Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi Quotes
There will necessarily be a tension between the church and tradition on one hand and human rights on the other.
Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, Vice-President of Fiji,, Address to the Pacific Regional Workshop on Leadership Development, Lami, Fiji, July 9, 2005
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
In 1858 the Catholic Church virtually controlled much of the Mexican state, owned much of the land, and was opposed to all notions of separation of church and state. At that time in the “War of Reform” vast changes began abolishing ecclesiastical courts, barring church land ownership, and eventually prohibiting churches from running schools and clerics from criticizing the government.
Note that in addition to getting rid of the authority of the King, New York—over a decade before the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment, provided for a ban on an established church or favoring one Christian sect over another. Even then New York was a multi religious and multi ethnic society with its strong Dutch tradition along with the English tradition. New York did not go as far as the First Amendment would do later in terms of freedom of religion. NY only mentioned Christian sects. However they did implement separation of church and state and an establishment clause. See {621429} for another clause that ensures separation of church and state.
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Many of the founding fathers were aware of such views in England as the same issues were being debated in America in the debates on Ratification of the Constitution and the required inclusion of the Bill or Rights—specifically the First Amendment.
The then current example was with same sex marriage. Some people who claimed that their religion declared same sex marriage as a sin and prohibited their aiding and abetting that activity. As a result, they claimed that their right of religious freedom allowed a county clerk to refuse to issue the marriage license or a hotel to refuse to allow a gay couple to rent their facility for a wedding, or a retail store to refuse to sell the couple bedding.
At the beginning of our nation, before there was a Constitution, the state of Virginia prohibited clergy from serving in the state legislature.
In the midst of the Argentine Dirty War where the right wing government was murdering and torturing their political enemies of the left, most of the Catholic Church Priests and other Church Authorities had sided with the government and morally overlooked their atrocities and crimes against humanity. Others were fearful as Bishop Enrique Angelelli had been murdered by the military death squads in 1976. Bishop Hesayne was one of the few members of the Church hierarchy who criticized church officials for their silence.
It was drafted by John Adams. Note that there was freedom of religion for Christians and not others. Of all the colonies, Massachusetts had the worst record of religious intolerance with Puritans controlling everything. Rhode Island and Connecticut were created by religious dissenters from Massachusetts. Adams had all he could do to get the Christian sects on an equal footing ratified. The other colonies however, insisted to a total freedom of religion clause which became the First Amendment to the national Constitution. Adams himself was a kind of secular, cultural Christian who did not believe in the divinity of Christ and other Christian doctrine. See {592695} to illustrate this.
This book is endorsed by major religious organizations of all faiths as well as National School Boards Association, National Education Association, National PTA, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of Elementary School Principals, American Association of School Administrators and others. It is used as a guideline by most schools systems in the United States.
As enlightened as this statement is, it was not always a part of Mormon doctrine. When Brigham Young was head of the church he also served as Governor of the Utah Territory, and the separation of church and state was not so clear. In modern times however, the Mormon views have been the quintessential views of most Americans—Mormon or otherwise.
The official city seal at the time contained the Christian fish symbol.
Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, Lord Madraiwiwi Tangatatonga was a prominent Fijian lawyer, legal scholar, jurist, and politician. He served as Vice-President, and also acting President, of Fiji, and Chief Justice of Nauru.
