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Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:21:granted all men - even Jews - the right to worship…(Alan Sinder)

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This is a page for Freedom of Religion

Stephenson

Just another clever history lesson of Enoch's for Ben and Godfrey.

Authored entries

Wikipedia: Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion is the individual's right or freedom to hold whatever religious beliefs he or she wishes, or none at all. This freedom extends mere freedom of thought by adding the freedom of worship and the freedom of religious congregation, and is regarded as one of the basic human rights.

During history some countries accepted some form of freedom of religion (e.g. Poland or certain Muslim countries which protected dhimmis) but very often that freedom was limited. In most parts of European society, freedom of religion was suppressed since the introduction of Christianity until the Enlightenment in the 18th century.

Earlier, the ideas of religious tolerance on the political level were invented in the Central Europe: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Hungary and Austria and were practised since the 16th century. With the expulsion of Polish brethren accused of high treason during the Deluge, the Central European ideas of tolerance were propagated to the Netherlands. Until Enlightenment it was widely accepted, however not always fully implemented: * on January 11th 1571, freedom of religion was granted to Austrian nobles; * on January 28th 1573, Warsaw convention granting freedom of religion; * on April 13th 1598, King Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots; * on July 6th 1609 Bohemia was granted freedom of religion; * on April 20th 1657, New Amsterdam granted freedom of religion to Jews; * in 1787 the US Constitution's Bill of Rights recognised the natural rights of freedom of expression, conscience, and barring state establishment of religion. * in June 1789 - France, during the declaration of the Rights of Man, included freedom of religion; * on April 13th 1829 British Parliament granted Catholic Emancipation; * on April 29th 1988 in the spirit of Glasnost, Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev promised increased religious freedoms.

On the other side of the ledger, * on February 24th 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, decreed the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Empire. * In 1552, first English Act of Uniformity

in October 1685, issue of Edict of Fontainebleau revoking the Edict of Nantes and making Protestantism illegal in France. * Pope Pius IX stated "freedom of religion" is an error

The Separation of Church and State and laïcité are related, but different concepts.

Controversies in freedom of religion

Wikipedia: Religious pluralism

Religious pluralism refers to the attitude that one can overcome religious differences between different religions, and denominational conflicts within the same religion. For most religious traditions, religious pluralism is essentially based on a non-literal view of one's religious traditions, hence allowing for respect to be engendered between different traditions on core principles rather than more marginal issues. It is perhaps summarized as an attitude which rejects focus on immaterial differences, and instead gives respect to those beliefs held in common.

The existence of religious pluralism depends on the existence of freedom of religion. Freedom of religion is when different religions of a particular region possess the same rights of worship and public expression. Freedom of religion is consequently weakened when one religion is given rights or privileges denied to others, as in certain European countries where Roman Catholicism or regional forms of Protestantism have special status. For example see the entries on the Lateran Treaty and Church of England; also, in many Muslim countries Islam is the only officially allowed religion, and other religions are prohibuted to one degree or another (see for example Saudi Arabia.) Religious freedom has not existed at all in some communist countries where the state restricts or prevents the public expression of religious belief and may even actively persecute individual religions (EG North Korea).

History of Religious Pluralism

The rise of religious pluralism in the modern West is closely associated with the Reformation and the Enlightenment. Religions like Judaism and Islam had existed alongside Christianity in many parts of Europe, but they were not allowed the same freedoms as the established form of Christianity. New forms of Christianity were suppressed by force (see for example Lombard heresy and Huguenots). Early forms of Protestantism sought the same privileges as those previously claimed by Roman Catholicism; In Protestant England, Scotland, and Ireland, there were severe legal and social on Jews and Roman Catholics until the passing of acts of emancipation in the nineteenth century.

Similar restrictions on smaller Protestant sects who disagreed with the national churches in these countries prompted such groups as the Pilgrim Fathers to seek freedom in North America, although many historians have noted that when these groups became the majority they sometimes sought to deny this freedom to Jews and Roman Catholics. However, Protestant and freethinking philosophers like John Locke and Thomas Paine, who argued for tolerance and moderation in religion, were strongly influential on the Founding Fathers, and the modern religious freedom and equality underlying religious pluralism in the United States are guaranteed by First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states:

"Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

In the United States, therefore, religious pluralism can be said to be overseen by the secular state, which guarantees equality under law between different religions, whether these religion have a handful of adherents or many millions. The state also guarantees the freedom of those who choose not to belong to any religion.

The currently orthodox view on this matter today was a long time coming, in that the several states of the US maintained state churches for several decades following the signing of the Constitution, while institutionalized prejudice and persecution of individuals by government agencies, private organizations, and other individuals continues to this day.

Atheism in particular has a controversial record of both denying to be a religion itself yet demanding first amendment protection, contorting 'freedom OF religion' into 'freedom FROM religion' as if it is the state's job to stamp out religious expression that would offend atheists.

Freedom of religion encompasses all religions acting within the law in a particular region, whether or not an individual religion accepts that other religions are legitimate or that freedom of religious choice and religious plurality in general are good things. Many religions in the United States, for example, teach that theirs is the only way to salvation and to religious truth, and some of them would even argue that it is necessary to suppress the falsehoods taught by other religions. The Jehovah's Witnesses, for example, with many other Protestant sects, argue fiercely against Roman Catholicism, and Fundamentalist Christians of all kinds teach that religious practices like those of paganism and witchcraft are pernicious and even Satanic. (Full article in link in title).