
PLEDGE OF SUPPORT FOR FREEDOM OF SPIRITUAL BELIEF (THE
SPIRITUAL FREEDOM PLEDGE): PART 2

Sponsored link.

Continued from Part 1 of this essay

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From M,W,, 1998-JUL-8 |
"Here's to a world where no black man is ever again dragged behind a
truck, no Jewish youths decide a Palestinian farmer deserves a smack in the head from a
plank of wood they're holding from inside a moving van, Catholics and Protestants lay down
their guns and their slurs. Here's to that world. We should take this pledge. We should
live this pledge. Let the people around each of us see that tolerance means a great deal
to us...it means life itself."

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From J.W., 1998-JUN-27 |
"Hello."
"A pledge for temperance and religious freedom is a good thing in the
context of Christianity, and the scriptures. There are forces at work in our world that we
cannot see and seldom feel. The forces of good are cultivated and nurtured in our lives.
It takes effort to display these. On the other hand the forces of evil are subtle, and
sometimes very hard to notice. Satan is not a pointed eared pitch-fork wielding monster.
We are told that he comes as an angel of light. We are facing issues of grand import today
in our world. There are legislators who are showing their immorality by what laws are
being passed, i.e. gays in the military, partial birth abortion, slacking off on drug
dealers penalties, selling our country through one treaty or another (GATT NAFTA) etc.
This is a sad thing. The wool is over the eyes of many Americans, not only them but the
people of the whole world are sleeping through many of these passing of laws which are
devastating to this planet. We are heading, as always, to an extreme end of legislation.
What I see happening is the American people are starting to wake up and see what is
happening, and I am hearing tempers flying and muscles flexing in places which would be
much worse than the present.
What is worse than legislating immorality??? Legislating MORALITY. Let us be very careful
who we give that kind of power to. There are powers in the White House that are just
waiting for the GRASS ROOTS effort to put God on the throne of this world, and that my
friends He is not the King of. Carefully consider what is happening today the true
government has God at the head not man thinking he is God."

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From M.R., 1998-MAY-17
"I wholly support the rights of an individual to religious freedom and tolerance.
Religious intolerance is the cause behind untold strife among peoples throughout history
in all dynamics of life. Without Religion, and a strong abiding faith in our spiritual
nature and basic goodness, our society will continue to decline at a rapid rate. I was
raised a Christian and am eternally grateful for that foundation. I have studied the
worlds great religious and am privileged to count many good friends that are among
them-Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and many more. I am a Scientologist. I stand for
and will fight for the right for all my brethren of any faith to practice their own
spiritual beliefs and will support all our efforts to bring about religious tolerance and
freedom in the face of those who would bring man down to a level below that of animals and
destroy the basic decency, integrity, self worth and self determinism that is our greatest
contribution to one another as spiritual beings capable of wondrous things.
The sooner we allow religious tolerance and freedom to flourish, the sooner we will all
have a brighter planet in which to live. I wholeheartedly pledge myself toward that
effort!" |

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From J.D., 1998-APR-24 |
"The Spiritual Freedom Pledge is an excellent idea, one around which a
call can be made to the religious and non-religious communities alike to support the right
of individuals to format, learn, and/or teach their own beliefs at will, save that the
teaching respects the rights of others to do the same (no involuntary
"deprogramming" for example). I definitely shall add a link to this page from
mine, in support of the right of the religious and non-religious everywhere to be free
from persecution, and to make their own decisions regarding their own beliefs systems, no
matter how unconventional or *strange* they may be."

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From B.S., 1998-APR-16 "Many of us are aware of the
wars that have been waged in the name of religion. Sadly, we may even know personally
those that have lost their loved ones, their livelihoods, their health (mentally &
physically), perhaps even their own life during such an event.
Such wars are manifested in other ways, just not so overtly. However, the damage is
equally as devastating! Too many deprogrammings, too many kidnappings, violent
confrontations questioning another's beliefs. These also have damaged many souls. What
about the more subtle gestures of rejecting another's beliefs? The withholding of love to
a family member, to a friend. Shunning a brother or sister, mother or daughter, father or
son because they choose to believe differently. Coercion from people of influence in our
lives to dissuade us from our choice of spirituality.
This is a battlefront where I can make a difference--by embracing my pledge for Spiritual
Freedom, allowing others to do the same, we can win this war together. It is a war we
cannot lose."
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From D.F., 1998-APR-9 "We wholeheartedly support
this pledge and promise to work cooperatively to implement it through educational programs
to promote religious freedom for all people."
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From C.N., 1998-APR-8 |
"I fully support this Pledge as a Unificationist, a Christian, student
of Scientology, free thinker and scholar of religions and cultures."

