The following is the fourth part of my series of letters on the seven positions that one’s government can have on religious liberty. The previous three letters, which were printed in the Times-Union on March 23, April 6 and May 9, listed the seven positions with a brief explanation for each of those positions. Those explanations are based on the research that I have done at the Warsaw Community Public Library and the many excellent sources of information available there. Those sources of information have been listed in earlier letters to the editor over the last several years.
This letter will list the Libertarian definition/principle on “Freedom of Religion” that I developed based on the previously mentioned research, plus part one of a recommended introductory reading list on this subject. The totalitarian definition/principle, which is the polar opposite, was listed in my third letter of this series of letters. I will also give a brief explanation of the Libertarian principle and what it means in a practical sense, plus the reminder of my recommended reading list in a follow-up letter.
A definition of freedom of religion
Libertarian principle - Freedom of religion is the inalienable right of each person whether alone or with others to peacefully, openly, freely and with respect for legitimate laws and the rights of others profess one’s belief in the supernatural along with the tenets of one’s faith and to engage in the practice of a religion of one’s own choosing; or for one to peacefully, openly, freely and with respect for legitimate laws and the rights of others express no belief in the supernatural along with the opinions and reasons for one’s independence from organized faith and to refuse to practice any religion at all; and for each person to be free from having acts of persecution, forced conversion, intrusion into the internal affairs of one’s congregation, denomination, or faith and the incremental or outright establishment of a universal state church/state religion or militant state atheism inflicted upon them by any part or whole of any local, state, national, continental or world government.
Recommended reading list – part one
1. Columbia Contemporary American Religion Series: Protestantism in America (2002) 2. Piety and Politics: The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom (2006) 3. American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America (2006) 4. Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christianity (2003) 5. One Nation Under God: Ten Things Every Christian Should Know About the Founding of America (2005) 6. The Catholic Church (1987) 7. Man's Religions: 6th Edition (1980) 8. The Encyclopedia of World Faiths: An Illustrated Survey of the World’s Living Religions (1987) 9. Turning Points in World History: The Crusades (2000) 10. Turning Points in World History: The Reformation (1999)
