Freedom of Religion

I contend that America was founded to give it's citizens freedom of religion. Many left their homes and traveled far seeking freedom from persecution. Or those that wanted to determine how they should worship. God Himself gave mankind freedom; the freedom to worship Him or not. He sent his Son, and later the Holy Spirit to give us direction. He gave us his Word. America "still" gives each individual this same God given freedom. We may worship Him in any manner we choose or not at all. It is as simple as that. But there are those people, mostly from the secular humanist anti-God liberal left that prefer "freedom from religion" rather than "freedom of religion." They are not satisfied with their freedom to reject God but insist, by and large through the courts, that God be taken out of all public discourse.

In fact they have had their greatest successes through the courts. Successes they could have never had in any other manner. When we vote for liberals, of either party, we subsequently get liberal secular humanist anti-God judges that make secular humanist anti-God rulings. And impose their values on our families. Some groups, like the ACLU, attack God, and our freedoms, by suing schools, cities or other groups that in some way honor or merely mention God. The Boy Scouts of America are one obvious example. Schools that choose to sing Christmas songs, at Christmas, are another example. The ACLU merely sues one school, and that school not wanting to face the huge costs of litigation caves, and yet other schools follow. The ACLU states they stand for freedom. They do not. If I have freedom that means I can stand before a public school audience and thank God. It is then me, not the school, making this declaration. I believe we should have the freedom to have prayer in public schools. We should have the freedom to sing Christmas songs at Christmas. We should have the freedom to honor God when and where we choose. Our schools should be able to teach creationism along with the "theory" of evolution. In early America, the bible was often used as text to teach reading. Only centuries later was it determined, by the courts, that this is unconstitutional. Those that do not believe in God may certainly believe what they choose to believe and live their lives as they choose. After all, God has given us great freedoms. Especially here in America. Many, many other places have never had freedom and religious persecution is still alive and well in many places.

I want and insist upon freedom of religion. Not just for myself but for everyone. After all, to many "human secularism" is their religion. Others worship the Earth and are pagans.

I add an article that describes how President Bush sees the role of faith in America.

By James G. Lakely

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Published January 12, 2005

President Bush said yesterday that he doesn't "see how you can be president without a relationship with the Lord," but that he is always mindful to protect the right of others to worship or not worship.

Mr. Bush told editors and reporters of The Washington Times yesterday in an interview in the Oval Office that many in the public misunderstand the role of faith in his life and his view of the proper relationship between religion and the government.

"I think people attack me because they are fearful that I will then say that you're not equally as patriotic if you're not a religious person," Mr. Bush said. "I've never said that. I've never acted like that. I think that's just the way it is.

"On the other hand, I think more and more people understand the importance of faith in their life," he said. "America is a remarkable place when it comes to religion and faith. We had people come to our rallies who were there specifically to say, 'I'm here to pray for you, let you know I'm praying for you.' And I was very grateful about that."

Liberals have challenged his faith-based initiative, which allows religious organizations to apply for government funds to administer social services such as drug rehabilitation and food banks.

The president said there is no reason to fear his conspicuous practice of his Methodist faith or his approval of religious expression in the public square.

Mr. Bush said he leans heavily on his religion every day that he is in the Oval Office and cannot imagine any man handling the pressures of the job without leaning on God.

"I fully understand that the job of the president is and must always be protecting the great right of people to worship or not worship as they see fit," Mr. Bush said. "That's what distinguishes us from the Taliban. The greatest freedom we have or one of the greatest freedoms is the right to worship the way you see fit.

"On the other hand, I don't see how you can be president at least from my perspective, how you can be president, without a relationship with the Lord," he said.

Michael Newdow, the California atheist who famously failed to get the words "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance, is now attempting to get a D.C. District Court to prevent clergy from participating in Mr. Bush's inauguration.

"I will have my hand on the Bible," Mr. Bush said, expressing a tone of amusement and exasperation that one day, even the 216-year-old centerpiece of the inaugural ceremony might be challenged.

However, Mr. Bush said that unlike many Christians, he does not think that faith is under attack by culture at large and points to the "backlash" against attempts to further secularize the public square as proof.

"The great thing about our country is somebody can stand up and say, 'We should try to take "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance,'" Mr. Bush said. "On the other hand, the backlash was pretty darn significant.

"This is a country that is a value-based country," he said. "Whether they voted for you or not, there's a lot of values in this country, for which I'm real proud."

Mr. Bush said he has "still got a rigorous agenda" for his faith-based initiative.

The federal government has funneled "about $1.2 billion" to religious groups so far, the president said, and he hopes to improve on that in the next four years.

"What we are going to do in the second term is to make sure that the grant money is available for faith communities to bid on, to make sure these faith-based offices are staffed and open," Mr. Bush said. "But the key thing is, is that we do have the capacity to allow faith programs to access enormous sums of social service money, which I think is important."