The hallowed halls of the Colorado State Capitol were filled last Thursday in celebration of one of our country’s foundational freedoms.
In a moving display of unity and community, representatives from various faith traditions gathered for Colorado Religious Freedom Day and spoke of the importance of First Amendment protections of religious expression.
The event, cosponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Colorado Catholic Conference, included prayers and remarks from Bishop Jorge Rodríguez and leaders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Colorado Sikhs, Colorado Christian University, the Rocky Mountain NAACP and the Colorado Jewish community, as well as Governor Jared Polis, Colorado Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen and other political leaders.
“In the Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers proclaim that all men and women are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” President Eric Hogue of Colorado Christian University reminded the dozens gathered.
“This line in the Declaration of Independence reminds us that our rights are not granted by government or any earthly authority, but by a sovereign that transcends politics and human institutions. The belief in a Creator God who bestows these rights upon every one of us is a powerful affirmation of the inherent dignity and worth of every individual,” he continued.
The gift of religious liberty from God, our Creator, is something to be thankful for, and vigilant in protecting, Bishop Rodríguez said as he reflected on his upbringing in a country where religious liberty was not a protected right.
“I remember as a kindergartener or first grader seeing the nuns running around the school, removing religious signs because the state education inspector had arrived,” Bishop Rodríguez reminisced. “The principal was distracting him while the nuns hid everything, because religious symbols were not allowed in schools.”
Adding that clergy and religious were not even allowed to dress as such, Bishop Rodríguez praised the religious freedom protections of the United States, reminding those gathered of this great blessing – and of the citizens’ responsibility to defend the foundational right.
“O God our Creator, we ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty,” Bishop Rodríguez prayed in the words of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty. “Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your faithful people and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.”
“I can’t help but notice that my presence on this panel seems a little different, as one of the few speakers representing the government today,” reflected Senator Paul Lundeen, the Colorado Senate Minority Leader, one of three elected leaders who joined the event. “I recognize and acknowledge my role in protecting religious freedom but concede that what I do as a legislator pales the eternal scheme of things.”
Even with a focus on the things of Heaven, it is of paramount importance that legislators “do all they can to ensure that religious freedom – our first freedom – remains intact,” Senator Lundeen added.
Brittany Vessely, Executive Director of the Colorado Catholic Conference echoed Bishop Rodríguez and Senator Lundeen’s reflections, pointing out the decisive moment in which Colorado finds itself.
“Colorado is at a crossroads for religious liberty,” she told the Denver Catholic. “On one hand, we can celebrate religious liberty with an event that hosts the NAACP, Governor Jared Polis, Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, Colorado Christian University, and our own Bishop Jorge Rodríguez. But on the other hand, Colorado’s recent federal court decisions show Colorado is moving in the wrong direction in protecting religious freedom for businesses, nonprofits and individual citizens.”
“As Coloradans, we must stand together, as we did today, to recognize our first freedoms as Americans, enumerated by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is necessary to maintain self-government, but even more importantly, it is necessary for all peoples to adhere to their respective faith traditions in both belief and practice, inside the four walls of a church and in the public sphere,” she continued.
Though the event marks a powerful display of unity in support of one another’s beliefs, there is much work left to be done in defense of religious liberty.
“Let’s cherish these rights. Let’s protect these rights. Let’s pass them on to future generations so that the flame of freedom may continue to burn brightly in the land of the free and the home of the brave,” President Hogue concluded.