query: what agreement gave religious freedom to the lutherans

pos: Peace of Augsburg Peace of Augsburg The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (the predecessor of Ferdinand I) and the Schmalkaldic League, signed in September 1555 at the imperial city of Augsburg. It officially ended the religious struggle between the two groups and made the legal division of Christendom permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing rulers to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official confession of their state. Calvinism was not allowed until the Peace of Westphalia. The Peace established the principle "Cuius regio, eius religio" ("whose realm, his

neg: Freedom of religion in Uzbekistan Freedom of religion in Uzbekistan The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and for the principle of separation of church and state; however, the Government continued to restrict these rights in practice. The Government permits the operation of what it considers mainstream religious groups, including approved Muslim groups, Jewish groups, the Russian Orthodox Church, and various other Christian denominations, such as Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Baptists. Uzbek society generally tolerates Christian churches as long as they do not attempt to win converts among ethnic Uzbeks; the law prohibits or severely restricts activities such as proselytizing, importing and disseminating religious literature,

neg: Freedom of religion by country to convert to other religious groups, especially the lesser-known Protestant groups, are viewed with suspicion and sometimes ostracized, but Turkmenistan society historically has been tolerant and inclusive of different religious beliefs. The Constitution of Uzbekistan provides for freedom of religion and for the principle of separation of church and state. However, the government restricts these rights in practice. The government permits the operation of what it considers mainstream religious groups, including approved Muslim groups, Jewish groups, the Russian Orthodox Church, and various other Christian denominations, such as Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Baptists. Uzbek society generally tolerates Christian churches as long

neg: Peter Stuyvesant of youth." In 1661, New Amsterdam had one grammar school, two free elementary schools, and had licensed 28 schoolmasters. In 1657, Stuyvesant, who did not tolerate full religious freedom in the colony, and was strongly committed to the supremacy of the Dutch Reformed Church, refused to allow Lutherans the right to organize a church. When he also issued an ordinance forbidding them from worshiping in their own homes, the directors of the Dutch West Indies Company, three of whom were Lutherans, told him to rescind the order and allow private gatherings of Lutherans. Freedom of religion was further tested when

neg: Peace of Augsburg in 1552 gave Lutherans religious freedom after a victory by Protestant armies. Under the Passau document, Charles granted a peace only until the next imperial Diet, whose meeting was called in early 1555. The treaty, negotiated on Charles' behalf by his brother Ferdinand, effectively gave Lutheranism official status within the domains of the Holy Roman Empire, according to the policy of "cuius regio, eius religio". Knights and towns who had practiced Lutheranism for some time were exempted under the "Declaratio Ferdinandei", but the "Ecclesiastical reservation" supposedly prevented the principle of "cuius regio, eius religio" from being applied if an ecclesiastical

neg: History of Lutheranism 1547, the Schmalkaldic War started out as a battle between two Lutheran rulers, but soon, Holy Roman Imperial forces joined the battle and conquered the members of the Schmalkaldic League, oppressing and exiling many Lutherans as they enforced the terms of the Augsburg Interim until religious freedom was secured for Lutherans through the Peace of Passau of 1552 and the Peace of Augsburg of 1555. Religious disputes between the Crypto-Calvinists, Philippists, Sacramentarians, Ubiquitarians, and the Gnesio-Lutherans raged within Lutheranism during a series of controversies However, the Lutheran movement was far from defeated. In 1577, the next generation of Lutheran theologians

neg: Old Lutherans Lutheran groups were looking to emigration as a means to finding religious freedom. Some groups emigrated to Australia and the United States in the years leading up to 1841. The first Lutherans to come to Australia in any significant number were immigrants from Prussia, who arrived in South Australia in 1838 with Pastor August Kavel. These immigrants created three settlements at Klemzig, Hahndorf, and Glen Osmond. In 1841, a second wave of Prussian immigrants arrived, led by Pastor Gotthard Fritzsche. His group settled in Lobethal and Bethanien. The Lutherans in Western Australia established the Killalpaninna Mission (Bethesda) Station at Cooper's

neg: Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711) of Catholic religious authority, allowing Lutheran and Calvinist preaching to flourish. In 1563, Giorgio Blandrata was appointed as court physician, and his radical religious ideas increasingly influenced both the young king John II and the Calvinist bishop Francis David, eventually converting both to the Anti-Trinitarian (Unitarian) creed. In a formal public disputation, Francis David prevailed over the Calvinist Peter Melius; resulting in 1568 in the formal adoption of individual freedom of religious expression under the Edict of Torda (the first such legal guarantee of religious freedom in Christian Europe, however only for Lutherans, Calvinists, Unitarians and of course Catholics, with

neg: Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor the 1520s, their religious situation was complex. Its German population was composed of Catholics and Lutherans. Some Czechs were receptive to Lutheranism, but most of them adhered to Utraquist Hussitism, while a minority of them adhered to Roman Catholicism. A significant number of Utraquists favoured an alliance with the Protestants. At first, Ferdinand accepted this situation and he gave considerable freedom to the Bohemian estates. In the 1540s, the situation changed. In Germany, while most Protestant princes had hitherto favored negotiation with the Emperor and while many had supported him in his wars, they became increasingly confrontational during this decade.

neg: Melissa Rogers recommendations. That year Rogers led a group of religious and civil rights leaders in drafting "Religious Expression in American Public Life: A Joint Statement of Current Law", which indicates their points of agreement with the law of church and state as it applies to religious expression in the public square. The First Freedom Center gave Rogers its First Freedom Award. In 2011 she was named to a subgroup of the State Department’s Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group. Before her appointment, Rogers had been critical of the Obama administration’s handling of some church-state issues in an interview with the Huffington

neg: Wisconsin German Wisconsin and by the latter half of the 1800s German speakers had chosen Wisconsin over other American states as their destination. This was partly because of the state's resources, available land, and the entrepreneurship of land agents, but also because these immigrants were seeking new economic opportunities, and religious or political freedom. The Wisconsin city of Freistadt, for example, was founded by 300 German Lutherans from Pomerania, who were escaping Prussian religious reform and persecution. They called their colony Freistadt, or "free city", most likely to commemorate their newfound religious freedom in the Americas. Both their faith and maintenance of

neg: Religious images in Christian theology Seventh Ecumenical Council, the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which rejected iconoclasm and restored the veneration of icons in the churches, was not part of the tradition received by the Reformation. Lutherans, however, rejected the iconoclasm of the 16th century, and affirmed the distinction between adoration due to the Triune God alone and all other forms of veneration (CA 21). Through historical research this council has become better known. Nevertheless it does not have the same significance for Lutherans as it does for the Orthodox. Yet, Lutherans and Orthodox are in agreement that the Second Council of Nicaea confirms

