separation on church and state. It is rather a historical experience that demonstrates the Jews suffering that makes them so committed to protecting religious freedom (Reform Judaism).
When it came down to the government during the convention of May 1776, instead of protecting our rights they had passed them down causing us to be under common law. If one had denied the Christian faith and went against everything it believed in, such as, “there are more Gods than one, or denies the Christian religion to be true, or the scriptures to be of divine authority, he is punishable on the first offence by incapacity to hold any office or employment ecclesiastical, civil, or military,” (Jefferson 176). This is what most people had thought about if you did not follow their religion. Thomas Jefferson believed that the wall between church and state should be very high in order to keep out and prevent hostile situations. Using an example from today’s news, many people get uncomfortable in the United Stated with the Muslim religion because of the previous horrific events that led to many cruel deaths in our history. By this, the way that we look at these people is forever changed because of the incidents and who knows if we will ever not be hostile with one another because of it. If church and state hadn’t been separated we may have not become a true democracy from what our developing country was seeming to lead towards. More people would not be as accepting of each other, and not that they are still not today, but I feel as if it may
The first Amendment of the United States Constitution says; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”[1] Our fore fathers felt that this statement was plain enough for all to understand, however quite often the United States government deems it necessary to make laws to better define those rights that are stated in the Constitution. Today the framers would be both encouraged and discouraged by our modern interpretation the First Amendment the United States Constitution.
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized the place that religion holds in democracy. “Religion, by teaching man his relationship to God, gives the individual a sense of his own dignity and teaches him to respect himself by respecting his neighbor's. Democracy, the practice of self-government, is a covenant among free men to respect the rights and liberties of their fellows. International good faith, a sister of democracy, springs from the will of civilized nations of men to respect the rights and liberties of other nations of men. In a modern civilization, all three—religion, democracy and international good faith—complement and support each other” (Franklin D. Roosevelt: State of the Union message). This statement supported the idea that religion is associated with a well functioning government. However, in the case of Everson v. Board of Education it was stated that, “The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach” (Hugo Black). This case occurred after Roosevelt’s presidency, and left a significant impact on the American government, as it made clear that religion had no place in the government (Hugo Black). In recent years, a larger disconnect between the church and the American court systems has been created with the nationwide
“Religious Freedom.” Office of International Religious Freedom Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. State Department Documents / FIND, , 17 Aug. 2011. eLibrary. Web. 31 Aug. 2011.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." These opening words of the First Amendment of the Constitution set forth a guarantee of religious freedom in the United States. The Establishment clause was intended to accomplish this end by, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, creating a "wall of separation between Church and State." The First Amendment prevented the government from interfering in it's citizens religious lives. It did not, however, prevent the federal government from engaging in it's own.
Church-state relations in America has been widely discussed and hotly debated. One school of thought holds that the church should be absolutely separated from the state, while another holds that the church plays a moral role in state building and its sanctity, without which the state risks falling apart. In my discussion of the church-state relations, I state that the history of church-state relations has a Constitutional basis. Next, I discuss the two schools of thought in context and how they have shaped contemporary American political thought. Finally, I argue that the two schools of thought have a common ground. This is followed by a summary of my key arguments and a conclusion to my essay.
* McCuen, Gary E. Religion and Politics: Issues in Religious Liberty. Hudson: G.E. McCuen Publications, 1989.
On January 1, 1802, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Committee of the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut in which he stated:
In conclusion, the incorporation of the 14th Amendment in regards to the development of understanding and the provision for protection of civil liberties like freedom of religion has changed throughout the history of the United States. The role government has played continues to grow, for better or worse, and may actually require the Courts to revise its interpretation from which laws are developed. Indeed, the separation of church and state has had its highs and lows. From the case involving the busing of children to parochial schools to another addressing the use of prayer in public schools and all the way to the President of the United States forming faith-based organizations to benefit citizens in need of aid, the government, and more importantly its citizens, will continue to closely monitor the progress and protection of their freedom of religion.
To open this discussion, I would like to start with the civil liberty of freedom of religion. This liberty was identified in my original Constitution essay through the mentioning of the separation of church and state clause. The reason for my including of this liberty, and my stressing of its importance, is that I feel that the government interprets this liberty in a one sided fashion because of the incorrect interpretation of the already in place separation of church and state clause. I also include it because I believe that recently the attacks upon religion have metastasized and tha...
The First Amendment clearly voices a great American respect toward the freedom of religion. It also prevents the government from "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Since the early history of our country, the protection of basic freedoms has been of the utmost importance to Americans.
There are two parts to the freedom of religion that the First Amendment refers to: the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. The establishment clause forbids the government from declaring a specific religion for the state and supporting any laws that are biased regarding a religion. Every law or clause has standards and this specific clause has been challenged in court numerous times. This clause implicates a div...
Religion has always been a topic that makes people uncomfortable, it has sparked wars, legal cases and arguments. This is a controversial issue that reigns havoc in many countries and because of this American citizens are afforded religious freedom through the US constitution. The goal of the United States government has never been to make our nation irreligious but to uphold the values of religious freedom.
The five right listed under the First Amendment are: Freedom of religion; “Congress shall not make no law respecting an establishment of religion”. Citizens are allowed to practice any religion they want.
The first amendment applies to every single citizen in the country, but most of them do not even know what it is about or what it means. The first amendment states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." In other words, the first amendment defends humans' rights to worship-or not worship- who ever they want, their right to express ideas and beliefs, and their right to unite and protest for what they believe right.