Our Constitution and laws guarantee Americans the right not just to believe<\/strong> as they see fit, but to freely exercise<\/strong> their religion.\u00a0 Unfortunately, not all have recognized the importance of religious freedom, whether by threatening tax consequences for particular forms of religious speech, or forcing people to comply with laws that violate their core religious beliefs without sufficient justification.\u00a0 These incursions, little by little, can destroy the fundamental freedom underlying our democracy…No American<\/strong> \u2014 whether a nun, nurse, baker, or business owner \u2014 should be forced to choose between the tenets of faith or adherence to the law<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nJefferson’s statute continues to be a strong expression for the value of religious liberty even today. Though the statute has been discussed in many places and in great depth, there are two important points to take from the statute. First, [emphasis added]<\/p>\n
All men shall be free to profess<\/strong>, and by argument to maintain<\/strong>, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nJefferson clearly believed religious freedom allowed men to maintain — and profess <\/em>— their beliefs without impact to their civil roles. Those civil roles would likely include those who serve in government — including the military, though the concept of a standing military was foreign to the US at the time.<\/p>\nModern liberalism has attempted to appropriate Jefferson’s language to assert this as an argument for limiting the influence of religion in government — awkwardly claiming that the presence of religious thought somehow alienates\u00a0those without religion.\u00a0 But that argument belies the main point of Jefferson’s statute: That is, a religious person ought to be able to profess (and argue) their religious beliefs — even “offensive” Christian beliefs — without that “diminishing”<\/strong> their “civil capacity” as a public servant.<\/p>\nThe rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jefferson’s statute, written before<\/em> the US Constitution, reminds us religious freedom does not come from any document written by the hand of man.<\/p>\nReligious freedom is a natural right; it is a human liberty. Despite the claims of some critics, the US Constitution, awesome document though it is, is not the source <\/em>of religious freedom (or any other liberty, for that matter). The Constitution simply attempts to protect<\/em> man’s natural right<\/em> of religious freedom (from the federal government). Thus, though Jefferson is often (mistakenly) lauded for his description of a “separation of church and state,” his statute indicates even he <\/em>believed in a moral concept greater <\/em>than the Constitution.<\/p>\nThe religious freedom protected by the US Constitution results in an amazing array of public ideological and theological differences. That’s a good <\/em>thing, and America should hold that up to the world as a model.<\/p>\nAs annually published<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
ADVERTISEMENT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n
![\"jefferson2\"](\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/jefferson2.jpg\")
Each year since 1993 the President has declared January 16th to be “Religious Freedom Day,” in order to remember the passage of Thomas Jefferson’s 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. President Trump has not yet\u00a0released his proclamation.<\/p>\n