John Adams Quotes

Religious freedom is a fundamental human right.

President Obama understands that, as a nation founded by those who fled religious persecution, freedom of religion is central to who we are as Americans. Our rights are not given to us by government, they are endowed by our Creator.

The rights [to religious freedom] are of the natural rights of mankind, and ... if any act shall be ... passed to repeal [an act granting those rights] or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right.

The First Amendment freedom of religion is as important today as when the Bill of Rights was first written.

There is little doubt that religious liberty is best exercised within the setting of the secular state.

What other nations call religious toleration, we call religious rights.

Civil liberty can be established on no foundation of human reason which will not at the same time demonstrate the right of religious freedom.

Remember civil and religious liberty always go together: if the foundation of the one be sapped, the other will fall of course.

I believe that the most essential element of our defense of freedom is our insistence on speaking out for the cause of religious liberty.

..the establishment of Civil and Religious Liberty was the Motive that induced me to the field of battle.

There is no relationship here between Church and State. Religious liberty has its unalterable place, along with civil and human liberty, in the very foundation of the Republic. I hold it [religious intolerance] to be a menace to the very liberties which we boast and cherish.

The constitutional freedom of religion is the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights

The civil rights of none, shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext infringed.

The establishment of Civil and Religious Liberty was the Motive which induced me to the Field - the object is attained - and it now remains to be my earnest wish & prayer, that the Citizens of the United States could make a wise and virtuous use of the blessings placed before them.

In a free government the security for civil rights must be the same as that for religious rights.

We Americans unite faith and freedom in asserting that our liberties are your gift, God, not that of government.

Religious liberty should be a bipartisan issue.

All too frequently, the knee jerk reaction to tragedies by the media and chattering class is to move to restrict our rights... Our founding documents make it clear that our inalienable rights come from God and that the job of the government is to ensure and protect those God-given rights.

Religious institutions should have religious freedom on this issue. No church or minister should ever have to conduct a marriage that is inconsistent with their religious beliefs. But I think as a civil institution, this issue's time has come and we need to move forward.

I believe that freedom of speech and freedom of religion go hand-in-hand in America.

Religious freedom is already protected in the United States. It's in our Constitution. It's in most state constitutions.

Religious freedom, often referred to as the first freedom, is of central import to the American experiment. As such it should feature prominently in U.S. foreign policy.

The phrase 'religious liberty' has become an overused talisman. Most of the invocations lately have nothing to do with actual infringements of free exercise [of religion]. They're about political and cultural dissent from gay rights.

No doubt that a great deal of nonsense has been written about the “unalienable rights of individuals.”

A robust democratic society depends on its ability to uphold and protect religious freedom -- a basic right inherent in the very dignity of the human person. It is therefore essential to safeguard citizens who belong to religious minorities from acts of violence. Such protection not only accords with human dignity but also contributes to the common good.