DOM OF RELIGION FREE

Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. President Oaks also drew upon the recent insights of two of his fellow Apostles, Elder Quentin L. “Indeed, the key to stability and harmony is not homogeneity in religious or other foundational beliefs, but shared assurance that everyone will be secure in following his or her foundational beliefs,” said President Oaks. Protecting freedom to engage in religious persuasion correlates with increased social stability. Writes Durham: “We now have extensive empirical evidence that a country’s performance in protecting religious freedom correlates not only with the protection of other key rights, but also with other social goods, such as economic freedom, higher per capita gross domestic product, better incomes for women, gender equality, higher literacy rates, better health and education, and consolidation of democracy.” The freedoms of religion and belief are empirically foundational.They are institutionally foundational because they foster institutions that protect the vision, motivation, and moral support that translate religious and moral ideals into personal and communal practice. They often overlap with other rights, such as freedom of expression, freedom of association, and rights to nondiscrimination, but their sum is greater than any of these individual parts.They are philosophically foundational because they protect the belief systems and world views on which other ideas are rooted and from which they derive their meaning.They are historically foundational because so many other rights emerged as additional supports or expansions of legal protections originally provided in the name of religious freedom.Cole Durham, who taught that the freedoms of religion and belief are foundational for other important rights in at least four respects: President Oaks then cited the writings of his friend and religious freedom expert, law professor W. “We need a broader and deeper understanding of these fundamental rights.” Recent years have witnessed renewed attention to freedom of religion and belief, reflecting the growing recognition that relegating these issues to political backburners allows important challenges to fester and ultimately to cause deep social problems.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “In contrast, its continuing, even increasing, importance has been recognized by numerous scholars and experts working on freedom of religion or belief at the international level.” “This is in part because it has not been adequately understood. Some, viewing freedom of religion through secular filters, have seen it as a vestige of what they see as a now-outdated religious age. Though often praised as a lofty ideal, President Oaks said that the importance of freedom of religion or belief has often been overlooked or neglected. “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” Latter-day Saints, he noted, welcome the “great statement” in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Freedom of choice is, therefore, fundamental to God’s plan.” “The restoration of the fullness of Christian doctrine teaches us that God created and put His children on earth to grow spiritually by making right choices between good and evil consistent with His commandments. “For us, religious freedom is a fundamental feature of our religious doctrine,” said President Oaks. Though sometimes neglected in this secular age, freedom of religion is not neglected by the Church. It is a message he has championed often - including an historic address at the University of Virginia on Nov. The first counselor in the First Presidency was in Italy, in part, to advocate for religious freedom across the globe. 14, to an audience at Rome’s La Sapienza University, can be seen “as the grandparent of all the other rights.”

The right to freely practice one’s religious faith, added President Dallin H.

DOM OF RELIGION FREE

Freedom of religion and belief is an essential condition for a free society - the oldest of all internationally recognized fundamental rights.

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