neg: Pennsylvania Ministerium the Ministerium continued to influence the church politics of Lutherans in America into the twentieth century. In 1638, Swedish settlers, colonizing north along the Delaware from the New Sweden colony, established residences in what would become Philadelphia, at a place called "Wiccaco" by the local Lenape tribe, meaning "pleasant place". These Swedish settlers were Lutheran. The Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church was completed in 1700. Colonization extended to present-day Trenton. German settlers began arriving in North America in the mid-seventeenth century. They were particularly attracted by William Penn's promise of religious freedom in the colony of Pennsylvania, and came to

neg: Cuius regio, eius religio Catholic and Lutheran adherents seemed further apart than ever; in only a few towns and cities were Lutherans and Catholics able to live together in even a semblance of harmony. By 1548, political disagreements overlapped with religious issues, making any kind of agreement seem remote. In 1548 Charles declared an "interreligio imperialis" (also known as the Augsburg Interim) through which he sought to find some common ground. This effort succeeded in alienating Protestant and Catholic princes and the "Curia"; even Charles, whose decree it was, was unhappy with the political and diplomatic dimensions of what amounted to half of a

neg: History of Transylvania in 1568 in a public debate, resulting in individual freedom of religious expression under the Edict of Turda (the first such legal guarantee of religious freedom in Christian Europe). Lutherans, Calvinists, Unitarians and Roman Catholics received protection, while the majority Eastern Orthodox Church was tolerated. Transylvania was governed by princes and its Diet (parliament). The Transylvanian Diet consisted of three estates: the Hungarian elite (largely ethnic Hungarian nobility and clergy), Saxon leaders (German burghers) and the free Székely Hungarians. The Báthory family, which assumed power at the death of John II in 1571, ruled Transylvania as princes under the Ottomans

neg: Lutheranism Confession" of 1530. Mikael Agricola's translation of the first "Finnish New Testament" was published in 1548. After the death of Martin Luther in 1546, the Schmalkaldic War started out as a conflict between two German Lutheran rulers in 1547. Soon, Holy Roman Imperial forces joined the battle and conquered the members of the Schmalkaldic League, oppressing and exiling many German Lutherans as they enforced the terms of the Augsburg Interim. Religious freedom was secured for Lutherans through the Peace of Passau in 1552, and under the Cuius regio, eius religio (the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion

neg: Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church presided over by the "Oberkirchenkollegium" (Supreme Church Collegial Body). The confessional Lutherans were persecuted during the first half of 19th century by the state. Many of them were not allowed to hold church services or have their children baptized or confirmed according to the liturgy of the Lutheran Church. In some areas of Germany, it took decades until the Confessional Lutherans were granted religious freedom. In 1972 most of the Confessional Lutheran Church bodies in West Germany united to form the SELK. In 1991 the East German "Evangelisch-Lutherische (altlutherische) Kirche" (the Evangelical-Lutheran (Old-Lutheran) Church) joined the SELK. The SELK bases

neg: Saxon Lutheran immigration of 1838–39 Saxon Lutheran immigration of 1838–39 The Saxon Lutheran immigration of 1838–39 was a migration of Confessional German Lutherans seeking religious freedom in the United States in the early 19th century. The migrants were among the original founders of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. During the middle of the 19th century Confessional Lutheran doctrines like justification by faith were under threat by rationalism. This, together with "unionism" or the merging of various Protestant groups together, drove many German Lutherans to emigrate. In 1817, Frederick William III of Prussia forced the merging of the country's largest Protestant churches (Lutheran and Reformed) into one

neg: Aniconism in Christianity foot of the cross". Lutherans strongly opposed the iconoclastic campaigns of the Reformed. But within a few decades of the start of the Reformation production of new paintings for Lutheran churches had all but ceased, and large religious sculpture had never been produced on for Lutherans, as opposed to smaller figures decorating pulpits and other fittings. On the contrary, at the time of the Reformation, Calvinists preached in violent terms the rejection of what they perceived as idolatrous Catholic practices such as religious pictures, statues, or relics of saints, as well as against the Lutheran retention of sacred art. Andreas

neg: Edict of Fontainebleau 1788. This edict offered relief to the main alternative faiths of Calvinist Huguenots, Lutherans and Judaism – giving followers the civil and legal recognition, as well as the right to openly form congregations after 102 years of prohibition. Full religious freedom had to wait two more years, with enactment of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789. The 1787 edict was a pivotal step in eliminating religious strife, and it officially ended religious persecution in France. Moreover, once French Revolutionary armies got to other European countries between 1789 and 1815, they followed a consistent policy of

neg: Isabella Jagiellon against her. In addition to political strife, there were religious differences as well since Protestantism spread into Hungary. In 1557, Isabella signed an edict granting freedom of religion to four denominations – Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, and Unitarians. It was a pioneering move towards religious tolerance and an important step towards the Edict of Torda of 1568. Isabella is noted as the first European ruler to issue laws on religious tolerance. Isabella died of a long illness in September 1559, just three years after her return to Transylvania. Isabella Jagiellon Isabella Jagiellon (; ; 18 January 1519 – 15 September 1559)

neg: Große Freiheit play on words about the street. Große Freiheit The Große Freiheit (German for: "Great Freedom") is a cross street on the North Side to Hamburg's Reeperbahn road in the St. Pauli quarter. It is part of the red-light district. The street was named in 1610 after the fact that Count Ernest of Schaumburg and Holstein-Pinneberg had granted religious freedom to non-Lutherans such as Mennonites and Roman Catholics to practise their faith here and commercial freedom for handcrafters not enrolled in the else compelling guilds. At that time this district was part of the city of Altona within the county of

neg: Große Freiheit Große Freiheit The Große Freiheit (German for: "Great Freedom") is a cross street on the North Side to Hamburg's Reeperbahn road in the St. Pauli quarter. It is part of the red-light district. The street was named in 1610 after the fact that Count Ernest of Schaumburg and Holstein-Pinneberg had granted religious freedom to non-Lutherans such as Mennonites and Roman Catholics to practise their faith here and commercial freedom for handcrafters not enrolled in the else compelling guilds. At that time this district was part of the city of Altona within the county of Holstein-Pinneberg, and did not yet belong

neg: John Hanford production of the annual International Religious Freedom Report, which has come to be recognized as the "gold standard" in religious freedom reporting. Working with the Secretary of State, Ambassador Hanford secured the addition of four new countries to the list of "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act: Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Eritrea, and Uzbekistan. Intense negotiations for improvements in religious freedom followed each of these designations. Ambassador Hanford negotiated and signed an historic Binding Agreement with the Government of Vietnam, whereby Vietnam agreed to address critical violations of religious freedom. Accordingly, Vietnam banned forced renunciations of

neg: Edwards v. Aguillard freedom", that purpose was dubious because the Act gave Louisiana teachers no freedom they did not already possess and instead limited their ability to determine what scientific principles should be taught. Because it was unconvinced by the state's proffered secular purpose, the Court went on to find that the legislature had a "preeminent religious purpose in enacting this statute". Justice Antonin Scalia, joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, dissented, accepting the Act's stated purpose of "protecting academic freedom" as a sincere and legitimate secular purpose. They interpreted the term "academic freedom" to refer to "students' freedom from indoctrination", in this

