I totally believe in freedom of religion and religious instruction. However, our Constitution included a short amendment which our forefathers believed extremely important. In fact, it became the first, and most important to them. It reads:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,”
Congress shall make no law to establish religion or prohibit free exercise of religion. Sounds simple. But it has not been.
Over the last century men and women forget the second part of that statement, believing that religion has no place in our lives. Religion has slowly been banned from our public lives. Children can no longer offer a prayer in school to gain divine help on a test; athletes are disrespected if they bow to offer a quick prayer of thanks after a difficult play; graduates are no longer allowed to pray at a graduation; and military can no longer admit to their religious beliefs. Symbols of belief are removed from all public display. Unless they are Muslim beliefs.
It is near the holidays. Most schools no longer have “Christmas holidays” or “Christmas programs.” They allow winter holidays, or holiday programs, but Christianity has been removed part and parcel from our lives, except in our churches.
Unless it is Muslim beliefs. Muslims seem not to be confronted with the “separation of church and state” myth. Schools are allowed to force the Muslim religion on all students as part of “history,” yet there can be nothing said about the changes in history because of a Christian religion. Good, honest citizens who respect the flag of our country and the veterans who fought to protect our freedoms are fined and forced to remove that flag, yet Muslim flags representing vile and despicable groups are allowed.
What ever happened to that part of the first amendment that protects the prohibition of the exercise of religion? Nowhere does it say only the Muslims are protected, nor does it say only Christians or Jews or Hindus or Buddhists can only be protected. It suggests all are protected from prohibition of religion.
Why, then, are students, athletes, believers in Christ or Jehovah, or any other deity denied the right to offer thanks to their God, unless it is Allah? Our freedoms give each of us the right to believe and worship “according to the dictates of our own conscious”. Every person in this great and grand country has that right, NOT just the Muslims.
We need to stand for our individual rights of worship and refuse to allow only one group those sacred rights. If we do not make it clear to others that we refuse to be denied this particular right, we will lose all our freedoms. The one particular group who is getting everything it wants because too many people fear retribution will take all our rights, and gain control of everything in our beautiful country, without a fight, with no shot fired, as we bend over in fear.
Choose freedom! Be counted as one who refuses to lose the rights so much a part of our country, those rights which make us special and free. Others of those freedoms itemized in the Bill of Rights are under attack, but the first and foremost, the one that will determine all the rest of our freedoms is the freedom to worship as we choose. Do not allow others to destroy that freedom, or any of the others!