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Give Bigotry No Sanction: Exploring Religious Freedom and Democracy

Image from US Currency Washington's Eyes

Welcome to Give Bigotry No Sanction—The George Washington Letter Project: Exploring Religious Freedom and Democracy.

George Washington’s 1790 "Letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island" is a landmark in the history of religious freedom in America, and part of a founding moment in U.S. history when the country was negotiating how a democracy accommodates differences among its people.   READ MORE

 

Recent Posts from Our Religion and Democracy Blog

US Envoy to Muslim Communities Says Outreach to Young People, Digital Natives, Is Crucial to Combating Hate

Direct outreach to young people and community leaders, not governments alone, is crucial to Farah Pandith, U.S. Special Representative to Muslim Communities.
 

GBNS eventState Department's Rosenthal: A Mission to Combat Antisemitism Looks to Both History and the Present

Hannah Rosenthal, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, spoke recently at a Facing History event, telling listeners that the mission of connecting history to the present has never more vital. The intensity of hate she sees in her world travels, she says, is "frightening."
 

Church and State Once More in the News as US Elections Approach

America's 2012 election cycle has brought issues of religion and democracy and the phrase "separation of church and state" into headlines once more.

Scholar Jonathan Laurence on How Europe Can Integrate Muslims

By taking the choice to wear the burka away from Muslim women, is France impinging on their religious liberty, or restoring their freedom to integrate and fully participate in a democracy?

 

t shirt imagesWashington's Birthday: Share Your Insights (and You Could Win a T-Shirt)

As we honor the calendar birthday of George Washington, this is a great moment to recall his landmark words about standing up to bigotry. And we're giving away a stylish t-shirt to one of our commenters! Share your experience.

Facing History Paris Workshop: What Do We Do with a Difference?: Religion, Politics, and the Public Space

On February 17, Facing History is hosting a unique workshop in Paris, titled "What Do We Do with a Difference?: Religion, Politics, and the Public Space." We will examine age-old questions of the relationship between religion and democracy that have resurfaced in the wake of events like the headscarf debate in France and the controversy over the Park51/Ground Zero Mosque.

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Lessons in Belonging: Washington's Letter and Today's Revolutions

As dictatorships in the Middle East and North Africa fall, questions about the place of religion in government have gained new urgency worldwide. While marveling at the courage of today's protesters, commentators wonder: can new governments balance freedom of religion with democratic principles?

 

TileReligion in Colonial America: Trends, Regulations, and Beliefs

Puritans and Anglicans, Baptists and Quakers, Catholics and Jews, Native Americans and slaves, rationalists and revivalists: long before 1776,  American settlers struggled to deal with religious difference. Learn some of the common experiences around religion in colonial culture that shaped the United States' balance among national law, local practice, and individual freedom of belief. 

 

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