NEW COVER STORY: Religious freedom is America’s greatest export—and it’s under attack
.videocontent{position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%}.tvplayer > div {position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%} U.S. Up! Up! I beseech you…. Shut your gates,” said a prominent New Yorker who would soon launch a political career.
But the Catholic example also is a hopeful one, as it shows how far we’ve come. Catholics, the largest religious denomination in the United States, have full religious freedom. The single day that best exemplified the dramatic reversal of status was October 5, 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court began its session by seating six Catholics and three Jews as the justices. In fact, despite recurring controversies, the United States provides a uniquely robust form of religious liberty.
The persecution of Mormons was especially brutal. In 1838, the governor of Missouri issued Executive Order 44, calling for the “extermination” of the Mormons. Three days after the order was issued, on October 30, 1838, about 250 Missourians, including a state senator, arrived at Haun’s Mill, a small Mormon community, and opened fire. In all, 17 Mormons were killed and 15 wounded.
And then there were the battles between American Protestants and Catholics, which spanned from the 1600s until the 1960s. In the 19th century, the conflict focused on Protestant insistence that the King James Bible be taught in the public schools. Catholics asked that they be able to read their preferred edition, the Douay-Rheims translation.
No group did more to advance religious freedom than evangelical Christians. We owe our freedoms in part to evangelicals like the Reverend John Waller, who was preaching in Caroline County, Virginia, in 1771 when an Anglican minister strode up to the pulpit and jammed the butt end of a horse whip into Waller’s mouth. Waller was dragged outside, where a local sheriff beat him bloody. He spent 113 days in jail for the crime of being a Baptist preacher.
President Franklin Roosevelt declared religious freedom to be a defining characteristic of American patriotism. Stock Montage/Getty Survivors at Germany’s Buchenwald concentration camp were a horrific example of the potential of religious intolerance and hate. Corbis/Getty But on June 17, 1963, the Supreme Court ruled 7–2 in favor of Sherbert, saying the state could infringe upon someone’s religious practice only if there is a “compelling state interest” and no other regulation could be conjured to achieve that same goal. Otherwise, the state must “accommodate” the person’s religious practice. In other words, the state had to bend over backward to avoid making a religious person choose between the law and his or her faith.
But while the American model of religious freedom has come a long way in recent years, it has shown fragility. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, declared that “Islam is a political ideology. It definitely hides behind being a religion.” Retired Lieutenant General William Boykin, an anti-Islam activist, explained that because Islam is “a totalitarian way of life, it should not be protected under the First Amendment.”
Fox host Jeanine Pirro targeted respected Muslims who had participated in interfaith religious ceremonies. “Muslims were even invited to worship at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.,” she said. “They have conquered us through immigration. They have conquered us through interfaith dialogue.” Public opinion about Muslims, which had been worsening for a decade, darkened as the 2016 election approached. The percentage of Republicans who said at least half of the Muslims living in the United States were anti-American jumped from 47 percent in 2002 to 63 percent in 2016. In one poll, only half of Republicans were willing to declare that Islam should be legal in America.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
U.S. health agency finalizes controversial 'religious freedom' rulePhysicians and medical groups have warned the rule would erode protections for vulnerable patients in health care, including gay and transgender individuals.
Read more »
Joe: Pence lying while praising Trump for religious freedomThis week, the president announced a new HHS rule expanding protection for health care institutions who refuse to pay for or provide services they say violate their religious beliefs. VP Mike Pence at the National Day of Prayer breakfast spoke about Trump not penalizing people for their religious beliefs.
Read more »
'Religious freedom’ rule could cause ‘significant damage’ to LGBTQ health care, advocates say“LGBTQ people, and especially transgender people, already suffer disproportionate levels of discrimination in health care settings.”
Read more »
Opinion | America’s greatest terrorist threat? White supremacists.U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski writes in Opinions: Can we forget politics and just focus on keeping people safe?
Read more »
Analysis | At a National Day of Prayer speech, Trump falsely claims there was little religious freedom before his electionAnalysis: At a National Day of Prayer speech, Trump falsely claims there was little religious freedom before his election
Read more »
Perspective | What happened to U.S. evangelicals? In early America, they were our freedom fighters.No religious group did more in early U.S. history to advance religious freedom. Can they regain their moral authority?
Read more »
Betsy DeVos: It's not about me, it's about students'As much as many in the media use my name as clickbait or try to make it all about me, it’s not,' Betsy DeVos said. 'Education is not about Betsy DeVos nor any other individual.'
Read more »
Quakers ponder the ultimate religious questionA flexible faith ponders the ultimate religious question
Read more »
Iran must resist U.S. sanctions through oil, non-oil exports: RouhaniPresident Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by co...
Read more »
Iran's oil exports to slide in May, but not to zero: sourcesIranian oil exports will slide in May as the United States tightens the screws o...
Read more »