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| Introduction |
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The right to freedom of religion is so central to American democracy that it was enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution, along with other fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
This mini-site contains materials explaining some of the current challenges to religious freedom in America.
For over 90 years, the Anti-Defamation League has been ardent advocate for religious freedom for all Americans - whether in the majority or minority. We believe the best way to safeguard religious freedom is through the separation of church and state embodied in the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. As a leading religious freedom advocate, ADL continues to meet challenges to religious freedom through friend of the court legal briefs, lobbying and legislative activity, and grassroots education.
America's founders mandated the strict separation of church and state to guarantee an atmosphere of religious liberty. Largely because of this prohibition against government regulation or endorsement of religious, diverse faiths have flourished and thrived in America since the founding of the Republic. Indeed, James Madison, one of the fathers of the United States Constitution, once observed that "the [religious] devotion of the people has been manifestly increased be the total separation of the church from the state."
Today, there are ever increasing legal, legislative, and grassroots challenges to our founding father;s revolutionary vision of the separation of church and state. Ongoing for several decades, these challenges have regrettably weakened church-state separation to the detriment of religious freedom for all Americans. |
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