Religion and Theology

The fundamental law of the land contains many freedoms that have become the stronghold of the American Society. Among these freedoms available to the people of the United States is their freedom of religion. Since time immemorial, people have suffered persecution simply because they stood up for what they believe is right. Some people valued their faith so much and by refusing to give up, they paid the price with their lives. The founding fathers placed this clause in the Constitution because of many reasons. They were aware of how important religion is to the people and as such, they felt the need to secure and protect that right by putting it in the First Amendment. Furthermore, history is filled with religious prosecutions that endangered many societies. The establishment clause also protected the church from the corruption of the politics (Craig). With everything that the framers went through for the enforcement of this right, it is a depressing fact that nowadays, this very sacred right is being openly violated. Today is the time to remind the people about the importance and value of the First Amendment.

The First Amendment of the American Constitution safeguards the right of the people to religion and expression against the interference of the government. The two clauses stated in the First Amendments ensures the safety of the freedom of religion. The establishment clause expressly forbids the government from enacting any laws that prefer one religion over and above another. It also upholds the separation of the church and the state ( First Amendment ).

Many people feel that regardless of the protection afforded by legislations, their freedom to express their religion has been restricted. Some of them feel that their freedom is being hampered because they cannot say Merry Christmas in some stores while some people feel that their right is violated because there are some pledges in schools that the students are not allowed to say.  Jurisprudence also shows how the Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment right of the people in expressing their religion. The case of Engel v. Vitale (1962) was one of the landmark cases about the freedom of religion that was decided by the Supreme Court. The Board of Regents for New York allowed their day to begin with a nondenominational prayer acknowledging their dependence upon God. The invocation is as follows  God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Three and beg Thy blessings upon us, our teachers, and our country . The Supreme Court held that requiring this prayer daily means that New York city has approved a religion which is an express violation of the Constitution. As such, the government must not sponsor any religious activities.

The struggle for freedom of religion has been going on for many years and this conflict has led to many tragedies but even so, this right is not only supported by domestic laws it is also supported by international laws as well. The United Nations has already declared the significance of the freedom of religion in Article 18 of their Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that  Everyone shall have a right to the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes the freedom to have a religion or whatever belief of his (her) choice ( Freedom of Religion or Belief ).

Former President Clinton is of the view that in order to safeguard the rights stated in the First Amendment, both the freedom of speech and religion must be balanced. A persons ability to practice his speech or religion does not have any bearing on the freedom of speech of other people. The protection of speech that is about religion is of extreme importance because people with different faiths will surely hold divergent views about their religions and these differences must be met with extreme caution and tolerance rather than suppression. Clinton also said that the freedom of religion is what allows a nation to be more stable and prosperous. Former Assistant Secretary of the State for democracy Michael Posner aptly observed that the authoritarian regimes that suppressed the freedom of religion for the sake of stability have created the very condition that subverted their goals. The coerciveness and arbitrariness of these governments hardened the resentment of the people and this situation led to insurgency (Morse).

Another problem about the First Amendment right that the people have been encountering is the discrimination against the minority religions. This is an ongoing problem that not only the American society has been experiencing but the entire globe as well. Some people argue that since United States was founded on Christian faith, this fact must be used as a guide for which other religions are recognized. On the other hand, the minority argues that since every person has a right to free speech, those who have the opinion outside of the majority must be respected as well.  Even if Christian values are acceptable to many people, those who have different beliefs are not able to get the same recognition and protection for their rights. The minority religions are continuously struggling for equal rights for quite sometime now. One common example of a group that has been vying for equal rights of their religious freedom are those that belong to the military. According to Alan Cooperman of the Washington Post, the figures in Pentagon show that there are 2,900 active clergies in the military, 41 Mormon chaplains for about 17,513 Mormons, 22 Rabis for about 4,038 Jews and 11 Imams for 3,386 Muslims, 6 teachers for about 636 Christian Scientists, and only one Buddhist chaplain for 4,546 Buddhists. Outside of the military, the ratio and the proportion of the non-Christians is very high as well. The study conducted by the Graduate Center of New York, about 77 of the Americans identify themselves as Christians and this has been declining from 86 to 77 between 1990 and 2001 (CUNY).

The government has the power to restrict the peoples right of speech and expression under their inherent right of police power in order to protect the general welfare but they can never take away the right of the people to believe. Religion is one of the most important aspect of a persons life. Since the dawn of time, humans have an innate longing and belief there is a greater being out there. This is a freedom that has existed long before any laws have and without it, the people do not have anything to look forward to.