on Religious Freedom Day

The comments that follow were given to the Long Beach City Council on Religious Freedom Day, January 16, 2007.
Donald Shoemaker
Chairman, Social Concerns Committee
Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches


Mayor Foster, council members, city officials and fellow citizens, good afternoon.

My name is Donald Shoemaker. I am a 36-year resident of Long Beach and I live in the 5th District. I have been a clergyman in this area for these 36 years and I now serve as Senior Pastor of Grace Community Church of Seal Beach.

Today, January 16, is “Religious Freedom Day” in our country. The date is significant because on January 16, 1786, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was adopted. This historic document provided the first legal protection for religious liberty in our country.

In 1994, President Clinton proclaimed “Religious Freedom Day” with the important warning: “Our government did not create this liberty, but it cannot be too vigilant in securing its blessings.”

It is significant that this day immediately follows the day we remembered Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King’s religious faith was the foundation of his fight for civil rights and gave him his principles for civil disobedience to unjust laws.

Our First Amendment forbids the establishment of religion. It also guarantees the free exercise of religion, which includes freedom of conscience, freedom of worship, and freedom to live out one’s religious values and to bring them to the table of public debate.

The vigilance in securing religious freedom that President Clinton encouraged must be exercised at our local level as well as at the federal level.

I make five points:

1. For the future, I urge the city council to consider designating each January 16 as “Religious Freedom Day” and, as President Clinton encouraged, “observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities” and reaffirm our “devotion to the principles of religious freedom.

2. I urge our civic leaders to temper any zeal to confiscate through eminent domain property dedicated to religious use, when someone thinks this property is better off in secular hands. Be sensitive to zoning and other government-imposed restrictions that might unreasonably impair the free exercise of religion.

3. I urge our civic leaders to make sure that worshippers are able to travel to their houses of worship with reasonable ease on the day that so many streets are closed for the Long Beach Marathon.

4. I urge that we be sensitive to any government action that might trample the consciences of people or restrict the free exercise of their religious liberty in any way, so long as they are not hurting others. As Jefferson once said, “No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the power of its public functionaries.”

5. Finally, I urge us all to be aware of religious tyranny and supportive of religious liberty around the world. In his proclamation of this year’s “Religious Freedom Day,” President Bush observed, “Today, our citizens profess many different faiths, and we welcome every religion. Yet people in many countries live without the freedom to worship as they choose and face persecution for their beliefs.”

Religious Freedom Day

January 16 is "Religious Freedom Day" in the U.S., by proclamation of the President. I, for one, will make reference to it before our congregation sings the verse from "And Can It Be," - "My chains fell off, my heart was free."

Ultimate religious freedom comes from Jesus, for if the Son shall make us free, then we are free indeed. Religious freedom also extends to Christian liberty in matters the Bible neither commands nor forbids (Romans 14; Galatians 5:1). Politically, it guarantees our right to exercise our religion free of government pressures.

For more information on educating your congregation on Religious Freedom Day, visit www.breakpoint.org.