Religious Freedom In America

One of the main reasons that the settlers came and founded America was for religious freedom. Colonist made the long and dangerous journey for other reasons as well, but a major factor was the search for religious freedom. Coming to America alone did not solve this problem; the journey to religious freedom was just that, a journey. Everyone had a slightly different idea of what this new nation’s ‘religious freedom’ should look like and it took many years to come to a compromise.

After being persecuted for what they believed in, the puritans left England to practice their religion freely. I believe the first settlers did achieve their “Dream” of religious freedom after leaving England. After breaking away from their mother country, most of the puritans settled in New England. They wanted to improve human civilization through religion. The Puritans did not believe any other religion or way of living was correct so they were disliked by many and according to John Winthrop, “true Christians are of one body in Christ” (John Winthrop, A Modell of Christian Charity). They believed their way of living was the best.

Recently, students were instructed to write an essay along with a pictorial representation of the person they considered to be their hero. Since one student chose Jesus as his hero and submitted a drawing of the Last Supper, possible legal complications need to be considered before grading and displaying the assignment. An examination of First Amendment legal issues that arise when a student submits an assignment of religious nature will provide insight into how the First Amendment applies in the classroom.

"I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, ' thus building a wall of separation between church and State."5

America has been named the "melting pot" of the world. It houses many different cultures, nationalities, ideas and religions. There are Christians, Jews, Catholics, Buddhists, Mormons, Hindus, Spiritualists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Islamic, plus many more. America is unique in that all these religions are represented in a nation that is only 200 years old. And America has upheld, throughout history, that the freedom and equality of religion is extremely important in order for this nation to function as a free nation. The foundations of America were set as a result of England's persecution; more specifically, England's religious persecution. The colonists wanted to create a nation that allowed people to be free. They

The fight for religious freedom in America is tough for people who do not participate in the religion known as Christianity. Since America is a large and culturally diverse land, the United States of America’s government has to be religiously tolerant to every belief system. Throughout America's lifespan, the subject matter “Freedom of Religion” has increasingly gained attention from the American Act. Thecitizens. In order to protect the religious liberties of American citizens the government has put into place a free exercise clause in the year of 1878, this allowed American citizens to practice religion freely in America. However, many issues have risen and promoted the creation of America's Religious Freedom Act.The largest issue surrounding religious freedom in

First, a short recap on American history. During the 17th century, in England the official religion was Anglican, there were few who opposed his majesty and practiced other religions as there were punishments to these actions. Later on, these religious groups were given the opportunity to practice their faith in the New World as colonies of England. Finally, the pilgrims, puritans, Lutherans, and even Catholics had escaped religious persecution they faced in England; in the new found land they could freely practice their beliefs. Therefore, when declaring independence from England, the founding fathers wrote “freedom of religion” in the Bill of Rights and implemented a separation of church and state in order to avoid the government to influence the country based on religious convictions. In an article by Doug Weaver, Weaver references a book by Frank Lambert entitled “Separation of Church and State:

When America adopted the term Freedom, as far back as the country’s founding. To how we as a nation obtained freedom and the patriots who had to fight several wars in order to continue to possess it. As citizens and members of a society, we are extremely fortunate to have several different types of freedoms. Although this is a good thing in some cases, there comes to a point where too much freedom can be dangerous because there would essentially be no protection for the people. To prevent this from happening, we give up particular freedoms and swap it for safety. The freedoms that are most important to me are religion, economic, education, and gun control. With that being said, there should be the same “restriction” on each of the freedoms, no acts of violence will be condoned.

The act of defining religion has been a contentious issue in a wide variety of situations, particularly in the United States. The US is a nation that prides itself on religious inclusivity and freedom. There are consequences to this belief and tenant. Through the social, legal and moral structures of the United States, defining religion has become imperative. In The Impossibility of Religious Freedom, Winifred Sullivan outlines the legal implications of defining religion in the United States. In order for religious freedom to be protected by the American state, religion must be clearly defined. As a result, religious theory must be used to maintain some semblance of religious freedom in the United States. Likewise, Josh Dubler’s Down in

Religious freedom in the United States originated in the reason that many pilgrims arrived on North America’s shores. They were leaving so that they could practice their version of their religion unhindered by a government entity. This was later reaffirmed by the Constitution of the United States with the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. The laws of the land continued to be relooked at by the Supreme Court and religious freedom was one of the issues addressed. Decisions were made lessening religious freedom in the Employment Division v. Smith case and then increased with the passing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the Religious Land Use and

The first amendment of the US constitution made no law against religion which gave Americans freedom of religion and which allowed America to practice the religion of their choice. The Freedom of Worship (section 6) of the Texas constitution too discusses about the freedom of religion and the freedom to choose a religion as one desires. Both are similar in different ways. However, the Texas constitution mentions, “All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship the Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences.” This quote embraces “Almighty God” however the first amendment did not mention God; it just mentioned the freedom of religion in general. (“The Texas Constitution”). The US amendment gives more muscle power

Civil liberties are individual freedoms which are protected from the government by the Bill of Rights. There were historical backgrounds to guarantee the freedom. Although they are ruled in the Constitution, it is not easy to protect the diversity and individual freedom in the society, and not all conflicts have been settled today. Yet, people are in a process to improve democratic society which is not a finished product, and freedom in all its forms improves itself over time. I am going to explain two major liberties in the First Amendment of the Bill of Right: the freedom of religion and the freedom of the press.

As Norman Mailer once put it, "In America, the country was the religion. And all the religions of the land were fed from that first religion. . . ."

America was born out of revolution, a revolution to rid the states of an overpowering sovereign from a country where they had no representation. Therefore when writing the constitution the Founding Fathers were careful to avoid a strong centralised monarchical state that they felt would restrict the rights of the people of the United States to practice their religion and cultures freely. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging 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] This clearly states that there shall be no religious persecution, or any type of institution set up to restrict religion in the United States. America was and is supposed to be a society where everyone is equal no matter what his or her religion on social status

The United States of America was founded with a credo of religious freedom. They hoped to change the vicious cycle of religious persecution and intolerance that had been swirling through Europe for centuries. Over the last two hundred years this legacy has been shredded and stained. Our religious freedoms have been taken away by people who have twisted what our country was founded to protect.