HOW DID you celebrate Religious Freedom Day? I attended a lecture on Theology and Politics. I had to, because I registered for the class. Don't worry if you didn't have time to commemorate religious freedom on Wednesday. Here in Virginia, the second full week of January is designated as Religious Freedom Week, so you still can get down with it until Sunday.
Although sending Religious Freedom e-greeting cards may be a little much - they are available at www.greeting-cards.com - it is an idea worth celebrating. Virginians can take pride in their state's claim to be the birthplace of the right to religious freedom.
If you've made the pilgrimage to Monticello, you may have noticed the inscription on Thomas Jefferson's grave. It makes no mention of the political offices he's held, instead focusing on what he considered his happiest achievements: founding the University, writing the Declaration of Independence, and writing the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom.
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Enacted in 1786, the statute begins with a statement on the absurdity and impiety of punishing people for their religion, forcing them to support religious leaders, or allowing civil government to inquire into their beliefs. Section I closes with the remark "that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them."
This lengthy preface perhaps having exhausted the legislators, Section II is quite brief: "Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."
Section III sounds both meek and defiant, as the assembly admits that it cannot prevent future legislators from revoking the statute, but warns "such act will be an infringement of natural right." The statute remains the law in the Commonwealth and was bolstered by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which made religious freedom a national right.
The United States has developed the basic ideas of the Statute for Religious Freedom and the First Amendment through court cases and custom, with the Supreme Court's striking down discriminatory laws and Americans' becoming more accepting of different faiths. However, recent attempts to reinstate religious pressures have not maintained the Jeffersonian tradition of religious freedom. The failed "Religious Freedom Amendment" to the U.S. Constitution, which would have allowed established prayer in public schools, and the successful "Minute of Silence" in Virginia, which encourages school prayer, both are examples of this.
Nonetheless, America continues to regard religious freedom as a central part of a just and civil society. The U.S. government does not permit public discrimination on the basis of religion and federally prosecutes crimes motivated by religious hatred. While such crimes occur, they are not part of the larger political scene. Other nations remain torn by religious animosity.
During the past weekend, a Catholic postal worker was killed in a predominately Protestant area - another victim of the ongoing sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Pakistan persecutes the Ahmadiyya community, which was declared non-Muslim in 1974, and has passed laws which make it a criminal offense for Ahmadis to profess, practice and preach their faith. Several have been charged with blasphemy, which carries the mandatory death penalty.
Laos, a predominately Buddhist country, requires all religious organizations to register with the government and has jailed many people, both Lao and foreign, for practicing Christianity without permission. In the former Soviet republic of Georgia, radical supporters of the Orthodox Church frequently attack Jehovah's Witnesses with little fear of prosecution. Last summer in Bangladesh, members of a victorious political party attacked Hindus for supporting a rival party.
Fortunately, the United States does not persecute its citizens on the basis of their faith. Americans should celebrate their right to religious freedom while guarding it carefully. As we see the effects of a theocratic state in Afghanistan, we better understand how a determinedly non-religious government has shaped our nation.
And remember, next Monday is National Hugging Day. Share the love, people.
(Pallavi Guniganti's column normally appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at pguniganti@cavalierdaily.com.)
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