Religious Freedom Resources

Religious Freedom Links
Religious Freedom Texts   ~   Go here for Research & Texts on Professional Chaplaincy

Religious Freedom Links - Primary Sites

Acton Institute for the Study Religion & Liberty
161 Ottawa NW, Ste. 301
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
phone: (616) 454-3080;  fax: (616) 454-9454

Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience  

The American Jewish Committee
1156 15th Street, N.W., Suite 1201
Washington, D.C.  20005;  202-785-4200

Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
2027 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20036;  202-387-2800

Americans United for Separation of Church & State
518 C Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20002
202-466-3234 telephone;  202-466-2587 fax

Religious Freedom Page Virginia.edu, lots of documents first liberty ... concerned with issues of religious freedom in the U.S. and world

Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs  supported many many Baptist bodies in the pursuit for religious freedom & watching the government
200 Maryland Avenue, N.E.
Washington, D.C.  20002;  202-544-4226

US Commission on Religious Freedom  monitors religious freedom around the world

The Interfaith Alliance Foundation
1331 H Street, N.W., 11th Floor
Washington, D.C.  20005;  202-639-6370

Erowid Religious Freedom Vault for American Indian

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Suite 108
Washington, D.C.  20002;  202-544-2350

International Religious Freedom Bureau of Democracy, US State Department  

International Association for Religious Freedom  

CAFF – Council for America’s First Freedom From Virginia to the World - A Legacy of Religious Freedom Site Directory;  The Columbian Block Building 1301 East Cary Street

National Committee For Amish Religious Freedom 30650 Six Mile Road Livonia, MI 48154 Phone (734) 427-1414 Email: amish@holycrosslivonia.org

Religious Freedom Home Page opposition to church-state separation

Separation of Church & State SUPER LIST 
900+ Sites - info, search engine, by rank of use

Religious Freedom SUPER LIST 
975+ Sites - info, search engine, by rank of use

Click here to E-Mail Suggestions -- Add Reasons

 

Religious Freedom Texts

Milton's Areopagitica, 1643 -- John Milton (1608-1674)
Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing to the Parliament of England

William's Plea for Religious Liberty, 1644 -- Roger Williams (ca 1603-1683)
Perhaps the first and most passionate, and one of the most significant statements for America.  This piece is an excerpt from the longer piece:  The Bloody Tenent of Persecution, for Cause of Conscience

Maryland Toleration Act, 1649

Virginia Bill of Rights 
June 12, 1776 ~ Most famous State Bill of Rights, with statement on Religious Freedom by Patrick Henry 

Declaration of Independence, 1776  ~ of course

Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States  

Religious Liberty - Three Formative, Basic Documents 
     Intro & Commentary  by John Adams, 1965
1.  Memorial & Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments
               James Madison, 1785
2.  Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom
               Thomas Jefferson, 1779
3.  Letter to Danbury Baptist Association
               Thomas Jefferson, 1802

Virginia Statute on Religious Liberty 
January 16, 1886 

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Marquis de Lafayette, National Assembly of France, 
August 26, 1789

Jefferson's Inaugural Speech 
March 14, 1801 ~ Famous for faith & beauty 

Garrison's Liberator, Vol. I, No. 1 
January 1, 1831 ~ Perhaps FIRST use of "All Religions"
in the defense of a great cause--Abolition 

Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments & Resolutions 
July 19, 1848 ~ Genesis of Women's Rights & powerful
statement on equality of rights based upon human nature 

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, 1862 

History of Freedom in Antiquity
An Address Delivered to the Members of the Bridgnorth Institute
February 26, 1877 by Lord Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton
1st Baron Acton of Aldenham

History of Freedom in Christianity
An Address Delivered to the Members of the Bridgnorth Institute
March 28, 1877 by Lord Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton
1st Baron Acton of Aldenham

Roosevelt's Four Freedom's Speech   
July 7, 1941 ~ Became one of the most succinct statements 
on what American resolve stand upon & would fight for 

Key Documents in Advocacy of Religious Toleration:  
From Chelcicky to Helwys
  
Professor James Leo Garrett, Jr., 1976

Key Documents Toward the Advocacy of Religious Freedom:  
From Roger Williams Through Vatican Council II
 
Professor James Leo Garrett, Jr., 1976

Religious Freedom:   Why and How in Today’s World 
Southwestern Journal of Theology 18 (Spring 1976):  9-24.
Professor James Leo Garrett, Jr., 1976

United Nations Declaration on Human Rights
December 10, 1948 ~ a world class statement 

Declaration on Religious Freedom - Dignitatis Humanae 
His Holiness Pope Paul VI, December 7, 1965

Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief
Proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly, 
Resolution 36/55, 25 November 25, 1981

Critique on Barton's "America's Godly Heritage"
June 18, 1996 by the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs 

The Oslo Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief
August 15, 1998

Respect for Human Rights:  The Secret of True Peace 
For the Celebration of the World Day of Peace
His Holiness Pope John Paul II, January 1, 1999

United Nations Commission on Human Rights Civil and Political Rights, Including the Question of Religious Intolerance
Written statement submitted by the Society for Threatened Peoples, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the UN on behalf of Tibet, February 15, 1999

Geneva Spiritual Appeal - Honoring United Nations Day -
Sunday, October 24, 1999 

United Nations ~ International Consultative Conference on School Education in relation with Freedom of Religion and Belief, Tolerance and Non-discrimination
Madrid, November 23-25, 2001

Shared Vision:  Religious Liberty in the 21st Century  first published in July 1994, the original statement was signed by more than 80 individuals and six religious and civil liberties organizations.  This version was updated by the below-listed organizations to reflect legislative and judicial developments in church-state law since the original release, October 2002:
The American Jewish Committee Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs,
The Interfaith Alliance Foundation National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.,
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism  

Religious Freedom Links
Religious Freedom Texts   ~   Go HERE for Research & Texts on Professional Chaplaincy