One of the chief concerns for delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was ensuring that the government could not censor the public and oppress citizens for their thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. In fact, the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” (US Const. amend. I). Also listed in the first amendment is the freedom from oppression of faiths and religions. President John F. Kennedy spoke on the importance of this in his 1960 “Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association,” “I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials; and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all” (Kennedy, “Ministerial Association”). Kennedy’s declaration pierced the hearts of many and enforced the American ideal that no faith should to be repressed. America’s freedom from oppression of any kind is so critical to a harmonious American society as it ensures that citizens will not be punished for having unique political views and spiritual
One of the chief concerns for delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was ensuring that the government could not censor the public and oppress citizens for their thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. In fact, the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” (US Const. amend. I). Also listed in the first amendment is the freedom from oppression of faiths and religions. President John F. Kennedy spoke on the importance of this in his 1960 “Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association,” “I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials; and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all” (Kennedy, “Ministerial Association”). Kennedy’s declaration pierced the hearts of many and enforced the American ideal that no faith should to be repressed. America’s freedom from oppression of any kind is so critical to a harmonious American society as it ensures that citizens will not be punished for having unique political views and spiritual