neg: Concession and Agreement Concession and Agreement Concession and Agreement (full title: "The Concession and Agreement of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of New Caesarea, or New Jersey, to and With All and Every the Adventurers and All Such as Shall Settle or Plant There") was a 1664 document that provided religious freedom in the colony of New Jersey. It was issued as a proclamation for the structure of the government for the colony written in 1664 by the two proprietors, Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. The document promised religious freedom to all inhabitants of New Jersey, and also declared that

neg: Freedom of religion in Taiwan Baha'i, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mahikari Religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and the Unification Church are registered. Other Christian denominations present include Presbyterians, the True Jesus Church, Baptists, Lutherans, Seventh-day Adventists, and Episcopalians. Approximately 70 percent of the indigenous population of 475,000 Aborigines is Christian. There are also a small number of adherents of Judaism in Taiwan, mainly expatriates. While the Taiwanese authorities do not collect or independently verify statistics on religious affiliation, they maintain registration statistics voluntarily reported by religious organizations. Officials from the MOI Religious Affairs Section believe these voluntarily reported statistics significantly

neg: Strefling (surname) late 1700s and early 1800s. The Streflings were Protestant Lutherans during a time period where there was a post-reformation resurgence of Catholicism resulting in religious conflicts in Germany. It was also the promise of religious freedom and the opportunity for prosperity that brought them to North America in the late 1800s and early 1900s during a time of secularization and political instability in Russia and Europe. Volhynia was once a part of Russia, Belarus, Poland, and is now in the Ukraine. When the Strefling family immigrated to North America it was considered part of Belarus which translates to "White Russia"

neg: Justification (theology) variety of doctrines and practices among Protestants, they all agree that one is saved (often meaning "justified") by faith alone. Roman Catholics and most Lutherans as represented by most of the Lutheran councils worldwide that agreed with the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), believe that they have found much agreement on the subject of justification. Examples: Other Lutherans, especially Confessional Lutherans, maintain that this agreement fails to properly define the meaning of faith, sin, and other essential terms and thus do not support the Lutheran World Federation's agreement. Likewise, Catholics affirming the real and serious differences between

neg: Svit Partizánske) on August 29, 1944. Jan Baťa represented Czech/Slovak freedom and prosperity. Svit is short for "Slovenské vizkózové továrne" (in English "Slovak Viscose Works"). (Also, the word "svit" means "shine" in Slovak language.) Svit is the smallest town in Slovakia (4.5 km²) with the population of 7,400. According to the 2001 census, the town had 7,445 inhabitants. 96.44% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 1.11% Romani and 0.79% Czechs. The religious make-up was 62.53% Roman Catholics, 20.67% people with no religious affiliation, 8.62% Lutherans and 4.00% Greek Catholics. The town is home to the professional basketball team BK Iskra Svit, which plays

neg: Anna Whitlock in Sweden. She also introduced innovations such as students councils, parent days, free choice of subject, voluntary education in religion and vacation colonies for school children. Because of the strict religious tolerance of her school, it became popular among non-Lutherans such as Jews. Her school was successful and was granted government support and the right to issue professional degrees. Described as a liberal and updated character with modern progressive views, she was also active in politics, the public debate and reform. She was a member of the board in the "Föreningen för religionsfrihet" (Freedom for Religious Liberty) for several years

neg: Samuel Werenfels Biblical miracles as confirmations of the words of the evangelists. In his "Cogitationes generales de ratione uniendi ecclesias protestantes, quae vulgo Lutheranarum et Reformatorum nominibus distingui solent", he sought a way of reconciling Lutherans and Calvinists. The "De jure in conscientias ab homine non usurpando" dated from 1702; it was written after Nicolaus Wil(c)kens had defended a thesis on religious freedom in the absence of consequences for public order, and defends freedom of conscience. The work met the approval of Benjamin Hoadly and Samuel Haliday, while being used by Daniel Gerdes to attack Johannes Stinstra. His "Dissertationum theologicarum sylloge" appeared

neg: Church of Denmark Catholicism prevailed. From 1683, Roman Catholic, Reformed and Jewish congregations were allowed in the new town of Fredericia, the latter two also in Copenhagen. Non-Lutherans were also allowed in Friedrichstadt and on Nordstrand in Slesvig and in Glückstadt in Holstein. With the constitution of 1849, freedom of religion was introduced in Denmark, but Lutheranism remained the state church. A religious community does not need any state approval in order to enjoy the freedom of religion granted by the constitution. However, state-approved congregations ("godkendte trossamfund") enjoy several privileges. They may conduct legal weddings, establish own cemeteries, get residence permits for foreign

neg: Cologne War met in Regensburg in 1540–41, representatives agreed on the doctrine of faith and justification, but could not agree on sacraments, confession, absolution, and the definition of the church. Catholic and Lutheran adherents seemed further apart than ever; in only a few towns and cities were Lutherans and Catholics able to live together in even a semblance of harmony. By 1548, political disagreements overlapped with religious issues, making any kind of agreement seem remote. In 1548 Charles declared an "interreligio imperialis" (also known as the Augsburg Interim) through which he sought to find some common ground for religious peace. This effort

neg: Germans in Paraguay group, the Volga Germans, through religion and reasons of immigrating to Russia. Russian Mennonites are religious Mennonites while the Volga Germans are religious Lutherans and Roman Catholics. Russian Mennonites went to Russia for purposes of freedom of worship, while the Volga Germans went for economic reasons and land. When the Communists came to power in Russia, the German-speaking population were persecuted by the new Soviet Government. Some Russian Mennonites saw Paraguay as a perfect place to settle because it looked isolated. The government of Paraguay wanted settlement in the Chaco region, which was under dispute with its southern neighbor, Argentina,

neg: Patent of Toleration Patent of Toleration The Patent of Toleration () was an edict of toleration issued on 13 October 1781 by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. Part of the Josephinist reforms, the Patent extended religious freedom to non-Catholic Christians living in the crown lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, including Lutherans, Calvinists, and the Eastern Orthodox. Specifically, these members of minority faiths were now legally permitted to hold "private religious exercises" in clandestine churches. For the first time after the Counter-Reformation, the Patent guaranteed the practice of religion by the Evangelical Lutheran and the Reformed Church in Austria. Nevertheless, worship was heavily regulated,

neg: 1782 Edict of Tolerance 1782 Edict of Tolerance The 1782 Edict of Tolerance ("Toleranzedikt vom 1782") was a religious reform of Emperor Joseph II during the time he was emperor of the Habsburg Monarchy as part of his policy of Josephinism, a series of drastic reforms to remodel Austria in the form of the ideal Enlightened state. Joseph II's enlightened despotism included the Patent of Toleration, enacted in 1781, and the Edict of Tolerance in 1782. The Patent of Toleration granted religious freedom to the Lutherans, Calvinists, and Serbian Orthodox, but it was not until the 1782 Edict of Tolerance that Joseph II extended