"Thanks for the pledge. The freedom to believe as one chooses is
vital. I wholeheartedly support this pledge."
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From L.L., 1998-MAR-20 |

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From: G.B., 1998-MAR-16
"My first impression upon reading the Pledge is that (at least for a US citizen)
it is as controversial as a resolution honoring motherhood. This was confirmed by a
perusal of the reactions which provide unanimous support.
It is only in reading some of the reactions that one finds any basis for disagreement or
serious discussion. I particularly take issue with the comment from M. (dated 1998-FEB-27)
which says in part that we should be 'tolerant and happy with another's choice of
religion.' Since this statement was made in the context of family members changing faiths,
I find 'happy' part of this to be especially unacceptable.
I am happy that I live in a culture where it is possible for such disagreements to be
handled agreeably, and I strongly endorse the right of every person to make these
fundamental decisions for themselves. On the other hand, I view the spiritual realm to be
every bit as real as the physical realm and I can not be happy with a loved one making a
serious, life-threatening mistake in either realm. I could no more be happy with my son or
sister choosing to jeopardize their spiritual health than I could be happy with them
choosing to jeopardize their physical health.
Rather I would say that we should be tolerant with, even if saddened by, another's choice
of religion; not enforcing our own faith beyond invitations and entreaties whose urgency
match our concern for them; and seeking to maintain as close a relationship as possible
despite our disagreements.
This has been a formula for harmony despite religious differences in my family." |

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From M.K., 1998-MAR-10 |
"While I agree with every statement on this list, we must be wary of
one way this can be interpreted.
We must make equally sure that no religion, organization, or individual has the right to
persecute or silence the free speech of non-violent critics or protesters. Every person
has the absolute right to freedom of speech and the right to non-violently criticize or
protest against any organization, religion or individuals that he/she believes is acting
improperly.
I am Christian and the last thing I would ever support is religious persecution, but I
equally want to protect my freedom of speech. For if you can curb my right to speak freely
or revoke my right to participate in non-violent protest and criticism, then you are
enforcing a belief system on me, and that eventually destroys my right to religious
freedom.
Freedom of religion flows from freedom of speech. The minute you start to trample on any
person's right to free speech, you have also simultaneously begun to limit their freedom
of religion."

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From L & G, 1998-MAR-6 |
"Freedom and tolerance of religion is the basic freedom to believe and
to think. These are the things that separate man from beasts. And so it follows it is the
basic building block of man. And who is so wise as to tell everyone what to believe and
what to think. Without religion we are mere animals just as the psychiatrist would like us
to believe.
I am a spiritual being who recognizes the spiritual beingness of my fellows and as such
expects the same recognition in return.
We must support all persons and groups that fight for religious freedom whether local,
national, or international. And we must take the initiative to make our selves and our
views known to all governmental bodies."

Sponsored link:

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From G.S.D., 1998-MAR-1 |
"Well done to you for creating this pledge and making it available on
the Internet. In the United States we tend to take freedom of thought, conscience and
religion for granted. We are fortunate in that our government actually follows its
constitution in that respect. However, others are not so fortunate, the current situation
of religious intolerance in Germany is one example of a supposedly democratic country
violating its own constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We must never become complacent, we must be constantly vigilant and we must never allow
violation of another's right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion to go
unchallenged, no matter how "different" their beliefs may be, because tomorrow
our beliefs might be considered the "different" ones.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you are doing to promote religious
tolerance in the world."

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From C.O., 1998-MAR-1 |
"I wholeheartedly support the concept of religious tolerance
throughout the world. It is absolutely vital that this freedom be maintained and
strengthened. The exposure of those who seek to destroy religion must continue until all
are allowed to follow whatever path they choose."

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From M., 1998-FEB-27 |
"It is especially important to me that families support religious
tolerance within the family. The changing of faiths among my close relatives could have
alienated us from each other, but didn't, because our tolerance began at home and has
endured for more than 25 years past the point where children become old enough to chose.
Yet I have seen other families pull apart from each other because one or more of them
chose another path.
One's freedom begins with spiritual freedom, and those who support religious
intolerance add shackles to future spirituality for us all. Ensuring that all men have
their right to choose and the freedom to practice their choice is the responsibility of
each person who treasures religious freedom. Taking that responsibility begins with simple
actions we can all do, such as signing this pledge, adding a link to it from our home
pages, telling others about the site, and being tolerant and happy with another's choice
of religion, not pushing our own beyond an invitation to find out more."

