Jan 16 2009
Happy Religious Freedom Day!
January 16th is “Religious Freedom Day” in America, which has been proclaimed by the President since 1993.
“This commemoration marks the passage on January 16, 1786, of a significant document authored by Thomas Jefferson: the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.”(heritage.org)
Today is the time to reflect on our great freedom to believe or not believe in any religion you want. Around the world many others do not have the religious freedom that we do and often have to pay in their death, here are the top 10 Persecution stories of 2008.
Our founding fathers escaped persecution from their King in order to give every human, freedoms and rights that were given to us not be government, but by our divine creator.
May Americans not be sued for not wanting to do something, because of their religious beliefs. May we all look towards God more instead of the government. May “so help me God,” always stay at the President’s inauguration. May “Under God,” always stay in 
America’s pledge of allegiance. May “In God we Trust,” always stay on America’s currency.
“Finally, let us not forget the religious character of our origin. Our fathers were brought hither by their high veneration for the Christian religion. They journeyed by its light, and labored in its hope. They sought to incorporate its principles with the elements of their society, and to diffuse its influence through all their institutions, civil, political, or literary.”
Daniel Webster
“Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure (and) which insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.”
Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration of Independence
“Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature.”
Benjamin Franklin
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”
Patrick Henry
“If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be; If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy, If the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will; If the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end.”
Daniel Webster
The beautiful thing about freedom of religion is also freedom FROM religion!
Amen, Jason.
There is no freedom FROM religion.
Everyone worships something.
Science, Money, Man, The Earth.
Freedom of religion means you get to choose.
And when you stand on the corner spouting what you beleive. I will defend your right to do so.
When I bow my head quietly in prayer I would appreciate the same.
I couldn’t agree more. Amen!
Jason - WHy would anyone want freedom FROM religion? Thats just silly
http://singlegirlinsincity.blogspot.com/
Because Serena Denise some people are just Satan loving sodomites…………Like Jason for example. He just loves to have sex with other men and being liberal and having no hope or anything to live for. He is what we can a HOMOSEXUAL. Look it up sometime.
TJJ
Serena, why wouldn’t I want to be free of ancient mythology that I consider out of context in a modern world? Why wouldn’t I want to be free from a bunch of authoritarians who want to tell me how to live? Why wouldn’t I want to be free of dogma that goes against my own rational thought? Why wouldn’t I want to be free of institutions that have caused the majority of bloodshed in this world? But I’ve seen what you look like and if you ever wanted to try to convert me…
Steve, I respect your right to believe in whatever you want. I don’t see a whole lot of that same respect coming from the majority of religious people to those of us who chose to remain godless. If more religious people were like you, you’d see a whole lot less angry atheists (and I’m not nearly as angry as some of these people with their lawsuits and in-your-face disrespect).
And Tommy Boy, man up and stop being an anonymous troll jerkoff. You’re not worthy to sniff the real Thomas Jefferson’s ass, you pathetic repressed hypocrite loser. You seem to be rather interested in my sexuality, and that’s a whole lot gayer than my desire to seeing everyone having equal rights regardless of their sexuality. Hey, I even think you should have equal rights, despite your obvious mental handicap and sexual repression.
Jason - I really dont understand what you mean by being anonymous…. “Jason” is anonymous is it not?
I see that in addition to being a sexually repressed troll, you’re also a rocket scientist. Bravo. Anyone else have the patience to explain basic internet skills to this assclown?
If you are referring to the fact that I dont list my blog on here it is because I DONT HAVE ONE! Dumbass. I go on here because I know Ally personally and I like to comment and support her blog. And by the way Im not sexually repressed. Just ask my boyfriend. LOL
Serena, I’m not feeling repressed or even oppressed, but I do think that many religious groups in this country have aspirations of theocracy, and I find that to be dangerous. The fundies want to rule this country by their ultra-conservative interpretation of the bible, and that’s as scary to me as the Taliban running Afghanistan by their ultra-conservative interpretation of the Koran. Google the word “dominionism” for an example of some religious people who would be more than happy to repress or oppress me if they had their way, and they are the denomination that is trying to take over our armed services. It’s ridiculously scary and I implore mainstream religious folks such as yourself to weed out these crazies.
I think religion should be a private matter between an individual and their chosen savior/deity/whatever. The respectful thing to do is not push it on others, and I don’t see a whole lot of that kind of respect. For what it’s worth, I am just as annoyed by atheists who want to shove our lack of beliefs down peoples throats.
And Tommy Boy, I get it now. You want me, so you call me gay. That’s what they call projecting.
You notice Jason says “religion” but he only goes on about “ultra-conservative” and “the bible?” Sure he mentions the Taliban, but he doesn’t actually care about that.
It’s kind of funny, but I can think of one particular group that ACTUALLY wants theocracy in this country, and they’re the ones who never seem to get criticized here.
“Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faiths, but to become dominant. The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the
only accepted religion on Earth.”
–Omar Ahmad, Co-Founder, Council on American-Islamic Relations
Oops.
If we have freedom of religion then why is the word “God” in a speech, printed on our currency, and pushed on people during the holidays.
If we truly had freedom of religion we wouldnt have people calling Satanist names. We would not have OUR President being sworn in with a christian bible or any religious book at all.
Be it, compared to other countries who have people dying for what they believe in. we are far from having complete freedom of religion.
You notice Poor Republican just doesn’t get it, as usual? Just spewing off like a hostile asshat. What makes you think I like Islam? That’s one third of the biggest cause of death and oppression in the world.
As far as my ultra-conservative comment, it’s not the mainstream religious types who want theocracy. It’s not the liberal ones. It’s not even the slightly conservative ones. Think before you type, jerky.