neg: Brandenburg-Prussia concerned with general tax and police tasks. "(Kotulla (2008), p. 261)" In 1613, John Sigismund converted from Lutheranism to Calvinism, but failed to achieve the conversion of the estates by the rule of cuius regio, eius religio. Thus, on 5 February 1615, he granted the Lutherans religious freedom, while the electors court remained largely Calvinist. When Frederick William I rebuilt Brandenburg-Prussia's war-torn economy, he attracted settlers from all Europe, especially by offering religious asylum, most prominently by the Edict of Potsdam which attracted more than 15,000 Huguenots. Brandenburg-Prussia established a navy and colonies during the reign of Frederick William. The

neg: Freedom of religion in Tajikistan political activities; and prohibiting political parties from having a religion-based ideology (which would effectively forbid the IRPT). On June 28, 2007 representatives of 22 minority religious groups, including Baha'is, Catholics, Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists, Lutherans, Pentecostals and other Protestant denominations, signed an open letter to the President and Parliament expressing concern that the draft law would effectively outlaw minority religious groups in the country. The Tajikistan government issued a textbook to high schools in 2005 on the history of Islam, and a course on the history of religions is taught in public schools at the 10th grade level. Observers have interpreted

neg: Same-sex marriage in North Carolina Appeals. On April 28, 2014, the United Church of Christ, joined by a coalition of Baptists, Lutherans, and Unitarian Universalists, filed a lawsuit, arguing that North Carolina's statute that makes it a crime to preside at the solemnization of the marriage of a couple that lacks a valid state marriage license unconstitutionally restricts religious freedom. On June 3, 2014, additional national religious denominations and clergy from across traditions were added as plaintiffs, including the Alliance of Baptists, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis in addition to Episcopal, Jewish and Baptist clergy. On

neg: Freedom of religion in Azerbaijan 15,000, the vast majority live in Baku. Much smaller communities exist in Guba in village and municipality named Red Town and elsewhere. There are five to six rabbis and six synagogues in the country. Shi'a, Sunni, Russian Orthodox, and Jews are considered to be the country's "traditional" religious groups. Small congregations of Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Baptists, Molokans (Old Believers), Seventh-day Adventists, and Baha'is have been present for over 100 years. In the last decade, a number of religious groups considered foreign or "nontraditional" have established a presence, including "Wahhabi" and Salafist Muslims, Pentecostal and evangelical Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Hare

neg: Freedom of religion in Belarus faith, approximately 80 percent belong to the BOC, 14 percent identify themselves with the Catholic Church, 4 percent are members of eastern religious groups (including Muslims, Hare Krishnas, and Baha'i), and 2 percent are Protestant (including Seventh-day Adventists, Old Believers, Jehovah's Witnesses, Apostolic Christians, and Lutherans). Of those who identify themselves as Belarusian Orthodox or Roman Catholic, only 18 percent and 50 percent, respectively, regularly attend religious services. There are also adherents of the Greek Catholic Church and of Orthodox groups other than the BOC. Jewish groups claimed that between 50,000 and 70,000 persons identify themselves as Jewish. Most Jews

neg: Freedom of religion in Ecuador the mountains, follow a syncretic form of Catholicism that combines indigenous beliefs with orthodox Catholic doctrine. The Evangelical Missionary Union estimates that there are one million Protestants. Many of the religious groups registered with the Government have very small numbers; these include Anglicans, Baha'is, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and the Unification Church. Other groups present in small numbers are Muslims, Jews, and adherents of Eastern Orthodox religions. There are also followers of Inti, the traditional Inca sun god, and some atheists, but there were no reliable statistics on the size of these smaller groups. The Constitution provides for freedom of religion,

neg: 1960 United States presidential election and Lutherans, feared that having a Catholic in the White House would give undue influence to the Pope in the nation's affairs. Radio evangelists such as G. E. Lowman wrote that, "Each person has the right to their own religious belief ... [but] ... the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical system demands the first allegiance of every true member and says in a conflict between church and state, the "church" must prevail". The religious issue was so significant that Kennedy made a speech before the nation's newspaper editors in which he criticized the prominence they gave to the religious issue over other

neg: Solingen which the city's current parishes still belong. As mentioned, the Reformation only gradually gained a foothold in Solingen. A reformed church affiliated with the Bergisch synod was established in 1590, and the city's parish church became reformed in 1649. Lutherans had been present in Solingen since the beginning of the 17th century, and a Lutheran congregation was founded in 1635. In 1672 a formalized religious agreement was reached between the city's religious groups. The Reformation was also introduced in Gräfrath in 1590, where a church council was apparently established in 1629. The Reformed and Lutheran churches were formed into a

neg: Treaty of Vienna (1606) Treaty of Vienna (1606) The Treaty of Vienna (also known as the Peace of Vienna) was signed on June 23, 1606 between Stephen Bocskay, a Hungarian noble, and Archduke Rudolph. Based on the terms of the treaty, all constitutional and religious rights and privileges were granted to the Hungarians in both Transylvania and Royal Hungary. In Sopron, for instance, the agreement recognized the autocracy of Hungarian Lutherans; in Transylvania, the Calvinists gained religious tolerance. The accord also recognized Bocskay as the Prince of Transylvania and guaranteed the right of Transylvanians to elect their own independent princes in the future. Due

neg: Freedom of religion in Tajikistan There are 85 non-Muslim groups registered with the Department of Religious Affairs (DRA) at the Ministry of Culture. Approximately 200,000 Christians, mostly ethnic Russians and other Soviet-era immigrant groups, reside in the country. The largest Christian group is Russian Orthodox, but other registered organizations include Baptists (five organizations), Roman Catholics (two), Seventh-day Adventists (one), Jehovah's Witnesses (one), Lutherans (no data available) and Korean Protestants, which include the SunMin Church (two). Other religious minorities include Baha'is (four registered organizations), Zoroastrians (no data available), Hare Krishnas (one), and Jews (one). Each of these groups is very small and nearly all their members

neg: Tax status of Scientology in the United States up with the harassment like the rest of us did." Robert Fink, a New York tax lawyer who reviewed the leaked agreement for "The Wall Street Journal", noted that the IRS "normally settles on tax issues alone. What the IRS wanted was to buy peace from the Scientologists. You never see the IRS wanting to buy peace." The IRS threw a veil of secrecy over the terms of the agreement, citing taxpayer privacy laws and refusing Freedom of Information Act requests for documents relating to it. While other religious organizations had been required to disclose the payment of back taxes,

neg: International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 shut down to re-open. To date this is the only Binding Agreement secured under IRFA, but it demonstrates the IRFA policy goal of securing systemic change rather than mere punishment. The Act has seven titles, each containing numerous sections. These are: As per the Act, the Congress and the President are obligated to take into account the various issues of religious freedom while developing the country's foreign policy. Under Title I of the Act, a permanent infrastructure within the State Department is created for dealing with religious issues. This is known as the Office of International Religious Freedom, headed by

