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Freedom Of Religion Is Closely Associated With Separation

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Freedom of religion is closely associated with separation of church and state, a concept advocated by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. The United States Constitution addresses the issue of religion in two places: in the First Amendment, and the Article VI prohibition on religious tests as a condition for holding public office. The First Amendment prohibits the Congress from making a law “respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ” (Christofferson 1). This provision was later expanded to state and local governments, through the Incorporation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Religious freedom is more than just the freedom to believe what you want. It’s also the freedom to talk about and act on your core …show more content…

In the article Klicka also argues that because of the Supreme Court Case, “City of Boerne vs. Flores…[which] by a 6-3 majority… [declared] the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) unconstitutional” (Klicka 1). It is noted that because of the fact that this particular Act, the RFRA, was ruled unconstitutional, it has hurt the people’s religious freedoms, and they no longer have the religious freedoms. The author also cites that because of this Supreme Court decision, there has been decreasing religious freedoms in many different ways. For example, “There have been conflicts with zoning ordinances, such as shutting down a church ministry to the homeless because it was located on the second floor of a building with no elevator” and “A church was prohibited by a local city ordinance from feeding more than 50 poor people per day” (Klicka 1). The evidence used in this piece is in fact valid and timely. It gives the reader a reason why religious freedoms are necessary. One of the fundamental ideas in which this country was founded upon was religious freedom, and anyone who is a citizen of America wants the rights that they were promised upon birth to be protected. The evidence used by Klicka cites numerous Supreme Court cases, as well as different acts to support his claims. By doing this he makes it seem that states must act and enact their own Religious Freedoms

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