Freedom of and Freedom from Religion

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

The cold, hard facts. The United States of America was formally created between 1787 and 1789. After years of rule by a tyrannical king, our Founding Fathers left the land of their birth and came to the New Land, declared their independence from King George III, won the Revolutionary War, and created a nation governed by a sacred document which would become the Law of the Land during the Constitutional Convention. Contained in the Constitution of the United States of America are a number of promises and guarantees, the most important of which are rights and freedoms for all individuals which do not infringe on the rights of the majority. America would become a nation controlled by the people who would elect representatives to serve their needs and wishes in the nation’s capital, regardless of their personal opinions.

The Bill of Rights contains those initial rights, guarantees, and freedoms. It is clear by their actions during the Constitutional Convention and the creation of the First Amendment that religious freedom was paramount.

The men who created Constitution tolerated their King until he declared the Anglican Church the only, one, true religion of the British Empire. It was no surprise that the first words in the First Amendment address this all-important issue.

First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

I know this is a long story to make an even bigger point. For me, this is the primary reason why our nation is broken.

The First Amendment guarantees every American the right to choose the religion of his or her choice without prejudice. However, it also guarantees every American freedom ‘from Religion.’

In 1981 Ronald Reagan began his first term. He violated the Constitution almost immediately by declaring his religious beliefs. He informed all Americans that he was a devout Christian. This admission was the foundation for the formation of the Christian Religious Right, which became a lobby for all Christians, gaining complete control over every man and woman in Washington who called themselves “Republicans.”

This apparently inconsequential act by your 40^th president began the end of America.

I was raised Catholic. However, like many other young men and women, I left the Church while still in high school. It was in my junior year when I decided that I did not need or desire influence over my life by any organized religion. I continued to seek greater spirituality, I knew right from wrong, and I will always believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ, who never declared His exclusive support for a single religion. I have no interest in confirming if he was the Son of God, or the greatest prophet of all time. His words were pure and should be heard by all mankind.

Throughout history, wars were fought in the name of religion. Hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and children were slaughtered as warriors shouted the name of their Gods.

In 21^st century America one religion is dividing our nation’s people and rejecting the rights of all Americans to make choices about their individual rights concerning mental and physical health, practicing any religion they choose, or none at all, and who they are allowed to love. These issues were meant to be personal; not included in our politics or national government.

Although most Republican politicians fake their belief in Christianity, confirmed by their actions and words, they make no decisions about these issues without the approval of the Christian Religious Right. Their true purpose is to obtain votes for their next election.

Red states are the most restrictive, continuing to pass laws intended to remove the rights of all women, minorities, and the entire LGBTQ community.

One example confirms that one religion has removed common sense and the Constitutional rights of millions of Americans who were not involved in forcing their personal rights on the rights of others.

In Georgia, a deep red state, a woman who had been declared brain dead was kept alive by machines for three months. The only reason: she was pregnant. In June, the machines were turned off and she died after doctors removed a fetus weighing 1 pound and 13 ounces.

The baby is in a neo-natal care unite at the cost of tens-of-thousands of dollars every day.

Immediately after a corrupt Supreme Court of the United States overturned a 49-year-old decision by a legitimate Court called Roe v Wade, Georgia’s Republican-dominated legislature displayed its support for the Living Infants Fairness and Equality, or LIFE, Act — passed in 2019. It took effect shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. It forbids any abortion after a heartbeat is heard inside the womb.

A statement by the grandparents: “My grandson may be blind, may not be able to walk, wheelchair-bound,” she said. “We don’t know if he’ll live.”

In red states, controlled by Christian leadership, a woman’s rights are secondary to the assumed rights of the fetus.

I may be ignorant, but this situation does not appear to be the intent of our Founding Fathers when they wrote the First Amendment.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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Source: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/31/2335766/-A-Brain-dead-pregnant-woman-was-kept-alive-in-Georgia-It-s-unclear-if-state-law-required-it?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web