HUNTSVILLE — The Constitution of the United States addresses the issue of religion in several places in the First Amendment: Article VI prohibits religious tests as a condition of holding public office and prohibits the federal government from making a law “respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The provision was later broadened to incorporate state and local governments through the incorporation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Whereas, the First Amendment secures the exercise of religion, section one of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of religion, by securing “the equal protection of the laws” for every person. Thomas Jefferson wrote that the First Amendment erected a “wall of separation between church and state.” He more or less borrowed some language that Roger Williams, founder of the First Baptist Church in America and the Colony of Rhode Island, used in his book, The Bloody Tenet of Persecution (1644). Congress cannot establish a state religion or show preference for one religion nor can it prohibit religious freedom.

Today, controversy rages in the United States between those who wish to restrict government involvement with religious institutions while others advocate a stronger closer relationship between church and state. A few days ago, Missouri voters passed a constitutional amendment asserting the right to pray publicly and in schools. The amendment’s official ballot title: “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure:

(1) That the right of Missouri citizens to express their religious beliefs shall not be infringed; that school children have the right to pray and acknowledge God voluntarily in their schools; and that all public schools shall display the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution?” Critics of the bill called it unnecessary. The measure also drew opposition from the Islamic Foundation of St. Louis, which voice fears that the bill sent a message of exclusion to religious minorities. Missouri’s Catholic bishops supported the amendment. Since freedom of speech and religion are already protected by the Bill of Rights, the passage of the measure can be construed as what critics of the bill called “a push to trample religious minorities and a display of “intolerance” in a world that grows religiously more diverse each day.



Need for Understanding and Tolerance

Religious groups are calling for tolerance after several attacks on mosques and temples of various religious groups, including the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wis., and an Islamic Mosque in Joplin, Mo. Six people were killed in the shooting attack on the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin. Although no injuries were reported in the Joplin fire that destroyed a southwest Missouri mosque, Jasper County officials have stepped up patrols at the mosque. Wade M. Page left no hate-filled manifesto. Trained in psychological warfare in the U. S. Army, he killed six worshippers at the temple in the Milwaukee suburbs. Page was described by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an agency that keeps records of hate crimes, “as a frustrated neo-Nazi” who had long been active in the obscure underworld of white supremacist music.” Page, who was shot to death by police, described himself as a member of the “Hammerskins Nation,” a skinhead group rooted in Texas that has branches in Australia and Canada, according to SITE Monitoring Service, a Maryland-based private intelligence firm. There is evidence to suggest that he was a white supremacist who wanted to see his beliefs advanced in action. In November, Page allegedly said that “he would leave the United States if Herman Cain was elected president.” In an April message, Page said: “Passive submission is indirect support to the oppressors. Stand up for yourself and live the 14 words,” a reference to a common white supremacists mantra,” according to Scott Bauer and Todd Richmond of the Associated Press (Aug. 7, 2012).

Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization in Montgomery, Ala., described Page as a “frustrated neo-Nazi” whose bands’ sinister sounds talked about genocide against Jews and other minorities. His symbolic behavior became transformed into action when he entered the Sikh Temple as several dozen people prepared for Sunday services. He opened fire without saying a word. The president of the temple died defending the house of worship he founded. Before dying he put up a struggle with Page — a struggle that gave the women time to get “cover” in the kitchen. The semiautomatic handgun that Page used in the deadly attack on the Wisconsin temple is the same type used in other recent mass shootings, including one at a theater in Colorado where he once lived, and it was used in the attack on a congresswoman in Arizona.

James Holmes, the man accused of killing 12 people in a shooting spree at a theater in Aurora, Colo., used a .40-caliber Glock hand gun. These incidents were acts of violence against religious groups. They have sparked much conversation about the ideas of religious freedom and tolerance. Understanding religious beliefs other than your own is a key ingredient of tolerance. Without question, there is need for tolerance as American society becomes more culturally diverse. According to Joseph Liebman, “tolerance is the posture and cordial effort to understand another’s beliefs, practices, and habits without necessarily sharing or accepting them.”

The Anti-Defamation League condemned the violence and reached out to the Sikh community. The U. S. Department of Justice has investigated more than 800 incidents since 9/11 terrorist attacks involving violence, threats, vandalism, and arson against Arab Americans, Muslims, Sikhs, South-Asian Americans and other individuals perceived to be of Middle Eastern origin. Various groups are beginning to build bridges of understanding between diverse religions. The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Jewish Theological Seminary joined with Shoulder to Shoulder, a national religious, faith-based and interfaith organization to encourage Americans to join special services with their local Sikh communities. Christina Warner, campaign director for Shoulder to Shoulder, stated: “we reiterate our deep commitment to a United States that is able to tolerate and respect the many religious traditions that live together in this country. ... The tragedy in Milwaukee shows painfully the need for Americans of all faiths to learn about one another and embrace the diverse religious tapestry of the United States.” Without tolerance there is no religious liberty, no freedom of conscience and no freedom of thought.



Naomi W. Ledé is a retired Senior Research Scientist, Distinguished Professor, and University Administrator. She is Chair, Board of the Samuel Walker Houston Museum and Cultural Center, Huntsville, Texas.