The Colorado Springs Gazette | Editorial | 061218
Checks and balances uphold the First Amendment’s protection to exercise religion in the United States. Few other countries enjoy the same protection.
The U.S. government’s enforcement of religious liberty preserves a country in which Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Satanists, atheists and more live in relative peace. Most Americans practice faith, or avoid it, without fear of authoritarian reprisal or violent persecution by individuals and/or groups with conflicting views.
If this were the standard throughout the world, we would have less war. We would see fewer beheadings and other forms of murder and torture by governments and barbarians favoring establishment of religion over the free exercise thereof.
“Want less terror? One of the best things to do is have more religious freedom. If you want to grow your economy, provide more religious freedom,” said Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
Brownback visited Colorado Springs on Monday, accompanied by a host of religious leaders and U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn. Brownback praised the Pikes Peak region’s status as a hub for religious organizations that provide international aid.
“Religious freedom releases spiritual capital,” Brownback said, during a news conference and town hall at Glen Eyrie Castle. “It brings people to invest in people. It opens up minds, and gets people building schools, colleges, hospitals, and clinics all over the place. It cannot be a restrictive environment in which people fear for their lives because of their beliefs. Religious groups can’t send people in to help if they fear for their lives.”