The Importance Of Religious Freedom In The United States

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Freedom of religion is a principle upon which America was founded; the reason the Pilgrims decided to leave England was to be able to practice their own beliefs instead of the beliefs of the English church. Other groups, such as the Puritans, did the same; rather than give up their own beliefs and be forced into the life that was being forced upon them, they decided to journey to the New World, where they would be able to live as they wanted to. This is in essence part of the American Dream; for one to escape the chains of their past living and live freely in America. These beliefs were eventually added as a part of the Bill of Rights, which was added to the Constitution in order to ensure that these rights would not be infringed upon by the government. However, recently this religious freedom has been under attack. The government has required people to comply with things that they morally believe is wrong; an infringement of this freedom. Religious freedom should be protected to continue upholding America’s founding rights and to protect the lifestyles of …show more content…

The most prominent of these was the passing of ObamaCare, the Obama administration’s health care plan. This plan included a mandate to provide free contraception to women, regardless of religious affiliation. Catholics believe that the use of contraception is morally wrong; this is a direct infringement of the right to worship as you choose, the religious freedoms provided in the first amendment. Politicians against the laws spoke out and called for their dismissal, while a large number of Catholic organizations filed lawsuits, citing that not only did it violate the 1st Amendment, but it also violates the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which protects the free exercise of religion from discrimination by federal laws. (“Point:

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