neg: Regional Municipality of Waterloo those of German origin made up a third of the population in 1911. Lutherans were the primary religious group. There were nearly three times as many Lutherans as Mennonites at that time. The latter primarily resided in the rural areas and small communities. Before and during World War I, there was some anti-German sentiment in Canada and some cultural sanctions on the community, particularly in Berlin, Ontario. However, by 1919 most of the population of what would become Kitchener-Waterloo and Elmira were Canadian by birth; over 95 percent had been born in Ontario. Those of the Mennonite religion were pacifist,

neg: An Agreement of the People An Agreement of the People Major published versions of the "Agreement" include: Soon after the First English Civil War, the "Agreement" was the subject of the Putney Debates in 1647. The major tenets of this first version of the "Agreement" were: freedom of religion, the frequent convening of new parliaments and equality for all under the law. These tenets also appeared in the later versions of the manifesto. As these basic proposals were queried, other provisions were added; for example Roman Catholics were exempt from the right to religious freedom, and the electorate was to be made up of adult

neg: Púchov to the origin of the official archaeological name Púchov culture. During the 7th – 8th centuries was the town settled by Slavs and in the 9th century the Moravian settlements shared the most expansion. In 1469 Matthias Corvinus, the King of Hungary, gave Púchov homestead to the Marczibányis, who were the lineal descendants of Púchovs since the 13th century. According to the 2001 census, the town had 18,833 inhabitants. 97.4% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 1.3% Czechs and 0.2% Roma. The religious make-up was 71.4% Roman Catholics, 13.8% Lutherans, and 11.3% people with no religious affiliation. It is a strong industry

neg: Pink Map would have provided a limited link between Angola and Mozambique. The refusal of the Portuguese Parliament to ratify the agreement in August 1890 led to a new treaty being negotiated, which gave Portugal more territory in the Zambezi valley than the 1890 treaty, in exchange for giving up what is now the Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. This treaty, which also fixed the borders of Angola, was signed in Lisbon on 11 June 1891, and in addition to defining boundaries it provided for freedom of navigation on the Zambezi and Shire rivers. However, it gave Portugal no special rights along the

neg: Krásno nad Kysucou Kysucou lies at an altitude of above sea level and covers an area of . It lies in the Kysuca river valley According to the 2010 census, the town had 6.920 inhabitants with 0.4% Czech as a largest majority. The religious make-up was 91.60% Roman Catholics and 0.13% Lutherans most of others gave no religious affiliation. Gospelové Kysuce (Gospel Kysuce) is an international gospel festival. It takes place every first Friday of September, since 2003. A lot of rock bands that focus on the gospel music are performing here. It starts with the holy mass in the Church of st.

neg: New Cult Awareness Network Freedom, who made them available to academic researchers and representatives of various new religious movements for inspection and photocopying. Later they were transferred to the Special Collections section of the University of California library in Santa Barbara. The Foundation for Religious Freedom became the license holder of the CAN name and operates the New CAN today. It is controlled by a multi-faith board of directors chaired by George Robertson, a self-described Baptist minister. It operates a website and a telephone hotline. The Foundation for Religious Freedom predates the "New CAN"; in the 1993 closing agreement between the IRS and the

neg: Freedom of religion in Cyprus are also exempt from taxes and are eligible, along with the Church of Cyprus and the Vakif, for government subsidies to their religious institutions. The Government has constitutional and other legal bars against religious discrimination. The 1975 Vienna III Agreement remains the basic agreement covering treatment of Greek Cypriots and Maronites living in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots living in the government-controlled area. Among other things, this agreement provides for facilities for religious worship. Religions other than the five recognized religions are not required to register with the Government; however, if they desire to engage in

neg: Shapur I of the cities. He also gave the Christians of his empire religious freedom, and allowed them to build churches without needing agreement from the Sasanian court. During the reign of Shapur, Manichaeism, a new religion was founded by the Iranian prophet Mani, flourished. Mani was treated well by Shapur, and in 242, the prophet joined the Sasanian court, where he tried to convert Shapur by dedicating his only work written in Middle Persian, known as the "Shabuhragan". Shapur, however, did not convert to Manichaeanism and remained a Zoroastrian. Shapur appears in Harry Sidebottom's historical fiction novel series as one of

neg: Oliver Cromwell a campaign against them. Preparations for an invasion of Ireland occupied Cromwell in the subsequent months. In the latter part of the 1640s, Cromwell came across political dissidence in the "New Model Army". The "Leveller" or "Agitator" movement was a political movement that emphasised popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance. These sentiments were expressed in the manifesto "Agreement of the People" in 1647. Cromwell and the rest of the "Grandees" disagreed with these sentiments in that they gave too much freedom to the people; they believed that the vote should only extend to the landowners.

neg: Ethnocultural politics in the United States the German Catholics and Lutherans, who were often led by the Irish Catholics. These large groups, Buenker argues: Religious lines were sharply drawn. Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Scandinavian Lutherans and other pietists in the North were tightly linked to the GOP. In sharp contrast, liturgical groups, especially the Catholics, Episcopalians, and German Lutherans, looked to the Democratic Party for protection from pietistic moralism, especially prohibition. While both parties cut across economic class structures, the Democrats were supported more heavily by its lower tiers. Cultural issues, especially prohibition and foreign language schools, became important because of the sharp religious divisions in the

neg: History of Calvinism future King Christian V of Denmark married the staunchly Reformed Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel. As part of the marriage agreement, a Reformed minister was allowed to reside in Copenhagen as Charlotte's chaplain, but her Reformed faith prevented her from being crowned after becoming queen in 1670. In 1684, Christian V allowed for freedom of worship to non-Lutherans, and four years later, in 1688, the queen herself laid the cornerstone for the first Reformed church building. French Huguenots established the first and only Reformed body in Sweden in the late 18th century. In the British Isles, there were three established churches,

neg: Treaty of Labiau "princeps summus & Suverenus". Article III specifies that this applies also to Frederick William I's successors, who likewise would have the status of "principes summi & absoluti Suverenii". Sweden further relinquished her rights to collect custom dues in Prussian ports, in turn, Frederick William I was to satisfy Sweden with 120,000 riksdalers. A Calvinist himself, he also obliged himself to grant religious freedom to the Lutherans in his Prussian territories, confirming the similar articles IV and XVII of the treaties of Marienburg and Königsberg, respectively. In addition to these terms, the treaty also included secret articles: therein, Frederick William I

neg: Syros Ottoman rule. However, negotiations of the local authorities with the Ottomans gave the Cyclades substantial privileges, such as the reduction of taxes and religious freedom. At the same time, following an agreement of France and the Holy See with the Ottoman authorities, the Catholics of the island came under the protection of France and Rome and so Syros sometimes was called "the Pope's island". The Roman Catholic diocese of Syros was a Latin diocese, suffragan of Naxos. The Venetians had established there a Latin bishopric which was subject to the Latin Archbishopric of Athens until 1525. From the time of

