Saturday, January 16, 2010

National religious freedom day

Today is religious freedom day. January 16.
Here is an article from Wikipedia.
National Religious Freedom Day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly's adoption of Thomas Jefferson's landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on January 16, 1786. This vital document became the basis for the separation of church and state, and led to freedom of religion for all Americans as protected in the religion clause in the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

Religious Freedom Day is officially proclaimed on January 16 each year by an annual statement by the President of the United States. This day is commemorated by the First Freedom Center in Richmond, Virginia by an annual First Freedom Award banquet.
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Religious freedom is very important. Believing in religious freedom for all does not mean you agree with all of them, but only that all have freedom to have their own beliefs and practices.
The idea of separation of church and state came from here, but the idea was never separation of state FROM religion. Everyone has a right to have their religion - and to speak about it publicly - which is what freedom of religion means.
There are those who would ban religion from the public square. I think that is the biggest threat to religious freedom that we have in the USA.

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