Hey and welcome to the 94:18's Spark of Hope Blog. Today we are talking about religious freedom. The content below is a paper that I wrote for school when I was younger but I felt like it might be relevant to today's topic.
Religious freedom is very vital in the US. Without the First Amendment America would be a very different place. Also, without the First Amendment the US would be like one of the countries on Open Doors USA’s World watch list, utter chaos. The First Amendment benefits everyone in the US. The world is in a strange condition and through God can be fixed. Luckily the US has a Religious freedom clause in The US Constitution which is one of the only documents that almost nothing can be removed from! (Besides the Bible, however people strive to change it)
Religious freedom is very important in the United States. The US Constitution states in the First Amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an 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”. Without the first amendment one religious group could control what everyone else believed. Without the first amendment people could persecute Christians for their faith. This is the case many countries around the world. The Open Doors USA 2020 watch list has found that in countries without religious freedom clause, Christians are persecuted severely. In fact, in the world one out of nine Christians live is severe persecution! The top ten countries that the persecution is the most severe from ten to one are India, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia Afghanistan, and in first North Korea. The only two things these countries have in common is one, they all persecute Christians and secondly none of the countries have a religious freedom clause and are controlled by the majority religioning. It has been calculated that around eleven Christians a day die for their faith that’s four-thousand and fifteen Christians per year.
Without a religious freedom clause, the US would be like one of the countries on the world watch list. The First Amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an 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”. Without this clause, only the majority approved religion would be able to be shared or even believed. Religious freedom is the right that protects ones rights to live, speak, and act according to their beliefs. Thus no one has to conform to what the government or culture says the right religion is. Absolutely everyone benefits from religious freedom no matter what they believe. The people who live in a country with a religious freedom clause do not have to live in fear of persecution. With a religious freedom clause in the country no one can deny you a job just because of what you believe. Whereas in a country without a religious freedom clause they employer can discriminate against you for what you believe and either not hire you or fire you on the spot. Each person in a country with a religious freedom clause benefit from it. In countries with a religious freedom clause the government cannot force you into a faith of a different religion. However, countries without a religious freedom clause are not so lucky. In those countries the government can force you to change your beliefs and if you refuse can kill you. The government in those countries can take everything from you, kill loved ones, and destroy your home or religious place. Religious freedom prevents the majority from forcing otherings into a certain belief. The good news is that even though governments in countries without a religious freedom clause may be able to hurt and kill you but as long as you believe in God they cannot kill your spirit. Virginia was the birth place of religious freedom. Surprisingly, Virginia lead a “conquest” of a better life than being controlled by England. As a start Virginia was the home to five different US presidents, also known as the Virginian Dynasty, who lead a push for a better country and freedom from the rules and laws of England.
Religious freedom is very vital in the US. First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an 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” Without the first amendment one religious group could control what everyone else believed. Without a religious freedom clause, the US would be like one of the countries on the world watch list. Religious freedom prevents the majority from forcing otherings into a certain belief. All-in-All religious freedom is very important to everyone’s lives in the US and none of that could have happened in Virginia had not made a push.
Ok a few quick notes about above. I do realize that the Freedom of Religion cause was signed into affect in the signing of the constitution. Why I said that Virginia was the birth place of religious freedom was because from the time that the pilgrims set foot down in Virginia until the Religious Freedom was official there was a ongoing fight to establish a single religion.
Anyways, until next time, God bless
J.C. Bridgewater
94:18 Christian Studios
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