Dear editor:
In America, freedom of religion is a value. It was a hard-fought fight, but it was won and it's firmly fixed in the Constitution. The First Amendment guarantees free expression and protects all religions equally. Everyone is protected and it makes no difference what you believe or what you do not believe. David Barrett, editor of the World Christian Encyclopedia, reports there are 19 major world religions which are divided into 270 large religious groups, and many smaller groups. In his research, he has documented 34,000 Christian groups operating in the world. He says that many of the 1,000 Christian faith groups in the United States and Canada believe themselves to be the only true Christian denomination. Believing you are right and everybody else is wrong a big problem. It's impossible for them to all be right, and more likely that they could all be wrong.
Not everyone appreciates this American value of freedom of religion. This is witnessed when someone ridicules another person's faith or makes hostile allegations about agnostics and atheists. It's a serious problem when some individuals even attempt to rewrite history to convince themselves and others that America is a Christian nation. The Constitution guarantees the right to religious opinion, not to behavior, and not behavior that violates another person's beliefs. It's the right everyone has, you don't have to believe what somebody else believes.
Most theologians define religion as an agreed-upon set of beliefs and practices authenticated by a conclave of chosen individuals empowered to produce a document that expresses the beliefs of their faith. The council's decisions become dogma that then becomes sacred creed. Christianity is a creedal religion. Today, the ancient creeds of Christianity are problematic for many Christians who no longer believe the creedal texts to be indisputable fact. Contemporary discoveries from data based on fact has changed the intellectual rational of discerning individuals concerning the words of antiquated creeds written by what men assumed as truth in the fourth century -- CE.
Based on their personal experiences, the Founding Fathers wanted the separation of church and state. They wanted full religious liberty for all people. The separation of church and state is embedded in the Constitution and indisputably settled law. Showing respect for this unique American value, we give up our ideological manipulation and allow all people to experience their right to believe or not to believe. This is exactly what the Founding Fathers intended when they authored the First Amendment to the Constitution.
George Lindholm
Hot Springs
Editorial on 01/22/2015