Freedom of religious belief and behavior

The editorial "America's Crown Jewel," July 19, raises an interesting point: The Constitution not only creates the framework for democratic self-government and protects political and economic liberty, but also, through the First Amendment, protects freedom of conscience and expression of ideas. But I believe it goes further than this mental realm.Religion, one of the freedoms mentioned, is often misunderstood to be primarily concerned with ideas, but in fact religion is entwined much more deeply with all facets of behavior - not just those by which we seek to express some idea or those which reflect some particular point of conscience, but all aspects of how we live. This freedom of behavior, which goes far beyond mere freedom of political speech, is vitally important to our perception of liberty and our sense of well-being. It is protected implicitly under the "freedom of religion," as well as under the unenumerated rights of the Ninth Amendment. Rick Wicks, Washington

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