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Show Religious freedom critical Editor's note: Mr Stapley is the president of the Bountiful, Utah LDS Stake and wrote this article in response to a request from the Clipper for area religious leaders to comment on how religious freedom has changed since America's birth. By MICHAEL J. STAPLEY Each year on the Fourth of July, we ' celebrate and remember those freedoms that are granted to us in toe Constitution inclusive f the Bill of Rights. We J are constantly reminded f of the deep significance of these liberties as they! reiaR lo fieedom of speech, freedom of the! press, and even freedom; of assembly. However, h seems that the fundamental fundamen-tal right associated with, freedom of religion, upon j which it might be argued Williamsburg Charter, stated, "The Declaration Declara-tion of Independence had posited these truths to be self evident: that all men are endowed by the creator with certain inalienable rights and that governments are instituted to secure these rights. "The fust words of the Bill of Rights provide pro-vide the dual guarantees of religious liberty. The subsequent words that guarantee the freedoms of speech, press and assembly provide pro-vide the means to make our liberties secure, but it is the initial guarantee of religious freedom that explains why all these other liberties are desired. In our nation's founding and in our constitutional order, religious liberty lib-erty is the motivating and basic civil liberty." liber-ty." A careful study of the Bill of Rights reveals that a fundamental purpose of the guarantees of freedoms of speech, press and assembly was, in fact, to provide for the free expression of religion amongst other things. It seems that this trend started in 1962 with the United States Supreme Court decision that the New York State Board of Regents could not require children in the public schools to recite a prayer structured by the regents. A review of the court case pertaining to the New York Board of Regents would lead one to believe that the decision forbids state offered and state required prayers. Most legal minds felt like the case was correctly decided. However, there werebthers in our society with more vision who recognized the precedent that was established in that court decision. Since that time these court cases have been used, not just to prevent the recitation of state sponsored prayers, but to prevent the free exercise of religion. It almost seems a paradox that those that seem to be so concerned con-cerned about the basic civil liberties of freedom of speech, press and assembly have been on the forefront of limiting the free expression ex-pression of religion. There have been several things that have occurred in our society in general that give cause for alarm with respect to where religion might be placed in the future. Many history books used in the public schools have been carefully edited to eliminate any reference re-ference to deity or to religion as a part of our national culture. Elder Oaks has also stated, "Removing the name of God and ignoring the influence of religious motivations distort facts and clouds understanding. If gold were someone's some-one's God (and there are such people), could you give an accurate account of the western United States settlements attributable to the Gold Rush without mentioning the word gold?" Such trends should be of concern to all religious minded people in our society. All religious faiths should rally together to ensure en-sure that the fundamental and pre-eminent position of freedom in our Bill of Rights is carefully protected. We should recognize that we live in a society in America that allows for the expression ex-pression of deep differences of opinion. It also provides for the free practice of religion for all members of. our society. We should constantly be reminded of the rights of each individual sect lo express its religion freely and without interference from others that may believe differently. In fact, we must be very conscious of our own responsibilities to ensure that all religions have the opportunity to practice and express their faith fully and completely without any feeling of oppression from whatever source. Indeed, in this season in which we celebrate the basic freedoms and liberties that are fundamental to our society, we all need to pull together to re-emphasize the fundamental importance of the freedom of religion as something that is basic to our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. that these oiher rights are based, has come lo be neglected. I was recently reminded of the importance of the free practice of religion and the other related basic rights which are incorporated into the BiU of Rights, A close friend of mine has been residing and working in a foreign land where there is do guarantee of the basic nght of freedom of religion. There are also limits placed on the residents of that land with respect to freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of assembly. Recently as be returned "home" after a visit to the United States, he attempted attemp-ted to take some personal religious materials into this country. When these materials were detected, he was ultimately deported and given just a few hours to assemble all of his ovnings and leave the country. i-After intervention on the part of his employer, he was given a few days to accomplish ac-complish this task. Nevertheless, he was deported and had to return to the United States. On other occasions, he has expressed ta me the difficulty they have in practicing tbeir religion as they have been accustomed. Jot example, the government places limits oq assembly. No more than SO persons can assemble together for a religious purpose. There are also severe limits placed on any public expression of religion inclusive of ex pression in the press, unless this expression relates to the "state sponsored religion." In reflecting on his experience, it has brought to jmd the importance of the Bill of Rights, Specially as it relates to religion in our own stciety. rOn the other hand, there seems to be a very concerning trend in our community that ii almost hostile toward religion. This raises a different set of questions with respect to the free practice of religion and the coexistence of "religion" and governments in a free society. We hear spirited public debate with respect to the sanctity of freedom of speech and the extension of that freedom, even to the burning of our national flag. We are con- -stantly reminded of the significant importance impor-tance of freedom of the press. Honorable journalists are very careful not to divulge sources even when it involves the protection of those who have seriously violated the laws of our land. We are very sensitive about protecting the rights of people peo-ple in our communities to assemble for whatever purpose, even when some of these purposes do not appear to be consistent with the moralistic fiber of our great nation-All nation-All of the above issues are important; however, at the same time we seem to have neglected the freedom of religion. Elder Dailin Oaks, in his comments to the |