Religious freedom and tolerance are central principles on which the United States of America was founded, as the country was settled largely by religious dissidents looking to worship as they saw fit. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1789) states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” and article 6 of the U.S. Constitution states that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Even as our country has become increasingly diverse, the vast majority of Americans refer to themselves as Christians. There are many who argue that the United States is indeed a Christian nation in terms of its origins and the values held by both its Founding Fathers and the majority of its citizens. Unfortunately, as we look through our history, we find that religious tolerance might be an ideal more than a practice. Whether we’re considering Baptists, Native Americans, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, or members of any other sect, Americans have found tolerance to be a challenge. In this Conversation, we’ll explore these issues and look at selections that will help us answer one of the questions most fundamental to American identity: To what extent is America a nation that practices religious tolerance and freedom?

Sources

Kenneth C. Davis, America’s True History of Religious Tolerance (2010)

James Madison, from Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments (1785)

Thomas Jefferson, The Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom (1779)

George Washington, To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island (1790)

Red Jacket, Defense of Native American Religion (1805)

John F. Kennedy, Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association (1960)

Jeff Jacoby, The Role of Religion in Government: Invoking Jesus at the Inauguration (2001)

Diane L. Eck, from A New Religious America: How a “Christian Country” Has Become the World’s Most Religiously Diverse Nation (2001)

Gary Tramontina, Ten Commandments Courthouse Controversy (2003)

Michael Bloomberg, Ground Zero Mosque Speech (2010)

John Fea, from Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? (2011)