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From N.W., 1998-FEB-27 |
"I would like to thank you for posting this wonderful pledge. There
are some people in this world who would like us to believe that man is only an animal, and
thus justify any assault upon religion. The fact that man IS a spiritual being, with the
right to his own beliefs and spiritual quest, is the most fundamental building block for
peace, sanity, and a culture which furthers optimum survival for all of its members. I
believe it is very important for all religions to practice tolerance. To learn to truly
love one's fellow man, and to respect his individual right to achieve spiritual freedom,
should be at the forefront of every religious practice."

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From V.W., 1998-FEB-27 |
"I agree with and support your pledge for religious freedom. It was a
great idea to post this document on the net for others to read and see."

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From S.U., 1998-FEB-27 |
"I pledge my support for Religious Freedom For All. We will need to
face the truth as it really is. There are antisocial people and groups that want to
destroy religions.I give you a quote from such a person, from such a group. "To
achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men their
individualism, loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism and religious
dogmas." Quote from G. Brock Chisholm Co-Founder of the World Federation of Mental
Health.
If we truly pledge our selves to Religious Freedom then we must confront those who would
destroy religion, the psychiatrist who pretends to help, all the while covertly destroying
morals. I have witnessed in my life time the destruction of religions and religious people
by psychiatrist and psychiatry. Perhaps this reality is too harsh for you. But by the time
the Nazi came for the Jew there was no one left to help. You now can do something before
night falls on another religion by looking
and seeing that what I say is true. When I was growing up we never had a psychiatrist in
our church and now one is there taking the place of the minister. And if you haven't read
a new paper lately things are not getting better.
This is true"

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From F.H., 1998-FEB-26 This pledge has been a long time
needed! If any one of us desires freedom to think or worship in our own way and expects
others to honor our beliefs, if follows logically that we must ALL respect
beliefs of others. We don't have to agree - just respect.
Only when the religious peoples of the world unite, will any of us be sane and stable in
our quest for religious freedom.
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From P.T., 1998-FEB-26 "Thank you for posting this
message and for the support of all those who support it.
Those who try to prevent others from practicing their religion are engaged in pure folly
and are doomed to fail utterly. They are, after all, challenging God himself."
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From: S.K., 1998-FEB-25 |
"It is regrettable that at this very moment representatives of the
German government have come to American to subvert our tradition of religious freedom. The
German government has not so redeemed themselves from their embrace of the Nuremberg laws
and the Nuremberg rallies that they should inform Americans on religious freedom. No Herr
Kohl we will not persecute the Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah Witnesses,
Scientologists and miscellaneous Evangelists as 'cults'. And as a point of information,
what armband did the Jehovah Witnesses wear when the German government sent them into the
concentration camps?
Have you designed anything new for the Scientologists?"

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From: D.H.E., 1998-FEB-24
"The religious diversity of planet earth is so cleverly hidden. Many people give
up their spiritual quests because they have trapped themselves in unworkable or partially
workable belief systems.
I believe that this pledge and other movements which promote seeking answers that work for
the individual - regardless of peer pressures - will result in a much saner society,
composed of happier and healthier individuals." |
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From Rev. A.B. 1998-FEB-23
"I am pleased that OCRT has posted such a religious freedom pledge. Tolerance
starts with each of us and this pledge brings about the awareness of such personal
responsibility. There should be a link off your home page." |
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From: J.B. 1998-FEB-23
"In this materialistic world success is often measured by physical possessions.
My own Spirituality transcends anything I own and is the one thing that will continue into
eternity. It is more important than anything!
If I did not have the Freedom to practice my Religion then my entire existence would be
shallow and insignificant. Maintaining and protecting this Freedom is absolutely vital.
The creatures that would attempt to take away this Freedom need to be fought. We must be
constantly alert and constantly willing to fight back. The Spiritual Freedom Pledge will
help unite the religions of the world and bring "strength in numbers" for our
crusade to build respect and tolerance for human spirituality on earth." |
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From: S.H. 1998-FEB-22
"The pledge is great. Thanks for doing it.
All the best" |
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From: N.O. 1998-FEB-22
"I think spiritual freedom is more important than most people realize. It is his
spiritual nature which personifies in all the best in man - honor, integrity, loyalty,
trust, faith, fellowship, camaraderie, help, care, giving, loving, reliance, perseverance,
steadfastness, and hope. Not really "old fashioned" - rather - what really
matters." |
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From: A.H. 1997-APR-12 [We think that his computer clock has the flu.]
"This pledge has my total support." |
Last update: 2001-DEC-26

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