Religion in the Public Sphere

Going Forward with Religious Freedom & Nondiscrimination

“We should accept the reality that we are fellow citizens who need each other."

Understanding Religion As Essential— Reflections on the COVID-19 Crisis and the Place of Religion

… how secular officials understand religion and religious people deeply influences how they treat religious institutions and believers in a time of crisis. The deeper and more respectful the understanding, the more legitimate and effective public policy responses can be.

“In the Marrow of Their Bones”: The Latter-day Saint Experience of Religion as Identity

“For tens of millions of Americans, faith and religious conviction are the most powerful and defining sources of personal and family identity in their lives.

The Human Dimension of Religious Freedom

The purpose of a society is to assist us in fulfilling the measure of our creation. The goal of religious freedom is the flowering of the God-given human potential in all of us.

The Importance of Religious Freedom

People of faith must be at the forefront in protecting religious freedom-a freedom from which many other essential freedoms emanate. Freedom of religion and freedom of speech are both the heart and the foundation of representative democracy. Freedom to believe in private and to exercise belief and speech in the public square are essential to protecting inalienable rights.

Religious Freedom in a Pluralistic Society

“This point of course contradicts the contention that religion is mostly a matter of history without significance in modern times, or, more ominously, that religion is irrational and discriminatory and therefore should be diminished in both public expression and influence. Far from relics of the past, religious principles and religious believers are a vital present and future force everywhere.”

Challenges to Religious Freedom

"[The protection of conscience] helps people from a wide spectrum of beliefs feel assured that their deepest concerns and values are respected and protected."

Preserving Agency, Protecting Religious Freedom

The faithful use of our agency depends upon our having religious freedom.

Hope for the Years Ahead

“There should be room for all good-faith views in the public square, be they secular, religious, or a mixture of the two. When expressed sincerely and without sanctimoniousness, the religious voice adds much to the text and tenor of public debate.”

Faith and the Public Square

In American history this sublime and ­serious combination of religion and democracy has overall been a force for great good. Some of the most important movements of conscience in our history emerged from the convictions of religious people and used the language and liturgy of faith to build popular support.

From Plaza to Postage Stamp: The Threatened Demise of Religion in the Public Square

Catholics and Latter-day Saints: Partners in the Defense of Religious Freedom

Perhaps in the struggle to defend religious liberty for our churches and for all Americans, our greatest weapon is neither the voting booth nor the legal brief but the prayers that we and our worshipping communities lift up to Almighty God week after week on behalf of our nation.

Religious Freedom

"Religious freedom has always been at risk. It was repression of religious belief and practice that drove the Pilgrim fathers and other dissenters to the shores of this continent. Even today, leaders in all too many nations use state power to repress religious believers."

LDS Lawyers and the Public Square

In this heartfelt address, Elder Quentin L. Cook expresses profound gratitude for the legal community, weaving personal anecdotes and familial influences into reflections on the value of legal education. Emphasizing the importance of religious freedom, he calls on lawyers to actively engage in public discourse, advocating for righteous principles while upholding their faith.