Freedom Of Religion And Freedom Of Expression, Freedom Of The Press In Identitati Americane In Sec Xx

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FREEDOM OF RELIGION, EXPRESSION AND PRESS

The history of American freedom is a tale of debates, disagreements, and struggles rather than a set of timeless categories or an evolutionary narrative toward a goal. Today, however, when they are asked to define their rights as citizens, Americans turn to the privileges from the Bill of Rights: the freedom of speech, the freedom of press and the freedom of religion.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, says that laws limiting the freedom of speech, or the freedom of the press are not allowed. Freedom of speech is the liberty to speak without fear of government restraint. Freedom of speech is closely linked to freedom of the press because this freedom includes both the right to speak and the right to be heard. In U.S., freedom of speech and freedom of the press are also known as freedom of expression.

Protection of speech and expression is a key aspect in America`s political system. First, because there is a direct link between the freedom of speech and democracy. Second, freedom of speech is essential because it is a means of expressing people-power, even though people may uncover corruption and discourage some tyrannical excesses.

Freedom of speech is a very necessary tool in a democratic society, because it lets people obtain valuable information from numerous sources, making the right decisions and after, communicating their decisions to the American government. The truth emerges from various opinion, rather than the government establishing and dictating it.

Counter-intuitively, some influential American voices have argued that protection of freedom of speech actually works, making the country more stable and increasing the ability to maintain law and order.

The link between freedom of speech and the U.S. democracy provides necessary explanation for the veneration of free speech. Even though freedom of press was mentioned separately from the freedom of speech in the First Amendment, this two terms became coequal.

Freedom of the press protects the right to obtain and then publish information without government censorship or the fear of punishment. Government censorship occurs when the government prohibits the press in using material it finds offensive in publications. Freedom of the press applies to all materials, printed and online, including books, magazines, newspapers, films or radio and TV programs.

Freedom of the press was considered a necessity in establishing a strong, independent press. An independent press provide citizens with lots of information and opinions. However, freedom of the press has a negative side, because it collides and restricts other human rights, such as the right to privacy. Recently, freedom of the press was vastly contested, because some publications exaggerated and numerous concerns were addressed about some very aggressive journalism.

In America, the government cannot prevent the publication of newspapers, even if there is reason to believe that the newspaper is about to reveal some information that endanger national security. The government will not allow laws that require newspapers to publish some information against their will, to compel journalists to reveal the identities of their sources, to prohibit press from informing the public about judicial proceedings. Though the United States enjoyed the greatest freedoms for the press in the world, serious issues were in need of resolution as the twentieth century drew too close.

Press freedom in the mid-twentieth century was based on the idea of unfettered public access to accurate information. This right responded to persistent worries about the quality and diversity of the information circulating in the nation’s news. As the meaning of press freedom was contested, Americans chose to define freedom of the press as the right to publish without government censorship.

The pluralism of faiths in the United States makes it very difficult to define religion without excluding others that may not fit that definition. However, citizens understand the role of religion and support religious liberty. In the United States, freedom of religion is a constitutionally protected right, closely associated with the separation of church and state.

Freedom of religion is closely related to all of the other rights. The right to freedom of expression is fundamental to holding some religious beliefs and practicing religion.

A persons thoughts and views are intangible and convictions are valuable only if that person can express them. The last decade of the 20th century has brought various changes in the American constitutional laws concerning religious liberty. Supporting those changes, the First Amendment prohibits the Congress from making laws that respect the establishment of a religion or prohibit the free exercise of anotherone.

The First Amendment clause on religion means that no state can set up a church or pass laws which prefer one religion over another. A good thing that comes as a result of the freedom of religion, no person can be punished for professing religious beliefs or for church attendance. This also applies for non-attendance and disbeliefs.

Freedom of religion is a right that does not permit limitation. The guarantee of freedom of religion implies that a person cannot be subjected to any treatment intended to change the persons process of thinking and expressing thoughts, to change opinions or to divulge religious conviction.

As a matter of fact, the right to freedom of religion and beliefs is associated with a persons right to privacy. No sanction can be imposed for holding any religious view or for changing religions. Freedom of religion has a very important role, because it protects people against religious indoctrination by the state. This is a view that many of the Americans share, along with the belief that protection of individual conscience is good for religion.

On a positive note, religious liberty has allowed the numerous religions in the United States to grow and prosper. In U.S., not only a large number of people are deeply religious, but their religious communities are also actively involved in the political life of the state. However, many Americans think that even though U.S. claims to have freedom of religion, there are sone limitations. Many people are discriminated because of their faith, for example, many Muslims are discouraged from wearing their traditional head-wear in public.

Bundling these three important rights within the same amendment means more than an act of literary economy, because they all deal with the right of the people expressing themselves, being free of state coercion in expressing their beliefs, ideas and complaints.