Religious Liberty
Religious Liberty is a legal concept. It is an idea that has grown out of the
great Protestant Reformation of the 15th &16th centuries. Men and women of courage stood up to the erroneous teachings of the Roman Catholic church and placed their faith in the living God as He revealed Himself to them in His Holy Word. Their motto was: "Sola Scriptura", the Bible and the
Bible only".
Religious Liberty is a theory which suggests that the individual is free to
worship how he chooses to worship, whom he wishes to worship and in what manner
he decides to worship. It also prescribes that the state may not impose any
particular religion on the people.
That belief is contrary to the teachings of the church of Rome and has found its finest hour in the American psyche. It is expressed thus in the American Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting the 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’ (First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution) It is this proclamation that allows us to pursue the religious ideology of our choosing. It assures us the right to be of whatever religious persuasion we choose. James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, declared in an address to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1785: “…"We hold it for a fundamental and undeniable truth that religion, or the duty which we owe our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence. The religion, then, of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man: and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate". Our very existence as a free, Protestant nation is intimately connected with this notion of Religious Liberty. Indeed, it is the very foundation of who we are as a people. But this ideal is being threatened. Current trends in Religious Liberty. Learn more about the First Amenment.
great Protestant Reformation of the 15th &16th centuries. Men and women of courage stood up to the erroneous teachings of the Roman Catholic church and placed their faith in the living God as He revealed Himself to them in His Holy Word. Their motto was: "Sola Scriptura", the Bible and the
Bible only".
Religious Liberty is a theory which suggests that the individual is free to
worship how he chooses to worship, whom he wishes to worship and in what manner
he decides to worship. It also prescribes that the state may not impose any
particular religion on the people.
That belief is contrary to the teachings of the church of Rome and has found its finest hour in the American psyche. It is expressed thus in the American Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting the 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’ (First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution) It is this proclamation that allows us to pursue the religious ideology of our choosing. It assures us the right to be of whatever religious persuasion we choose. James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, declared in an address to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1785: “…"We hold it for a fundamental and undeniable truth that religion, or the duty which we owe our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence. The religion, then, of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man: and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate". Our very existence as a free, Protestant nation is intimately connected with this notion of Religious Liberty. Indeed, it is the very foundation of who we are as a people. But this ideal is being threatened. Current trends in Religious Liberty. Learn more about the First Amenment.
