Sadly, some people elected to run our government do not understand that our country is built on the separation of church and state. An illustration is Rep. Virgil Goode (R- Va.), who criticized a newly elected Congressman who took his oath of office on the Koran, the holy book of his religion.

Rep. Goode appears not to have read the Constitution of the United States, whose Article VI states that "…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Indeed, no one is required to affirm on any holy book, though many opt to do so.

Ironically, the Muslim who took the oath in question did it on a copy of the Koran owned by Thomas Jefferson, one of our nation's founders. Jefferson would have understood the intolerance this criticism showed. Nearly two hundred years ago, he wrote: "Our laws have applied the only antidote to [religious intolerance], protecting our religious, as they do our civil, rights by putting all on equal footing."

He was referencing the First Amendment, a document often misunderstood in modern times. To counter this, The Interfaith Alliance Foundation has joined with Americans United for Separation of Church and State to establish a project called "First Freedom First." Petition signers will call upon elected and appointed officials to reaffirm America's religious freedom.

THE PETITION

The founders of our nation believed that all Americans should have the right to worship according to their own beliefs, or not to worship at all. So strong was their commitment to religious freedom that they enshrined it in the first sentence of the Bill of Rights.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

This constitutional guarantee is often known as the "first freedom."

Religion is a deeply personal matter. Americans must be free to practice their religion without coercion. Government exists to provide for the general well-being of all people, and its workings must be independent of specific religious doctrines. Simply put, there must be a separation of church and state.
If we do not stand together as a nation, we stand to lose this fundamental freedom.

We, the undersigned, call upon elected and appointed officials to join us in reaffirming America's religious freedom by demonstrating a commitment to the following:

-Every American should have the right to make personal decisions -- about family life, reproductive health, end of life care and other matters of personal conscience.

-American tax dollars should not go to charities that discriminate in hiring based on religious belief or that promote a particular religious faith as a requirement for receiving services.

-Political candidates should not be endorsed or opposed by houses of worship.

-Public schools should teach with academic integrity and without the promotion of religious preference or belief.

-Decisions about scientific and health policies should be based on the best available scientific data, not on religious doctrine.

We join together, as the most diverse nation in the world, to commit ourselves to defending and preserving this freedom.

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Please go online at http://www.firstfreedomfirst.org/ to sign this petition.