“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights.” With these familiar words of the Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers set forth their vision of this country. Among those inalienable rights is the right of religious liberty.

Is this right of religious liberty self-evident? Perhaps in our country, perhaps even taken too much for granted. Most of the world, however, does not regard this truth as self-evident. There are violent conflicts in the Middle East not just between Arabs and Jews, but between Jews and fellow Jews, between Arabs and fellow Arabs, between Hindus and Sikhs in India, between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. The self-evident character of the truth of religious liberty has certainly evaded the great masses of mankind.