The Freedom of Religion: Past and Current
Freedom of religion and belief is considered by many to be a fundamental human right in our age, though it is a guarantee only by a democratic government for freedom of belief and freedom of worship. But the meaning of freedom of religion has been evolved throughout history, and people in 17th century might perceive it radically different from nowadays. In old times, freedom of religion has been mainly used to refer to the tolerance of different theology views of belief, a freedom of different worship rituals. In modern times, however, the freedom of religion has been extended to its extreme boundary, to include, particularly the freedom to practice no religion or the belief that there exists no deity or God. This stretch out is somewhat confused to many people, religious or nonreligious alike, but it is surely becoming an ever-heated debating topic among different groups.
During middle ages, the Catholic Church kept a tight rein on religious expression. The Spanish Inquisition has been viewed as one of the most notorious example of religious intolerance and persecution, in which the Jews were the major victims along with some other so-called heresy. Later on, the protestant movement, initiated by Martin Luther became the new target of religious persecution in Europe. It took a century for the protestant to win a seat in the sect of mainstream religion in Europe. However, the Protestants often proved as intolerant of differences of opinion as the Catholics. As intolerance of dissident forms of Protestantism continued, dissident puritans sought refuge, first in Holland, and ultimately in America, forming the largest exodus of pilgrims in Europe history. Since the first colonist settlement in Jamestown of Virginia in 1607, pilgrims pilgrim founded colonies kept expanded in northeast of the New Continent.
However, when the pilgrims crossing over the Atlantic Ocean, they didn’t leave religious intolerance behind at all. Persecution continued even in the New World among different groups, though overall in a much alleviated degree.
Anne Hutchinson was a perfect illustration of such religion intolerance in early America. She was an unauthorized Puritan preacher of a bible discussion group. She started the Bible-study class in her home to discuss the literal words of the Bible. At the some point, she moved into the more controversial practice of commenting on teachings from the established pulpit. Members included men like Sir Henry Vane, who would become the governor of the colony. After Vane stepped down, the new governor did not share Vane’s opinion of Hutchinson. He and the established religious hierarchy considered her teachings to be heretical and a threat to the city. They accused Hutchinson of blasphemy and of lewd conduct. She was put on trail, found guilty and eventually banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
However, when the first 13 Colonies declared independence as a nation, the founder fathers realized the importance of religious freedom to a modern republican country. The freedom of religion is therefore codified in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which declares: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"[1].
That is also one reason the new country is also called a free land, ever since its independence in 1792. Even today, people still migrate to America, just for the freedom of religious expression, which could be a dream in their previous country. As a nation, it still believes religions freedom is one of the most important human rights. "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance."[2], as declared in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nation in 1948.
In today’s world, however, the freedom of religion has been extremely explored conceptually in terms of the law on separation of religion and state, and it has been extended to cover not only tolerance of different religions, but also tolerance of intolerance of different religion. In an other word, one is seeing that religious expression or the word God is not allowed in public places, such as public schools and government institutions. The atheistic individuals or groups might claim being insulted by other’s religious expression in public place or feel like being enforced to accept other’s belief system. This new development on the arena of freedom of religion has been very well demonstrated by many a lawsuit brought up by a bunch of staunch atheistic individuals or groups. For instance, the display of Ten Commandments in courthouses has been a fierce legal fight on several county level governments. The phrase" under God" in the Pledge of Alliance as well as the word "in God we trust" printed on the US coins and paper money has also brought about hilarious lawsuits against public schools and other government facilities. The whole concept of freedom of religion is undergoing a totally new interpretation as the legal quarrel over it continues.
[1]. First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
[2]. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
