– U.S.
“...no
man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship,
place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained,
molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise
suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but that all
men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their
opinions in matters of Religion...”
Thomas
Jefferson wrote these words as part of the Virginia Statute for
Religious Freedom. Virginia's lawmakers adopted the statute on this
day in 1786.
Today
is the anniversary of that landmark legislation, and so today is
celebrated as Religious Freedom Day.
A
law is termed “landmark legislation” if it is a new idea that is
often copied, a turning point of sorts for people and governments.
Since 1786, the U.S. adopted the famous First Amendment to the
constitution, stating “Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof”; the
legislatures of many other nations have since passed similar bills.
Remember,
that means that there is no state religion in the United States (as
there is in England, for example). It means that one religion cannot
be favored over another by the government or its organizations (such
as public schools). And it means that nobody can be legally punished
for their religious viewpoints or membership, nor for having no
religious beliefs.
Although
religious freedom is hugely important to most Americans, Jefferson's
great idea leads to a certain amount of controversy, too. For
example, some people are upset that kids can't pray in public
schools. But that's just not true. Kids can silently pray anytime
they want to in public school—who would even know? Similarly, kids
can pray aloud or in small groups in some settings and at some times
in public school. But school teachers and administrators cannot lead
classes or the entire school in prayer. Anyone who thinks that the
principal should be able to lead everyone in prayer should
imagine that principal doing so from the vantage point of another
religion. For example, a Christian student who wishes there could be
a public prayer at graduation should imagine someone leading all the
participants to pray to Allah. Mmm, maybe not such a good idea, after
all, is it? A Jewish or Muslim student would feel left out if the
principal invoked the name of Jesus in a prayer, and a Buddhist or
atheist student would probably feel left out by a prayer to a
supposedly non-denominational God.
Here
is a news item about freedom of religion, from just a couple of days
ago. Note that you can view the results of the online poll, which seems
to show that most Americans do understand the value of the separation
of church and state. (Hooray!)
Also
on this date:
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