neg: Crypto-Calvinism its influence to southern Germany (not least because of the work of Martin Bucer), but the Peace of Augsburg (1555) had given religious freedom in Germany only to Lutherans, and it was not officially extended to Calvinists until the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. While Bullinger, Zwingli's successor, in 1549 had accepted Calvin's much less radical view of Christ's presence in the Lord's Supper (the Eucharist was to be more than a sign; Christ was truly present in it, and was received by faith), Calvinist theologians thought that Lutheran theology also had changed its view to Real Presence, because the

neg: Richard C. Kessler was born in Savannah, Georgia and is a descendant of the Salzburgers, a group of Lutherans from Bavaria who came to America in 1732 seeking religious freedom. Kessler holds bachelor's and master's degrees in industrial engineering and operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is married to Martha Jane Wilson of Durham, N.C. The couple has two grown children, Mark and Laura, and three grandchildren. At the age of 23, Kessler became the right hand to real estate developer Cecil B. Day and help found Days Inn of America in August 1970. From 1972 to 1975, Kessler founded

neg: Ohmbach those in Ohmbach (Oberohmbach) had to convert in 1588 on Count Palatine (Duke) Johannes I's orders to Reformed belief according to John Calvin (Calvinism). After the Thirty Years' War, religious freedom was theoretically possible, though the old relationships for the most part stood. In Zweibrücken-held Ohmbach, the Calvinist faith held its own. Lutherans were promoted by the Swedish kings who now ruled the Duchy – mostly in the towns and cities among officials – while Catholics enjoyed something similar on a lesser scale during the time of French King Louis XIV's wars of conquest. In the Electorate of the Palatinate-held

neg: William Penn commercial challenge. Some Quaker families had already arrived in Maryland and New Jersey but the numbers were small. To attract settlers in large numbers, he wrote a glowing prospectus, considered honest and well-researched for the time, promising religious freedom as well as material advantage, which he marketed throughout Europe in various languages. Within six months he had parcelled out to over 250 prospective settlers, mostly rich London Quakers. Eventually he attracted other persecuted minorities including Huguenots, Mennonites, Amish, Catholics, Lutherans, and Jews from England, France, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, and Wales. Next, he set out to lay the legal

neg: Martin, Slovakia 31, 2016). Since end of 1990s when the population reached the top (more than 60,000) every year a slight decrease has been observed. According to the 2001 census, 94.9% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 1.6% Czechs, 0.5% Romani, and 0.2% Hungarians. The religious makeup was 44.1% Roman Catholics, 31.2% people with no religious affiliation, and 17.2% Lutherans. According to the 2011 census, 81.7% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 1.0% Czechs, 0.09% Roma, and 0.2% Hungarians and 16.2% did not specify nationality. The religious makeup was 34.3% Roman Catholics, 28.3% people with no religious affiliation, 21.1% did not specify religion and 13.2% Lutherans.

neg: History of freedom of religion in Canada most precise and most effectual orders, that his new Roman Catholic subjects may profess the worship of their religion according to the rites of the Romish church, as far as the laws of Great Britain permit... In 1851, the Parliament of the Province of Canada enacted the "Freedom of Worship Act". The Act gave legal protection to the "free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference" in what is now Ontario and Quebec. At Confederation in 1867, the "Constitution Act, 1867" protected the right to publicly funded denominational and separate schools, as they existed prior

neg: Religion in Romania Church had 663,807 members (3.3% of the total population), 8 bishops, 1,250 parishes, some 791 diocesan priests and 235 seminarians of its own rite at the end of 2012. The dispute over the figure is included in the United States Department of State report on religious freedom in Romania. The Romanian Orthodox Church continues to claim many of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church's properties. According to the 2011 census, Protestants make up 6.2% of the total population. They have been historically been made up of Lutherans, Calvinists and Unitarians, although in recent years Evangelical Protestants, Pentecostals and newer Protestant groups

neg: Ash Wednesday the cross, many Christians choose to keep the mark visible throughout the day. The churches have not imposed this as an obligatory rule, and the ashes may even be wiped off immediately after receiving them; but some Christian leaders, such as Lutheran pastor Richard P. Bucher and Catholic bishop Kieran Conry, recommend it as a public profession of faith. Morgan Guyton, a Methodist pastor and leader in the Red-Letter Christian movement, encourages Christians to wear their ashed cross throughout the day as an exercise of religious freedom. Since 2007, some members of major Christian Churches, including Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans, and

neg: Persecuted (film) scathing review with, "At a time when the world offers us no shortage of examples of what actual religious persecution looks like, for a film to indulge in this particular brand of self-righteous fearmongering isn’t just clueless or reckless; it’s an act of contemptible irresponsibility." Focus on the Family said, "Philosophically, the movie compels us to grapple with what it looks like to have religious freedom in our modern world. It asks, Do we still have it in America? And it goes to some length, story-wise, to reinforce how important such freedom is...Indeed, religious freedom is a very big deal.

neg: International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 under Sec 402 of the Act and this subjects them to punitive sanctions which are listed in Sec. 405. Under this section, the president must either enter into a binding agreement with the concerned country to end the religious persecution, or to choose from remedies outlined in Sec. 405 of the Act. This section offers the president fifteen options to exercise against countries engaging in religious persecution, ranging from private negotiations to sanctions, or a "commensurate action" not listed in IRFA but which would serve the purpose of advancing religious freedom. These include Under Title IV, the president may waive

neg: Patent of Toleration "Divine Send of Equal Liberties" but was further put down by the monarch's advisor. Constraints on the construction of churches were abolished after the revolutions of 1848. The Protestant Church did not receive an equivalent legal status until Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria issued the "Protestantenpatent" in 1861. Patent of Toleration The Patent of Toleration () was an edict of toleration issued on 13 October 1781 by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. Part of the Josephinist reforms, the Patent extended religious freedom to non-Catholic Christians living in the crown lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, including Lutherans, Calvinists, and the

neg: Tower Rock settled here after being driven off Spanish soil west of the Mississippi River, was a pirate ambush spot. This outlaw haven was destroyed by the United States Army dragoons, most likely sent from the army post upriver at Fort Kaskaskia in 1803. Meriwether Lewis mentions the island in his journals, stating that rivermen who passed the rock would celebrate in a way similar to sailors crossing the equator, by raising a drink of spirits. Lutherans from Germany considered this island their Plymouth Rock, for here they landed, after seeking a place where they could practice religious freedom. In a Nov.

