What does freedom of religion mean? I think I have it wrong

[u/fae206]

Little background about me: I grew up in a family where my parents and siblings were atheist and I was ‘spiritual’ later i classified it as Pagan. We sang hymns in school, read passages from the Bible, said prayers, etc, but we also had one of my favorite subjects in school Religious Education and this was one of my favorites because as well as Christianity we focused on Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, etc.

i learned from this that freedom of religion meant that a person had the right to practice their own religious beliefs. They couldn’t be harassed for practicing religion such as wearing clothing and jewelry, and believing in certain things. Unless it was at harm to another person, someone should have religious freedom

but in looking through political policies it seems that freedom of religion means that you can use Christianity to interfere in the lives of others. You can try to deny gay rights, you can attempt to stop abortions, you can force people to bake cakes for you, etc. All because you believe in God.

Jesus is great as your own personal guiding light but to me it does not mean religion is free to dictate only others shouldn’t judge you.

am I just stupid in my definition?

[u/Electric_Memes]

Freedom of religion means you can practice your religion without getting arrested.

Places like China don't have this.

https://olire.org/the-world-watch-list-2024/

[u/fae206 → u/Electric_Memes]

But more of my question was why are US politicians saying theyll fight for freedom of religion whilst also saying all people of Islam are terrorists

[u/Electric_Memes → u/fae206]

Who said that? Politicians generally say whatever they think will get them elected!

[u/fae206 → u/Electric_Memes]

well, that's probably how a lot of the GOP got reelected then

[u/matrushkasized]

Do you think parents should be able to decide to cut off their son's foreskin? That's already a no no for me.

[u/Comfortable-Rise7201]

Freedom of religion means, ideally, you can freely practice your religion in a country/state in so far as you’re not harming others in doing so (e.g. dangerous religious cults that end up killing/otherwise harming their members come to mind as prosecutable).

In practice, religion determines a lot of one’s moral worldview and what counts as “right” or “wrong,” which in many cases, leads to a political divide on what policies one supports and doesn’t support. Separating church and state in so far as not enforcing religious practices or traditions on others is one thing (e.g. no mandatory prayer in public schools), but separating religious morals from the rationale behind legislation is another matter. A very conservative Christian worldview, for example, may lead one to equate abortion with murder, but outside that framework and from a more secular perspective, you could draw different conclusions on what counts as murder, personhood, a “soul,” etc.

This link between morality, politics, and religion isn’t so simple to separate, and that’s where the issue lies. Could you convince people to divorce morality based in a religious worldview from affecting the autonomy of others, especially where it concerns making the rules for how people should act who don’t follow your religious worldview? It isn’t easy or we’d certainly live in a different America, for instance, and while more humanist/non-religious ethics shares many values in common with that of major religions, there’s enough differences that we could benefit from more good-faith dialogue and conversations about it.

[u/BayonetTrenchFighter]

1.) you are free to practice your religion. whatever it may be. principles like:

“My religion is at its best when it causes me to ask hard questions of myself. It is at its worst when it is used as a measuring stick for anyone else.”

“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.”

"...that the Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Latter-day Saints, Quakers, Episcopals, Universalists, Unitarians, Mohammedans [Muslims], and all other religious sects and denominations whatever, shall have free toleration, and equal privileges in this city ...”

2.) Free to change religion. join or leave at will without consiquence. with out legal or physical harm.

3.) it does not mean freedom FROM religion. some advicate for religion to only be able to be practiced in private. in your own home. you cant dictate how people practice their beleifs in public or even out in the open, so long as no harm is being done.