A new declaration signed by business and cultural leaders in Chicago
voiced support for the U.S. Constitution’s religious freedom protections
and emphasized the importance of education and engagement on this
fundamental right in the face of current threats.
"In recognizing the unique and indispensable role of religion in our
society and in the development of people, we affirm the positive good
that religion plays in resisting vice and degradation, and in building
virtue and a more noble humanity," the signatories of The Chicago
Declaration stated.
Noting that religious freedom is “the indispensable means of ensuring
the hopeful vitality of our people and Constitutional Republic,” they
warned that “to lose it is to lose the heart of the nation and the
Republic itself.”
The declaration grew out of the Reclaiming Religious Liberty Leadership
Summit, which took place at Halas Hall in the Chicago area on Oct. 14.
The summit brought together more than 100 city leaders, including
business owners, lawyers, media personalities, legislators and clergy
members.
Participants of various religious and political backgrounds discussed
current threats to religious freedom and signed the declaration to
affirm their support for the Constitution at a time when the religious
liberty, “at the very heart of our nation, is under attack.”
Prominent signatories included Virginia attorney general Ken
Cuccinelli, U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) and Chicago Bears senior
director of special projects Patrick McCaskey, along with radio host Dan
Proft, Jewish rabbi Philip Lefkowitz and Muslim attorney Asma Uddin.
The declaration acknowledged the need to educate people about the
importance of religious freedom and the prominent formative role that it
has played throughout American history.
It stressed the importance of engaging Americans through dialogue on
the value and meaning of religious liberty and its foundation as a
universal right, as well as why it is still relevant today.
The signers said they agree with America’s founders and generations of
citizens who understood that religious freedom is an inherent right and a
gift from God, who created human nature.
"We declare that the Religious Freedom established in our nation is for
all people, all religions, and all faiths," they added, pointing to the
openness to all religions that is rooted in natural law and included in
the American founding.
"To steward the nation and future generations into a tomorrow of stable
and sustained human flourishing, we must honor this heritage personally
and publicly," they said.
The signatories warned that throughout the past century, America's
"exceptional heritage has been progressively obscured, distorted and
undermined, so that today it is increasingly absent in the national
culture."
"Our Religious Freedom is under attack and the grave consequences of
its increasing diminishment are already evident," they said, expressing
opposition to the "movements and ideologies that have attacked our
freedoms," particularly the federal contraceptive mandate, which attacks
"the very core of our First Amendment rights."
The controversial mandate has been criticized for threatening religious
freedom throughout the U.S. It requires employers to offer health
insurance plans covering contraception, sterilization and
abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates their religious
beliefs.
The declaration signers called for the repeal of the mandate and
pledged to act to "inform and educate those around us" about the
importance of conscience rights.
Aware of the urgent threats to religious liberty in America, they
called "for all people to take strategic actions to reclaim our destiny
as a nation to be a shining example of Religious Freedom."
"In this way, we will be fulfilling our duty to God and thus respecting all those whom He has created," they said.
Organizers of the religious freedom summit are calling for concerned
Americans to join their efforts by signing The Chicago Declaration at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/the-chicago-declaration/ and by engaging those around them in informative discussions on religious liberty.