neg: Religion in Italy the principle of separation of church and state. In particular, the Lateran Treaty of 1929, which gave a special status to the Church, is recognised and modifications "accepted by both parties" to such treaty are allowed without the need of constitutional amendments. In fact, the treaty was later modified by a new agreement between the state and the Church in 1984 under which Catholicism ceased to be the state religion. Freedom of religion is also recognised, with "all religious denominations" having "the right of self-organisation according to their own statutes, provided these do not conflict with Italian law"; "[t]heir relations

neg: Freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Denmark Freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Denmark Freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Denmark are ensured by § 77 of the constitution: There's widespread agreement in Danish legal theory that § 77 protects what is called "formal freedom of speech" (formel ytringsfrihed), meaning that one cannot be required to submit one's speech for review by authorities before publishing or otherwise disseminating it. However, there is disagreement about whether or not § 77 covers "material freedom of speech" (materiel ytringsfrihed), the right to not be punished for ones speech. There is agreement that the phrasing

neg: Thomas Cranmer Lutheran princes to have detailed discussions on forming a political and religious alliance. Henry had been seeking a new embassy from the Schmalkaldic League since summer 1537. The Lutherans were delighted by this and they sent a joint delegation from various German cities, including a colleague of Martin Luther, Friedrich Myconius. The delegates arrived in England on 27 May 1538. After initial meetings with the king, Cromwell, and Cranmer, discussions on theological differences were transferred to Lambeth Palace under Cranmer's chairmanship. Progress on an agreement was slow partly due to Cromwell being too busy to help expedite the proceedings and

neg: Shemsdin (East Syriac Ecclesiastical Province) were simply religious leaders, whose succession depended on the agreement of the Ottoman authorities, the Qudshanis patriarchs were also quasi-independent tribal chiefs, enjoying a certain freedom of manoeuvre to balance between the Ottoman authorities and their nominally-subject Kurdish emirs. This dual position gave the Qudshanis patriarchate a unique character. Nineteenth-century visitors to Qudshanis described a patriarchal rule which resembled that of a medieval baron. The patriarch derived an income from the farm produce of his parishioners, and took a share of church collections. His rule ultimately rested on the prestige of the patriarchal family, which was recognized by all the

neg: Catholic League (German) Lutheranism could not practice the religion differing to that of the state. Although the Peace created a temporary end to hostilities, the underlying bases of the religious conflict remained unsolved. Both parties interpreted it at their convenience, the Lutherans in particular considering it only a momentary agreement. Further, Calvinism spread quickly throughout the Holy Roman Empire, adding a third major Christian worldview to the region, but its position was not supported in any way by the Augsburg terms, since Catholicism and Lutheranism were the only permitted creeds. The best documented reason of the foundation of the Catholic League was an

neg: Form (religion) Form (religion) In academic discussions of organized religion, the term form is sometimes used to describe prescriptions or norms on religious practice. Forms in Christianity are mostly familiarly dictates of church authority or tradition (e.g. church government, liturgy, doctrine). However, the term is used by some authors to refer to a broader category that includes other patterns of religious practice. Most notably, Christian scholar D. G. Hart uses this term to compare and contrast the practices of evangelical Protestants and what he calls "confessional Protestants" (for example Anglicans and most Lutherans). He argues that the confessionals follow forms that are

neg: History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty lasted until 1638, when Counter-Reformation had it closed. The notable Sandomierz Agreement of 1570, an act of compromise and cooperation among several Polish Protestant denominations, excluded the Arians, whose more moderate, larger faction toward the end of the century gained the upper hand within the movement. The act of the Warsaw Confederation, which took place during the convocation sejm of 1573, provided guarantees, at least for the nobility, of religious freedom and peace. It gave the Protestant denominations, including the Polish Brethren, formal rights for many decades to come. Uniquely in 16th-century Europe, it turned the Commonwealth, in the words

neg: Freedom of religion in Russia 2007 the court gave light prison sentences to five teenagers who beat and fatally stabbed a Jewish man in October 2005, a murder motivated by ethnic hatred. There were isolated instances in which local officials detained individuals who were publicly discussing their religious views, but usually authorities resolved these instances quickly. On 13 and 14 of May, 2007 police arrested and detained 15 members of the Voskresenye Baptist community in Ivanovo, who were holding an event in a movie theater, distributing the New Testament and Book of Psalms. The organizers of the event had a written agreement with the theater.

neg: St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk December 1577 with a compromise forcing the city to pay the king the sum of 200,000 Polish guilders. But the Polish monarch also recognised Danzig's religious freedom and Lutheran faith. As a compromise the jurisdiction over Danzig's Lutherans as to marital and sexual matters remained with Włocławek's Catholic officials. In 1594, the Polish royal court tribunal attempted to restore Catholic services to St. Mary's, but the City Council rejected that approach. But as a compromise, since the Catholic kings of Poland had been the nominal heads of the City since the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), the Council authorised building

neg: Treaty of Königsberg (1656) confront the Swedish forces, the latter chose not to fight and accept the Swedish terms in January. Frederick William I took the Duchy of Prussia as a fief from Charles X Gustav, and had to provide him with troops. Without Swedish permission, the Electorate of Brandenburg would not maintain a navy in the Baltic Sea. In return, Frederick William I received Ermland. In article XVII, the Lutheran Swedish king further obliged the Calvinist elector to grant religious freedom to the Lutherans in Prussia. The Franco-Prussian treaty included a defensive alliance between the parties. Drafted on 24 February, it was ratified

neg: Prussian Union of Churches The former emigration led to the eventual creation of the Lutheran Church of Australia (which was formed in 1966). With the death of Frederick William III in 1840, King Frederick William IV ascended to the throne. He released the pastors who had been imprisoned, and allowed the dissenting groups to form religious organisations in freedom. In 1841 the "Old Lutherans", who had stayed in Prussia, convened in a general synod in Breslau and founded the "Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Prussia", which merged in 1972 with "Old Lutheran" church bodies in other German states to become today's Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (, or

neg: Demographics of Luxembourg religious practices, but over 90% is estimated to be baptized Catholic (the Virgin Mary is the Patroness of the city of Luxembourg). The Lutherans are the largest Protestant denomination in the country. Muslims are estimated to number approximately 6000 persons, notably including 1,500 refugees from Montenegro; Orthodox (Albanian, Greek, Serbian, Russian, and Romanian) adherents are estimated to number approximately 5,000 persons, along with approximately 1,000 Jews. Freedom of religion is provided by the Luxembourg Constitution. The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated. 24.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) 1.7

neg: Demographics of Sweden in its traditional form as most Sami today belong to the Lutheran church. Jews were permitted to practice their religion in five Swedish cities in 1782, and have enjoyed full rights as citizens since 1870. The new Freedom of Religion Bill was passed in 1951, and former obstacles against Non-Lutherans working in schools and hospitals were removed. Further, that bill made it legal to leave any religious denomination, without entering another. There are also a number of Muslims, Buddhists, and Bahá'í in Sweden, mainly from immigration. Demographics of Sweden The demography of Sweden is monitored by Statistics Sweden (SCB). As

