Letters & Documents

Cantwell v. Connecticut Majority Opinion

January 21, 2019 Sacred Liberty

US Supreme Court Justice 1940 This was the case through which the U.S. Supreme Court “incorporated” the “free exercise” clause of the First Amendment so that state and local governments could no longer infringe on the rights outlined in the Constitution. The case arose after Newton Cantwell and his son Jesse went to spread the gospel in a Catholic neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut. They brought a portable hand-cranked phonograph and played bits of Rutherford’s book Enemies, which includes passages…

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The Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses

January 21, 2019 Sacred Liberty

American Civil Liberties Union 1941 These are excerpts from a report done by the American Civil Liberties Union in 1941. The ACLU represented the Witnesses in several of their cases. Only a recital of the extraordinary incidents which reached their peak in May and June of this year will indicate the extent of the persecution. The following instances are taken from the volume of testimony presented to the Department of Justice based upon affidavits and reports from the field, and…

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Sherbert v. Verner

January 21, 2019 Sacred Liberty

U.S. Supreme Court 1963 The Supreme Court’s first major twentieth-century religious liberty case involved Adele Sherbert, a textile worker in Beaumont Mills, South Carolina. The factory that employed her instituted a six-day workweek—Monday through Satur- day. But Sherbert was a Seventh-day Adventist, which teaches that the Sab- bath is Saturday (Exod. 31:15: “Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he…

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Imprisoned Preachers and Religious Liberty in Virginia

January 21, 2019 Sacred Liberty

Between 1760 and 1778, there were more than 150 major attacks against Baptists in the colony, most of them carried out by leaders of local Anglican churches. By one estimate, half of all the Baptist preachers in Virginia had been arrested by the time of the American Revolution. In “Imprisoned Preachers and Religious Liberty in Virginia”, we can see some on the many ways Baptists were persecuted for practicing and preaching their faith. Source(s): John A. Ragosta, Wellspring of Liberty:…

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American Muslims’ Special Obligation

January 21, 2019 Sacred Liberty

Ingrid Mattson, former head of the Islamic Society of North America “Let me state it clearly: I, as an American Muslim leader, denounce not only suicide bombers and the Taliban, but those leaders of other Muslim states who thwart democracy, repress women, use the Qur’an to justify un-Islamic behavior, and encourage violence. Alas, these views are not only the province of a small group of terrorist or dictators. Too many rank-and-file Muslims, in their isolation and pessimism, have come to hold…

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Shariah: The Threat to America: An Exercise in Competitive Analysis

January 21, 2019 Sacred Liberty

Center for Security Policy, William G. Boykin et al., 2010 […] While detailed recommendations for adopting a more prudential and effective strategy for surviving shariah’s onslaught are beyond the scope of this study, several policy and programmatic changes are in order. These include: U.S. policymakers, financiers, businessmen, judges, journalists, community leaders and the public at large must be equipped with an accurate understanding of the nature of shariah and the necessity of keeping America shariah-free. At a minimum, this will…

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President George W. Bush at the Islamic Center of Washington, DC

January 21, 2019 Sacred Liberty

President George W. Bush September 17, 2001 A few days after the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush decided to visit a local mosque. On September 17, he entered the Islamic Center of Washington, took off his shoes, and walked into the prayer room. He urged Americans to embrace their fellow Muslims and understand the difference between Islamic extremists and mainstream American Muslims. […] We’ve just had a — wide-ranging discussions on the matter at hand. Like the good folks…

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Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium

January 21, 2019 Sacred Liberty

Evangelicals and Catholics Together May 1994 As the Second Millennium draws to a close, the Christian mission in world history faces a moment of daunting opportunity and responsibility. If in the merciful and mysterious ways of God the Second Coming is delayed, we enter upon a Third Millennium that could be, in the words of John Paul II, “a springtime of world missions.” (Redemptoris Missio) As Christ is one, so the Christian mission is one. That one mission can be…

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Dignitatis Humanae: Declaration on Religious Freedom:

January 21, 2019 Sacred Liberty

Pope Paul VII December 7, 1965 Vatican II issued this important document, which shifted the Catholic Church’s approach to religious freedom, embracing the American approach. The statement had been pushed hard by American Cardinals and academics. Dignitatis Humanae was used later by reformers within the Catholic Church who were fighting Communism and other tyrannies. Pope John Paul II’s biographer, George Weigel, argues that he owed his effectiveness, as both archbishop of Krakow and pope, to this Madisonian document. “Absent Dignitatis…

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John F. Kennedy’s speech before the Greater Houston Ministerial Association

January 21, 2019 Sacred Liberty

John F Kennedy September 12, 1960 John F. Kennedy decided he needed to address the Catholic Issue directly. He did so during a speech in Houston. Reverend Meza, Reverend Reck, I’m grateful for your generous invitation to speak my views. While the so-called religious issue is necessarily and properly the chief topic here tonight, I want to emphasize from the outset that we have far more critical issues to face in the 1960 election; the spread of Communist influence, until…

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