Religious Rights
In retrospect of our nation’s history, ethics has played an important role in the foundation
of our country. Most of the legal rights we have as Americans are identified as natural and moral
rights that everyone should be allowed to have as a human being. These rights are what define
America and makes us unique from the rest of the world. One aspect of being an American is
having the freedom of religion, a privilege that many other countries are not granted. Although
America has many freedoms, religious freedoms separate us from other countries.
Freedom of religion is considered to be a civil right in America. Since the creation of this
country, separation of church and state was a priority. As a result, this right was expressed in the
First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, making it mostly a civil right. Religious freedom should
also be considered a moral right. In the category of a moral right, religious freedom is
exclusively an equal right, as it applies to everyone in America. However, this right lacks the
properties of a universal right, as it is not prevalent in some countries.
America is a prime example of what religious freedom grants. As a free country,
Americans have the privilege to be a part of any religious denomination and worship freely
without persecution or any other punishment. In addition, Americans also have the privilege to
proselytize freely without the threat of punishment. However, there are also many countries that
restrict certain aspects of religious freedom or restrict all aspects of religious freedom. For
example, China does not allow Western religions to proselytize, and a threat of punishment is
present for doing so. However, this is only a minor religious restriction compared to the
restrictions of other countries. Most countries that restrict all freedom of religion and only allow
the worship of one religion are countries that are exclusively Islamic, such as the theocracies of
Saudi Arabia and Iran. All religions besides the Muslim religion worshipped in these countries
are restricted and there are severe punishments for partaking in those religions.
In reflection of the religious freedoms America has compared to the religious freedoms of
other countries, I personally approve of our nation’s freedom of religion. In comparison to other
countries, I believe that we are very fortunate. We are one of select countries in the world that
have general freedoms and rights to express ourselves as individuals. In my opinion, one of the
most important forms of self-expression is religion; we have the power to dictate our
denomination and what we worship. In another perspective, if we did not have religious freedom,
America would have to provide consequences for worshipping a religion besides Christianity, for
example. Therefore, we would not be any better than countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.
We as Americans would no longer have the opportunities that our country’s freedom presents
and would always have to face persecution for defying the law. Because we do not have these
restrictions, we are fortunate to have the freedoms we have now.
There are many groups and individuals that can be held accountable for supporting
America’s religious freedom, but one group that is mainly responsible for our religious freedom
would be the Founding Fathers of our country. The Founding Fathers represented the voice of
the Americans and only supported what the rest of our country supported. Many Americans
transferred to America to escape religious persecution from their home countries, making the
freedom of religion a value to many Americans (including the Founding Fathers). Because of
this desire for religious freedom, our Founding Fathers made this possible in the creation of our
nation. Groups from the present that can be held accountable for supporting religious rights
include various churches of different religions. These churches show their support by exercising
their right to worship freely. This is an important way to show your support for religious rights.
One way that I can show my support for religious rights is by exercising my right to
worship freely and continuing to attend church and be involved in the Christian community.
Most importantly, I believe that it is very important to support this right by not judging others for
the religion that they partake in. I can support this right now and in the future by accepting others
for who they are and respecting their religion and what they worship. I can also encourage others
to also have the same attitude about other religions. Raising awareness for the way that we treat
other religions and denominations is an important way to show support for religious rights and
may have the power to strengthen us as a country.