Dan Coats: “The United States, which we are privileged and pleased to be citizens of, has long been considered a pillar of freedom…”

“The United States, which we are privileged and pleased to be citizens of, has long been considered a pillar of freedom around the world. Our Nation was founded by individuals fleeing persecution and discrimination throughout Europe. The founding documents of our country enshrine the value and principle of religious freedom. The very first clause of the first amendment guarantees each of us the right of free exercise of religion and prohibits our Government from dictating or establishing how we will worship and what we will believe. Freedom of religion is enshrined in our founding documents because freedom of religion is a basic human right. In our country, this freedom is acknowledged as a right endowed not by man, not by those who wrote those documents, but by our Creator.”