Richard Allen 's Freedom Of Religion

James Madison and Thomas Jefferson are two of the seven key founding fathers of the United States. The motive of the founders of the U.S. was to establish religious freedom in the colonies; therefore, religion was of importance to them. When the policy of the separation of church and state was enacted by the founding fathers through the Constitution, it meant that under a secular government, religious freedom would always be protected. Issues such as the freedom to practice one’s religion arose in the earlier colonies and the separation of church and states prevents these issues from occurring again. The separation of church and state protects the rights of all and ensures religious freedom. This policy has proven to be nothing but a

"Prayer has been banished from schools and the ACLU rampages to remove “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. Moreover, “Separation of Church and State” is nowhere found in the Constitution or any other founding legislation. Our forefathers would never countenance the restrictions on religion exacted today." -- Bill Flax, Forbes, 2011

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

Slavery has existed for eons in human history, as we can trace slavery back to Babylonian times. The African Blacks were definitely not the first to be enslaved. However, it seems as if they were indeed treated the worst by their white masters than had any slaves before them been treated. The stories of the horrendous treatment endured by many slaves for the simple wish to be free are horrendous and heartbreaking. I believe there is no person better qualified to inform the world of the horrors of slavery, and to stand behind the idea of abolition, besides a former slave. This man was able to rise above every adversity thrown at him, he taught himself how to read, he observed everything going on around him, and learned from those experiences.

Is our society’s strict adherence to religious freedoms costing the lives of innocent children? The Christian Science Church rely on the Establishment Clause and The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment as granting themselves and their children exemption from medical intervention. But because of their insistence in relying solely on prayer for the healing their sick children, approximately one child a month in the U.S. is known to die from an illness that would have been curable had they had medical attention. 1 Religious liberties of parents might protect their beliefs, but it should not protect their conduct of denying the rights of a child to his or her life.

Rev Richard Allen was a freed African American male in the 18th century considered to be a teacher, social activist, philanthropist and politician. In what ways has he helped his fellow African Americans to be free? How did his religion play a factor? What were the reactions of non- African Americans?

decided to stand up for the enslaved African Americans, and in several instances African Americans

Shortly after being freed, Richard Allen joined the Old St. Georges Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, where blacks and whites worshiped together. As a free black man, he became an associate minister at the church, leading prayer meetings for the African American Congregants. Allen developed an idea to start a separate black church, an idea that was rejected by the St. George’s officials; so, he continued to hold special services for the African Americans starting as early as five in the morning. Allen’s charismatic sermons were delivered so powerfully that they drew many blacks to the Methodist Church. Allen saw that since the people of color began to fill up the church, preventing the white congregants from finding seats; but standing

Religion is a necessity to life, as backed up by Thomas Paine’s “American Crisis.” Paine has had quite the history revolving around the American government, as he wrote “Common Sense,” a best seller that offered a rhetorical view about why the colonies should split from Britain. However, he then decided to write “American Crisis” in order to offer his unique but logical view on religion and how everyone should go about deciding what they worship. His idea was that religion is necessary in order to live and keep one’s morals straight, however widespread religion are corrupting and brainwashing everybody, so everyone should have their own religion in the church of their mind.

Damon Fowler, a juvenile protestant against religious activities, expressed his perspective of religious affairs before an upcoming graduation ceremony. Thus, his acts to stop the forthcoming religious practice that would have occurred during the ceremony took place, and the religious prayer was cancelled. Therefore, the aftermath of the high school student opposition did not cease with only the religious intervention. The complaint that was reported by the student, was also followed by an individual leaking his name as the one behind the complaint. As a result, Damon Fowler has been publicly demeaned by teachers and other students, physically threatened which also involved death threats, and was ostracized from his local community. The foregoing case is just one of

Freedom of Religion is the freedom to pursue any religion you choose without fear of government persecution, sanction or reprisal. Freedom of Religion is protected under the first amendment, which gives American citizens the right to freedom of “speech, religion, press and to assemble and petition”. When the founders wrote it in the Bill of Rights, they put it first for a reason. The original pilgrims fled England after facing religious persecution from the Church of England. Over the years, America still struggles to define what that means. Though we are still arguing, the definitions are surprisingly easy for something that has been argued over so much.

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.

Born into slavery in 1760, Richard Allen later bought his freedom and went on to found the first national black church in the United States, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1816.

The free exercise of religion, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of assembly are each absolutely essential for the health of our Republic. That is why the Founding Fathers enshrined them all in the First Amendment. While some people up hold the first amendment and respect its meaning. Unfortunately, these freedoms are currently under assault by the government, state officials and communities.

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.