Friday, I joined Gov. George Allen and former first lady Susan Allen, Lt. Gov. John Hager, and our neighboring Third District Congressman Bobby Scott at the opening of the First Freedom Center in Richmond. We were there to commemorate Virginia’s leading role in the development of religious liberty in the United States. Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom led to the religion clauses of the First Amendment and was key to formally recognizing freedom of religion and freedom of conscience as fundamental human rights. As a seminary graduate, I’m personally grateful for these freedoms, as they allowed me to study religion before I studied economics. That has led to a lifelong career of merging the practice of economics and ethics – and teaching our next generation to do the same. That’s also the philosophy I bring with me to Congress. The legal protection to worship freely has also created a nation where religions have flourished and spiritual leaders have led the growth of our country’s moral foundation. We will be commemorating one such example of a great spiritual leader on Monday, as we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King and the birth of the civil rights movement, which helped us move one step closer to living as true brothers and sisters, all of us children of God.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 16:49:39 +0000