Status of religious freedom in the United States
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Controversy rages in the United States between those who wish to restrict government involvement with religious institutions and remove religious references from government institutions and property, and those who wish to loosen such prohibitions. Advocates for stronger separation of church and state emphasize the plurality of faiths and non-faiths in the country, and what they see as broad guarantees of the federal Constitution. Their opponents generally feel that acknowledgment of religion is not necessarily an endorsement, and also emphasize what they see as the largely Christian heritage and history of the nation (including the references to "Nature's God" and the "Creator" of men in the Declaration of Independence.
The affirmation or denial of specific religious beliefs had in the past been made into qualifications for public office, however, the United States Constitution states that the inauguration of a President may include an "affirmation" of the faithful execution of his duties rather than an "oath" to that effect -- this provision was included in order to respect the religious prerogatives of the Quakers, a Protestant Christian denomination that declines the swearing of oaths. The U.S. Constitution also provides that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification of any Office or public Trust under the United States." These two provisions of course preceded the bill of rights with its First Amendment protection for free exercise of religion and the establishment clause.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, first proposed in 1789, prohibits the federal government from "respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof[.]" In later centuries, this provision has been expanded to state and local governments, and has also been expanded in scope and enforcement.
Many states had laws prohibiting blasphemy, and, throughout the 19th century, prosecuted those publicly advocating atheism.[1] (http://www.atheists.org/Atheism/blasphemy1.html)
In 1944 a joint committee of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America and the Foreign Missions Conference of North America, formulated a “Statement on Religious Liberty”
- “Religious Liberty shall be interpreted to include freedom to worship according to conscience and to bring up children in the faith of their parents; freedom for the individual to change his religion; freedom to preach, educate, publish and carry on missionary activities; and freedom to organise with others, and to acquire and hold property, for these purposes.”
Problems sometimes arise in the workplace concerning religious observance when a private employer discharges an employee for failure to report to work on what the employee considers a Holy day or a day of rest. In the United States, the view that has generally prevailed is that firing for any cause in general renders a former employee ineligible for unemployment compensation, but that this is no longer the case if the 'cause' is religious in nature, especially an employee's unwillingness to work on his or her sabbath.
Problems also arise in USA public schools within the concerning teachings and display of religious issues. In various countries school choice and education vouchers have been put forward as solutions to accommodate variety in beliefs and freedom of religion, by allowing individual school boards to choose between a secular, religious or multi-faith vocation, and allowing parents free choice among these schools.
