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Kayla Briceno

Ms. Gardner

English 10 Honors, Per. 6

29 November 2016

Letter to the President: Freedom of Religion

People are currently dying as I write this. People are currently dying as you read this.

People are dying day to day because of their religion. As a follower of a religion myself, I speak

to you, my President- elect, in hopes to diminish the discrimination of religions throughout our

country and this world. All people deserve the right to believe, express, and practice the religion

of their choice without being judged, ridiculed, or harmed by the people practicing religions

different from their beliefs. Although people may not necessarily agree with all religions, they

should respect others decisions to follow that religion. While there is already an International

Religious Freedom Act, it is up to you to rule out and liberate our global promotion of a freedom

of religion.

Freedom of religion is something that is challenged every day. In fact religious

discrimination occurs in our country, the so called land of the free. The First Amendment of

the United States Constitution enables the right for all individuals to have a freedom of religion,

yet this remains an issue to this day throughout the country. One major example would be how

American citizens are forced to swear under oath when in court by placing a hand on a bible and

stating "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

How can the US promise their citizens a freedom of religion, when at the same time they force
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them to swear under an oath to the law by stating Gods name? The citizens of America deserve

what they were promised: a freedom of religion.

The topic of freedom of religion affects me personally with the Pledge of Allegiance. I

stand to support a nation that I believe thrives under God. I respect that others choose to sit

because of religious factors that they do or do not believe in. However, I do believe the line one

nation under God should remain in the pledge for those who support that to embrace it, while

those who do not can respectfully keep to their own religious beliefs by doing what they choose

to do with the pledge, whether it be standing or sitting.

The world outside the US borders also deals with religious injustice. According to the

State Departments International Religious Freedom report the Islamic State, known as ISIS, is

among the most egregious abusers of religious freedom in the world. Leaders and followers of

Isis believe that their religion is the only rightful religion, and that it is their duty to convert all

people to that religion, and if they do not convert they should be executed because that is what

their God is demanding them to do. They also threaten rivers of blood to all non-Muslims and all

nonbelievers. According to The Hill, Isis brutal regime of institutionalized rapes, murders and

slavery has targeted anyone not conforming to its narrow and extreme version of Islam. How

can a person obtain a freedom of religion when they are prohibited to following any other

religion but the one a group is forcing all to abide by, and living in fear of death for not

following that particular religion? The citizens of other countries deserve a freedom of religion.

One may argue that the religion in which they believe in is the most prominent, and how

all people should follow that particular religion, and how all other religions teachings are false,

and how only their religion should be practiced. While it is great that they think so highly of their
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religion, all people should be entitled to hold their own religious beliefs. The freedom of religion

is not a bad thing at all, it does not bring harm to anyone, in fact it has occurred where it comes

to benefit the lives of others. An example of this would be when Desmond T. Doss saved 75 men

in the Battle of Okinawa, not only risking his life in doing so but also never once bearing arms

due to his religious beliefs. To some, religion is a very important aspect of their life. To others,

religion does not play a role in their life at all. Whether a person is religious or not, we all

deserve to live in a peaceful world where we accept everyone for who they are and what they

believe in.

All people deserve the right to a freedom of religion and deserve to live in a peaceful

world that accepts all religions. There are people struggling with this issue in the United States.

There are people dying because of this issue throughout the world. This is not only a problem

that needs to be resolved in the US, but it also must be fixed in other countries as well. It is up to

us to light the way for our country and other countries to come to acceptance with all religions.

People must never discriminate against other religions and we must never allow this

discrimination to occur from here on out. The entire population of the world should be allowed a

freedom of religion. Let us begin to enable this.

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