“Religious freedom certainly includes worship, but it extends beyond the four walls of a church.”UPDATE 9/29/15 - President Obama Speech: My Agenda Trumps Religious Liberty
-- Kyle Duncan, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
For background, read Supreme Court Allows Christians to Sue ObamaCare and also read Bishops Say Catholic Church Will Defy ObamaCare as well as President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity
UPDATE 2/8/13 - Catholic Bishops Slam Obama: Criminal in Eyes of God
-- From "Presidential Proclamation -- Religious Freedom Day" by The President of The United States Of America 1/16/13
Foremost among the rights Americans hold sacred is the freedom to worship as we choose. Today, we celebrate one of our Nation's first laws to protect that right -- the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. Written by Thomas Jefferson and guided through the Virginia legislature by James Madison, the Statute affirmed that "Almighty God hath created the mind free" and "all men shall be free to profess . . . their opinions in matters of religion." Years later, our Founders looked to the Statute as a model when they enshrined the principle of religious liberty in the Bill of Rights.
Because of the protections guaranteed by our Constitution, each of us has the right to practice our faith openly and as we choose. As a free country, our story has been shaped by every language and enriched by every culture. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, Sikhs and non-believers. Our patchwork heritage is a strength we owe to our religious freedom.
Americans of every faith have molded the character of our Nation.
To read the entire White House press release above, CLICK HERE.
From "Something to celebrate on Religious Freedom Day" by John Ragosta, Religion News Service (at Washington Post) 1/15/13
. . . In the early 19th century, as battles over the proper role of church and state raged across this young nation, newspapers often reprinted Jefferson’s Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom. It should be reprinted it every Religious Freedom Day as a public service. One cannot read it without a knowing nod and a bit of swelling pride for America’s leading the battle for religious freedom.
. . . [However, the First Amendment] does not mean that you have a right to stop any government action that you happen to think violates your religious beliefs — a ridiculous claim repeated during last year’s battle over insurance coverage for contraceptives.
. . . Teacher-led prayers in school are, undoubtedly, government-led prayer. This should not be confused with private prayers in public, even by governmental officials.
To read the entire (liberal) opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama Proclaims Support for Religious Freedom -- Amid HHS Mandate Litigation" by Fred Lucas, CNSNews.com 1/16/13
The proclamation begins by saying, “Foremost among the rights Americans hold sacred is the freedom to worship as we choose.” But it does not talk about the free practice of religion, which plaintiffs are fighting to defend in litigation across the country.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a regulation mandating that insurance cover the cost of abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception despite religious objections from Christian employers. Several Catholic dioceses, Christian colleges and private businesses -- notably Hobby Lobby -- are suing the federal government to block the mandate, asserting it violates the First Amendment guarantee to free practice of religion.
“This distortion of our nation’s first freedom is the justification for the HHS mandate and the reason that 44 separate cases now have been brought against the federal government,” Maureen Ferguson, senior policy adviser for The Catholic Association said.
“The Constitution guarantees Americans the right to practice their faith 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whether at church, home, school or work.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "'Religious Freedom Day' prompts renewed opposition to mandate" by Adelaide Darling and Michelle Bauman, Catholic News Agency 1/17/13
The Obama administration has denied an exemption to religious owners of for-profit companies, arguing that their exercise of religion does not extend to business decisions.
Ashley McGuire, senior fellow for the Catholic Association, called the president’s proclamation “tremendously hypocritical.” She pointed to the more than 100 plaintiffs who have filed religious freedom lawsuits over the [ObamaCare] contraception mandate.
“By replacing ‘freedom of religion’ with ‘freedom of worship’ yet again,” McGuire told CNA, “the President makes plain as day his effort to confine religion entirely to the private sphere.”
“This is very bad for Americans of every religion,” she caut
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama Declares 'Religious Freedom Day' As His Admin Denies It" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 1/16/13
President Barack Obama declared today Religious Freedom Day as his administration is working overtime to deny religious freedom to pro-life Americans who do not want their companies, schools or businesses to pay for drugs that may cause abortions.
In an email to LifeNews, Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) President Marjorie Dannenfelser deplored the proclamation as hypocritical . . . “Our religious liberty and rights of conscience have been threatened like never before under President Obama, who has mandated that employers must cover abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plans, regardless of their moral or religious objections. President Obama must first rescind his HHS mandate before making any proclamations on the subject – this is blatant hypocrisy.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "On Religious Freedom Day, FRC Reminds Pres. Obama that Constitution Guarantees More than ‘Freedom of Worship’" by Family Research Council Media Office 1/16/13
[FRC President Tony Perkins said] “Earlier today President Obama issued a proclamation declaring today ‘Religious Freedom Day.’ However, the first sentence of his proclamation emphasizes the sacredness of the ‘freedom of worship.’ I would remind the president that the Constitution does not guarantee us only freedom of worship but also the freedom of religion. The two are very different. Freedom of religion goes further by guaranteeing the right to live out one’s faith not only in the privacy of his or her home but in the public square as well.
“While President Obama’s proclamation extols the ‘freedom of worship,’ his administration has the worst record protecting religious liberty in American history.
“So it is, on this Religious Freedom Day, that we should cast a skeptical eye on President Obama’s professions of support for religious liberty and look to his actions to understand his relative lack of sympathy for the free exercise of religion.”
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Christians Oppose ObamaCare, Support Hobby Lobby
In addition, read Obama Raises Gay Agenda above Religious Liberty
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