“The women and children fled to the woods, the men and boys to a log block Smith shop. The ruffians instantly surrounded the latter & in a few minutes massacred about 20,” Smith desperately writes in a letter to the Governor of Missouri (Smith). Robberies, assaults, and vandalism all taking place because of one’s religious belief. The Bill of Rights speaks of religious equality; regardless, persecution and discrimination are the outcomes of religions choosing to express their beliefs that go against the common Christianity. Receiving only persecution and no support, the Mormon Church fights for the freedoms of religion and equality as a citizen and are denied these rights by the government.
From the beginning, when Joseph Smith first told of his visions, people discriminated against him and his new profound faith. Smith proves his belief by continuing to have faith in his belief and religion. Smith takes his faith to Ohio where he receives persecution and assault, persecution caused by the peaceful living of their faith. No law gives people the right to discriminate and abuse a religion based on their beliefs. In the same way, the Mormon Church received continuous discrimination when they moved to Missouri. As the crimes against the Mormon Church rose and more attacks took place the government stood by taking no action (Bushman 21). These continuous attacks amongst all parts of the Midwest show the lack of equality amongst all religions. The idea founding the United States, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” that is stated in the Declaration of Independence has been ignored. The government poss...
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Sekulow, Jay Alan. "The Mormon Controversy." Witnessing Their Faith Religious Influence on Supreme Court Justices and Their Opinions. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. 87-121. Print.
Bushman, Claudia L., and Richard L. Bushman. Building the Kingdom: a History of Mormons in America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.
Harmer-Dionne, Elizabeth. "Once a Peculiar People: Cognitive Dissonance and the Suppression of Mormon Polygamy As a Case Study Negating the Belief-Action Distinction." JSTOR. JSTOR. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. .
Gilford, James W. "The Case of Senator Smoot and the Mormon Church." JSTOR. JSTOR. Web. 19 Oct. 2010.
1886, By. "The Discontinuation of Polygamy in Historical Mormonism | Mormon Polygamy." Mormon Polygamy. Web. 21 Oct. 2010. .
This event changed the role of American religion during the early nineteenth century. Non-traditional religions such as Mormonism resulted from this religious revival movement as well. The religious revivals that emphasized individual choice of humans over predestination of God continuously shook New England Calvinism. The “cult of Matthias” was unlike any other religious groups during the time period.
In independence Missouri the Mormons set up a bank and due to their good nature it had a lot of customers and was doing well in the beginning. The gentiles trusted the Mormons and had a good relationship with them there was no fighting. When there was an economical depression in the USA the gentiles wanted all their money back due to the bank lending so much out they couldn't pay back everyone at once. The bank finally went bankrupt and the gentiles thought they had been cheated and that the Mormons had stolen their money. This was unfortunate for the Mormons, as it was not their fault.
Bitton, Davis & Beecher, Maureen U. New Views of Mormon History. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1987.
Scott, Donald. "Mormonism and the American Mainstream." Teacher Serve. National Humanities Center, Aug. 2004. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
Wisconsin v. Yoder is the case in which members of an old order Amish family were restricted from removing their children from school after completing the 8th grade. These families argued that the states compulsory educational law violated their right to exercise their religion freely. The Amish lead a simple way of life and higher education is not only deemed unnecessary but also endangers their traditional values. They believe that the values their children will learn at home outweigh the knowledge they will receive at school. The US Supreme Court concluded that the states compulsory education law did violate the Amish peoples right to exercise their religion freely. Wisconsin V. Yoder is a controversial case of a law coming into conflict with a constitutional right. The question whether the US Supreme Court was right in its verdict comprises a multidimensional answer and therefore requires further sub questions. Do religious beliefs trump certain laws? What type of law is it? What are the implications of the US Supreme Courts decision? In this paper I argue that religious accommodation has dire consequences that lead to corruption and inequality, however the US Supreme Court was correct in its decision to accommodate the Amish family due to the inherent flaw with the paternalistic law that the state of Wisconsin was trying to enforce.
Palmer, Elizabeth A. "The Court and Public Opinion." CQ Weekly 2 Dec. 2000. CQ Weekly. SAGE Publications. Web. 1 Mar. 2000. .
