Religious Freedom in the United States
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the United States: Religious Freedom
Although religious freedom has not generally been curtailed in the United States, Roman Catholics, Jews, and members of such unconventional Protestant groups as the Oneida Community and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have historically been discriminated against and sometimes have even been persecuted, although today overt discrimination has almost vanished.
The federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as many state and local laws, prohibits religious discrimination. The government recognizes the right of religious pacifists to refuse to bear arms, even in time of war. The Supreme Court has ruled that this right, known as conscientious objection, need not be based only on religious training or belief in a supreme being. The Court has also upheld the right of Jehovah’s Witnesses to refuse to salute the flag because of religious objections.
Applying the principle of separation of church and state (see Church and State), the Court has struck down many attempts to use public funds to finance religious schools; at times, however, the Court has permitted the use of public funds for buildings and other nonsectarian programs of religious schools. In the 1960s the Court ruled that state-composed prayers and Bible reading in public schools violated the Constitution, a policy to which the Court has adhered. In 2000, for example, it struck down school-sponsored prayers at public high school football games. Efforts to reverse these rulings were unsuccessful, but in recent years the Court has been more permissive in allowing government aid to religion. For example, in certain cases it has upheld a community’s right to place religious displays on public property, and in 2002 it upheld a school voucher program in which public funds were largely to pay for education at religious private schools. At the same time, however, the Court has refused to require the government to carve out religious exemptions from generally applicable laws. (1)
In this Section about Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Religious Freedom, Freedom of Speech, Press and Assembly, Criminal Trials and Due Process of Law, War on Terror, Privacy, Minority Rights Civil Rights for Blacks, Affirmative Action, Civil Rights for Hispanics and Asian Americans, Rights of Women and Minorities. For an overview of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the world, read here.
Religious Freedom Legislation
In the late 1990’s the U.S. Congress, faith-based non-governmental organizations, and the Department of State began debating the issue of how to effectively confront religious discrimination and persecution abroad. The issues discussed were significant and controversial: Is it possible for the United States to influence foreign governments that discriminate on the basis of religious orientation? What religions should be covered? What regions? Could the United States legitimately identify one manner of persecution as more serious than another form, or would that create a harmful precedent?
After numerous debates a consensus emerged. In October 1998, President Clinton signed into law the International Religious Freedom Act, passed unanimously by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Act mandated the establishment of an Office of International Religious Freedom within the Department of State, headed by an Ambassador-at-Large that acts as the principle advisor to the President and Secretary of State in matters concerning religious freedom abroad. It also mandated the establishment of the independent, bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and a Special Adviser on International Religious Freedom at the National Security Council
On August 17, 1999 the Act was amended by Public Law 106-55.
See: International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and Public Law 106-55.
Religious Freedom Restoration Legislation (Civil Rights Legislation)
This section introduces, discusses and describes the basics of religious freedom restoration legislation. Then, cross references and a brief overview about Civil Rights Legislation is provided. Finally, the subject of Civil Rights Law in relation with religious freedom restoration legislation is examined. Note that a list of cross references, bibliography and other resources appears at the end of this entry.
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