Paul Rosenberg writing at Salon, reports that there is “a growing movement of modern-day Jeffersonians,” taking the idea of religious freedom forward in our time. He is right about that. And some of this happens right here on Daily Kos. If you are not yet part of it, there is a Religious Freedom Day group you are welcome to join. And if you are not too sure about that, all are also welcome to join us on Religious Freedom Day, January 16th.
But I am getting ahead of my story.
Thomas Jefferson wanted to be remembered most, for three things (and being the founder of the Democratic Party was not among them). He wanted to be remembered as the author of the Declaration of Independence, the “Father of the University of Virginia” and as the author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. Historians and legal scholars generally agree that Jefferson’s bill became the framework for the approach to religion and government taken by the Framers of the Constitution and the First Amendment.
In 1991, Congress belatedly recognized its importance and designated January 16th as Religious Freedom Day to celebrate enactment of the Virginia Statute, stipulating only that it be commemorated by a presidential proclamation. Beyond that, we are on our own. Rosenberg writes:
We arrive once again at Religious Freedom Day on Jan. 16, when the Christian right will claim that its “freedom” to oppress others is under horrendous assault. For the third year in a row, they’ll be countered by a growing movement of modern-day Jeffersonians seeking to reclaim the real meaning of that day, and the real history that it celebrates — the hard-won freedom of all to practice whatever form of religious belief, or non-belief, their consciences guide them to.
That’s right.
There is indeed a growing movement of modern-day Jeffersonians. For starters, there is the Coalition for Liberty and Justice, which includes more than 60 national groups as American United for Separation of Church and State, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Secular Coalition for America, Interfaith Alliance, National Council of Jewish Women, Muslims for Progressive Values, and Political Research Associates, (where I work). Among other things, the Coalition sponsors social media to highlight the Day, notably on Twitter at #ReligiousFreedomIs. And there is the band of bloggers here at Daily Kos who have published numerous thoughtful and engaging posts on Religious Freedom Days past. I know that this year, we can expect posts from at least Ojibwa, ramara, officebss, River Rover and me.
I recently asked historian John Ragosta a leading expert on Jefferson and religious freedom, what we can do to sustain and advance the Jeffersonian ideal of religious freedom in our time. He basically said that first we need to know it and then we have to live it.
One simple but powerful thing is to read the Virginia Statute in schools, in churches, at home, especially on Religious Freedom Day. It should be posted in schools and other public places. It is compelling.
Then we have to live it, including allowing others to have their beliefs. Jefferson once suggested that perhaps the only thing that we should require of anyone to be tolerated in our society is their commitment to tolerate others.
He also said:
Our original national motto speaks to the way that our religious, ethnic and racial diversity is a source of greatness: E Pluribus Unum–out of many, one. This is nowhere more true than in religion. Jefferson once explained that the normal rule in politics was reversed when talking about religion; for religion, “divided we stand, united we fall.” Our diversity itself protects us from government trying to control how and what we think. This is the blessing of religious freedom.
In that spirit, I plan to post the text Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom here on Daily Kos on Religious Freedom Day -- and will probably have a few things to say about it as well.