Throughout history, America has faced disagreements that led to various complications, one of them being religious freedom. Americans claimed to have always supported religious freedom and that the First Amendment backed that up. However, according to David Sehat, this was only a myth. The myth he argued that there was a moral establishment that constrained religious liberty, therefore American religious freedom was only a myth. Sehat overstated this claim because there have been many historic measures that have shown American religious liberty, such as the Second Great Awakening, the emergence of new religious movements, and religious liberty court cases.
"Growth of the Church - LDS Newsroom." LDS News | Mormon News - Official Newsroom of the Church. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. .
Over the history of our country Native Americas have long since been oppressed in trying to practice their Native Religions freely, and openly. It wasn’t until the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) of 1978, which “acknowledged the unique nature of Native spirituality” (Limb & Hodge, 2008, p. 618). This law stated that the policy of the United States would be to protect and preserve the right of Native Americans to believe and practice their traditional religions. This was the first major step in the United States history that sought to protect Native Americans and their rights to self-expression of spirituality.
The Oatman’s adventure began as a result of their decision to join a new sect of the Mormon faith. This particular belief, whose followers were named Brewsterites, had its roots in Kirtland, Ohio around 1836. A young boy, about ten years old, named Colin Brewster, showed promise in the eyes of Joseph Smith, the great Mormon prophet. Many had already noticed the boy’s “gift for seeing in vision distant objects not seen by the natural eye” (McGinty 40). Eventually, Brewster’s vision of a round table lead to his acceptance as “a prophet, a seer, a revelator and translator” (McGinty 31), by Joseph Smith Sr. and two other church elders, one of which was referred to as Lord.
...leased from prison, Mathews continued his quest for religion by seeking Joseph Smith of the Mormon society, under the alias Joshua the Jewish Minister. The two had a heated discussion of resurrection and reincarnation. On the other hand, Matthews claimed to be both God and the reincarnation of the apostle Matthias. However Matthews his meeting with Smith was unsuccessful because both prophets believed the other was of the devil. Matthews’ s religious journey albeit chaotic and aberrant now serves as subconscious guide for how new religious movements and cults in present day America.
Remy, Richard C., Gary E. Clayton, and John J. Patrick. "Supreme Court Cases." Civics Today. Columbus, Ohio: Glencoe, 2008. 796. Print.
Hall, Kermit L, eds. The Oxford guide to United States Supreme Court decisions New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Terry Tempest Williams is fully aware that she is contradicting the church when she writes “women have no outward authority,” yet she still chooses to take part in a ritual of healing that can only be performed by the men. Williams, however, does so in privacy and in the “secrecy of the sisterhood.” The word secrecy hints at the idea of doing something which is not accepted and against certain beliefs of today’s church. She was born and raised in a home of devout Mormons who follow the traditional beliefs of their faith. She acknowledges that the Mormon Church places great importance on obedience. In college she began to question her faith and today would not consider herself an “orthodox Mormon,” although Mormonism still has an impact in her life and work. In her writing, Williams continually contradicts the values of the Mormons.
The history of the Mormon Church goes back to 1863 when its founder, Joseph Smith, II, claimed to have a vision of the angel Moroni, who appeared to him in upper New York State and instructed him to interpret ancient writings on gold plates. The Mormon doctrine states that Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared to the Native Americans. The accounts with the Native Americans were transcribed onto the gold plates according to Moroni, the messenger. One doctrine of the Mormon Church, The Pearl of Great Price, shares a lot of the private journals of founder Joseph Smith. Founder Smith recalls, "He called me by name, and said that he was a messenger...and that his name was Moroni...," (Pearl. II:33) This is one of the main cornerstones of the Mormon doctrine. The Mormon Church had its beginnings from New York and traveled to Kirtland, Ohio, then on to Spring Hill (Independence), Missouri, and finally traveled back to Nauvoo, Illinois. It was at Nauvoo where on, Jun 27, 1844, Joseph Smith, III, his brother Hyrum Smith and friend John Taylor were ambushed at the Nauvoo-Carthage Jail. In the course of events that transpired, Joseph and Hyrum w...