Inside the First Amendment
Contributor Charles C. Haynes is vice president of the Freedom Forum Institute, founding director of the Religious Freedom Center and a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center. He writes and speaks extensively on religious liberty and religion in American public life. Listed below are his most recent columns with “Inside the First Amendment.”
“To bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance”
In a series of letters written in 1790, George Washington reassured Quakers, Catholics, Baptists and Jews that they would be safe under a government committed to religious freedom.
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Newseum Institute Introduces New “Inside the First Amendment” Columnist
Lata Nott, executive director of the First Amendment Center, will replace longtime contributor Charles Haynes.
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“Welcoming the stranger” in the age of Trump
Religious individuals and communities offer sanctuary to undocumented people, defending their actions as acts of religious conscience protected by the First Amendment.
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“A shameful day”
On Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, President Donald Trump issued an executive order temporarily halting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, suspending the refugee program and permanently imposing a religious test for refugees going forward.
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To uphold religious freedom in 2017, do small things with great love
Whatever the motives for standing up for others – religious faith, civic virtue or enlightened self interest – religious freedom only works when a right for one is a right for all.
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Standing Rock: Historic win for Native American religious freedom
In the long, ugly history of persecution, exploitation, broken treaties, unkept promises and adverse court decisions, the victory at Standing Rock is a rare win for Native American religious freedom.
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Religious Freedom in the Age of Trump
Faith in the American ideal of liberty and equality for all – a faith widely shared by Americans across faiths and ideologies – is the firewall that will ultimately protect our experiment in religious diversity and democratic freedom.
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Genocide in Syria: Who lives, who dies, who cares?
The Syrian government targets and kills its own citizens based on their ethnic, religious or political background. According to international observers and reporters, the Bashar Assad regime conducts mass killings, murders civilians using barrel bombs and chemical weapons, destroys hospitals and blocks humanitarian aid.
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Republicans, Democrats and the Stakes for Religious Freedom
Like motherhood and apple pie, religious freedom is universally popular with members of both major parties. But you don’t have to read far in the party platforms to discover that Republican and Democratic definitions of religious freedom could not be farther apart in meaning and application.
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After Orlando, reclaiming our common humanity
Under the First Amendment every voice has the right to be heard in America – however offensive or disturbing. But a free society that would also be civil requires a critical mass of people willing to answer hatred and intolerance with love and compassion.
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