This is the second part of my explanation of the religious freedom principle that I developed, which was printed in the March 25 and April 9 editions of the Times-Union. Here it is again with a last necessary minor modification from the version listed in the April 9 letter to the editor.
Freedom of religion is the inalienable right of each person, whether alone or with others, to peacefully, openly, freely and with respect for the rights of others profess belief in the supernatural and engage in the practice of a religion of one's own choosing or for one to peacefully, openly, freely and with respect for the rights of others profess no belief in the supernatural and refuse to practice any religion at all, and for each person to be free from having acts of persecution, forced to practice any religion at all and for each person to be free from having acts of persecution, force conversion, intrusion into the internal affairs of one's congregation, denomination or faith and the establishment of a universal state church/state religion or militant state atheism inflicted upon them by any part or whole of any local, state, national, continental or world government.
I will now go into the remainder of my explanation of the above principle.
6. "Acts of persecution" includes such heinous practices as extermination campaigns, executions, torture, imprisonment, forced manual labor, deportation, monetary fines, property confiscation, sham court trails, etc.
7. "Acts of force conversion" included either the direct approach of being coerced into swearing an oath or performing a ritual where one renounces their current faith and pledges allegiance to a new one. Or the indirect approaches of compulsory church attendance/non-attendance, mandatory funding of churches, coerced compliance to the tenets and decrees of a particular religion, etc.
8. "Acts of intrusion into the internal affairs of one's congregation, denomination or faith," unless one's church is involved in some kind of criminal activity. There is no legitimate reason for government intervention into and the attempted micromanagement of the normal everyday activities of one's church, denomination or faith and the general public's spiritual lives.
9. The establishment of a universal state church/state religion means the selection whether by law, decree, or action of a particular religion or even militant atheism as the official religion of a country which is the only one that can and must be legally and openly practiced while all others are force to go underground.
That concludes my explanation of the religious freedom principle.
