Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….
---U.S. Constitution, First Amendment
Though Americans increasingly celebrate
Americans United, an organization that promotes separation of church and state, reported that over 2,000 distinct religious groups and denominations exist in the United States. As the American Civil Liberties Union advises, the fundamental religious freedoms spelled out in our constitution represent “a major reason why the [United States] has
managed to avoid a lot of the religious conflicts that have torn so many other nations apart.” When Americans add up their blessings this holiday season, we hope they’ll count religious freedom among them.
Two bedrock principles underlie religious freedom in the United States. The First Amendment to the constitution spells out those principles. Initially, we have no state religion. Neither Congress nor any other legislative body can enact a law “respecting an establishment of religion.” Second, governmental agencies can’t prohibit “the free exercise” of religion, including the right to have no religion at all.
No “Establishment” of Religion
Some countries have an official state religion. Iran and Afghanistan, for example, proclaim themselves “Islamic Republics.” Many Americans may think of these countries as backward and run by authoritarian regimes that reject religious pluralism and tolerance. That conclusion rings true, but western nations also have state religion. The Anglican Church serves as the official Church of England. Other Christian denominations thrive in the United Kingdom, as do non-Christian faiths. About 300,000 Jews, for example, live in the UK, the fifth largest Jewish community in the world. Still, one Protestant denomination operates with the imprimatur of the state. We don’t have that in the United States.
Some think we should mimic nations that have a state endorsed church. Because Christianity has historically been the leading religion in America, movements have urged that the U.S. declare itself a “Christian nation.” A group called the National Reform Association in 1864 pushed, unsuccessfully, for a “Christian nation” constitutional amendment. Today, some evangelical Christians and others on the far right advocate the same thing. Those who value our pluralistic tradition and diversity of faiths resist this idea because, as Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in 1985 in Wallace v. Jaffree, “the individual freedom of conscience protected by the First Amendment embraces the right to select any religious faith or none at all.”
The founding fathers, though well aware of the nation’s connection to Christianity, kept the tie between Christianity and government loose, not tight. Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute of Religious Liberty granted freedom to profess “opinions in matters of religion” without diminishing, enlarging, or affecting one’s “civil capacities.” The Washington and John Adams administrations oversaw negotiation and ratification of a treaty in which the country declared “[t]he government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion….” The U.S. Senate unanimously ratified that statement in 1797 in what’s known as the Treaty with Tripoli. We made that agreement with a group of Muslim rulers from North Africa. We should leave it at that. The idea rang true then and has withstood the test of time.
“The Free Exercise Thereof”
In essence, the free exercise clause means every American can, without governmental interference, worship as he or she chooses or can decline to worship at all (government also can’t impose a “religious test” for holding public office as set out in Article VI of the constitution). In short, in America, government must stay out of the business of regulating the worship practices of its citizens.
Until the pandemic got in the way, one of us (Rob) saw the tangible benefits of religious pluralism every year. A group in his area called Faiths Together organized a holiday program that highlighted and celebrated the religious diversity of the community. True, some fundamentalist churches never participated, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm for the exercise. One of the larger mainline Protestant churches (think Episcopal or Presbyterian) usually hosted because they had a big enough auditorium and fellowship hall for the hundreds of people who attended.
Christians of various stripes, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and others joined in putting on a holiday-themed program that celebrated the multitude of traditions represented in the community. Singing, skits, prayers, and informational speeches helped 
attendees understand how each group practices its faith. Afterwards, the crowd gathered to break bread and share fellowship. No one lost a thing by sharing in the faith traditions of others.
Those fundamental freedoms spelled out in the constitution make possible events like the Faiths Together program in The Woodlands, Texas. Without government telling anyone they must belong to a particular church or limiting
what kind of worship people can engage in, pluralism can flourish. The United States would make a terrible mistake if it didn’t do everything it can to keep such freedoms in place. Just like voting rights and the rule of law, our religious freedoms make us who we are.