neg: Freedom of religion in China Freedom of religion in China Freedom of religion in China is provided for in the "Constitution of the People's Republic of China", with an important caveat: the government protects what it calls "normal religious activity," defined in practice as activities that take place within government-sanctioned religious organizations and registered places of worship. Although the dynastic governments of imperial China also claimed responsibility for the practice of religion, human rights bodies such as United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) have criticized this differentiation as falling short of international standards for the protection of religious freedom. China's five officially sanctioned

neg: International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 state what efforts it has undertaken to promote religious freedom. In addition to the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and the Annual Report, the cornerstone of IRFA is the requirement that each year the President review and determine whether any country has met the threshold, based on international human rights law, of "Country of Particular Concern" or CPC, engaging in or tolerating "particularly severe violations of religious freedom." The CPC determinations lead to a consultation and negotiations process resulting in a range of actions and sanctions if the offenses are not addressed. Based on similar successful provisions in

neg: Christ Episcopal Church (Winchester, Virginia) Methodists now arrived in the Valley to join the Presbyterians, Lutherans and Reformed. After Jefferson's religious freedom bill became law and established Virginia clergy no longer were paid from taxes, the newly elected county Overseers of the Poor took over the old vestry book, and lay readers probably held some services. Meanwhile, another long-term vestryman, the elderly Lord Fairfax (who had remained, though a Loyalist) died at his Greenway Court home in 1781, and was buried in the chancel of the Winchester church, the service being read by Rev. James Thomsom, rector of Leeds Parish (also within the aristocrat's lands).

neg: Religion in Moldova Lutherans, Presbyterians, Hare Krishnas, and some other charismatic Christian and evangelical Christian groups. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) has 3 congregations in the country, and a combined total of approximately 370 members. According to the most recently available numbers, the Jewish community has approximately 31,300 members, including approximately 20,000 living in Chişinău, around 3,100 in Bălți and surrounding areas, approximately 2,200 in Tiraspol, and around 2,000 in Bender. The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice; however, the 1992 Law on Religions, which codifies religious freedoms, contains restrictions

neg: German settlements in the Riverina German settlements in the Riverina In Australia, a number of German settlements in the Riverina were established in the late nineteenth century. The settlements were populated by Germans migrating both from established German settlements in South Australia and directly from Germany. Due to the distinct religious and language difference between the new settlers and the established Anglo-Celtic community in the Riverina, these settlements maintained a distinct cultural identity. Australia became a popular destination for German immigrants from as early as 1838 when religious persecution in Prussia led to the first organised group migration of Old Lutherans to South Australia. What

neg: Freedom of religion in Albania Government and religious communities. The Catholic Church continued to be the only religious community that had finalized such an agreement with the Government. The Committee had a mandate to negotiate agreements with the three remaining groups and created a working group in May 2006 for this purpose. The Committee reportedly reached an agreement with three groups—the Muslim, Orthodox, and Muslim Bektashi communities. VUSH, a Protestant umbrella organization, approached the Committee to negotiate a bilateral agreement but had not received a response by the end of the reporting period. The Ministry of Education states that public schools in the country are

neg: History of religion in the United States under the control of religious denominations. In 1872, of the 73 agencies assigned, the Methodists received 14 reservations; the Orthodox Quakers ten; the Presbyterians nine; the Episcopalians eight; the Catholics seven; the Hicksite Quakers six; the Baptists five; the Dutch Reformed five; the Congregationalists three; the Disciples two; Unitarians two; American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions one; and Lutherans one. The selection criteria were vague and some critics saw the Peace Policy as violating Native American freedom of religion. Catholics wanted a bigger role and set up the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions in 1874. The Peace Policy remained

neg: Lutheranism a confessional revival re-emphasized the authority of the Bible and agreement with the Lutheran Confessions. Today, Lutherans disagree about the inspiration and authority of the Bible. Theological conservatives use the historical-grammatical method of Biblical interpretation, while theological liberals use the higher critical method. The 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center surveyed 1,926 adults in the United States that self-identified as Lutheran. The study found that 30% believed that the Bible was the Word of God and was to be taken literally word for word. 40% held that the Bible was the Word of God, but

neg: International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 the bill spoke of the United States as being born out of the need for religious freedom, and that this principle was codified in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The First Amendment explicitly guarantees the fundamental right of religious freedom and liberty to practice any faith as according to one's choice. Their contention made, to this is that the United States has the duty to uphold this fundamental right. During a speech about the Act, on October 9, 1998, IRFA co-sponsor Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), gave the reason as to why the founding fathers were drawn to

neg: Shrove Tuesday many Christians, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Roman Catholics, who "make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God's help in dealing with." Being the last day of the liturgical season historically known as Shrovetide, before the penitential season of Lent, related popular practices, such as indulging in food that one sacrifices for the upcoming forty days, are associated with Shrove Tuesday celebrations, before commencing the fasting and religious obligations associated with Lent. The term "Mardi Gras" is French

neg: Dan Fefferman in 1989, and served as chief editor of the first edition of "Divine Principle" in English, as well as other church publications. Since 1984, Fefferman has been the executive director of the Unification Church affiliated organization the International Coalition for Religious Freedom in Virginia, which is active in protesting what it considers to be threats to religious freedom by governmental agencies. In 1999 the International Coalition for Religious Freedom filed a lawsuit in United States district court in Baltimore, Maryland, against a Maryland state task force which was investigating new religious movements on state college campuses. Fefferman commented to "The

neg: Secular movement assert their right to participate in the invocation process. Months after the "Galloway" ruling, an atheist gave the invocation at a regular meeting of the Town of Greece board. The secular movement has also been active in public discourse over the definition of religious freedom. Atheist and humanist groups opposed the Supreme Court's 2014 decision in "Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.", which gave corporate employers the right to opt out of the birth control mandate of the Affordable Care Act on religious freedom grounds. In March 2012, several national secular groups sponsored a Reason Rally on the National Mall

neg: South African constitutional litigation the waiver of a fundamental aspect of one's religion. Conradie J was able to avoid the waiver issue by holding that amplification of the call to prayer had not been shown to be a fundamental precept of the Islamic faith, and that the agreement therefore did not infringe the right to religious freedom. Currie and De Waal, however, argue that it was not necessary for the court to decide on what constitutes a “fundamental precept” of the respondent’s religion. If the respondent had waived its right to practice its religion in this way, it would have made the decision itself.

neg: Gnesio-Lutherans arose among the Lutherans, mostly due to teaching of Philip Melanchthon. Gnesio-Lutherans were profiled by defending Martin Luther's doctrine, in the beginning led by Matthias Flacius. The Gnesio-Lutherans exercised strict doctrinal discipline, but they also opposed with equal determination what they considered to be the errors of their fellow-combatants like von Amsdorf (Amsdorfians), Flacius (Flacians), Poach, and others. The centres of Gnesio-Lutherans were Magdeburg and the University of Jena. Gnesio-Lutherans were involved in: Other Gnesio-Luherans were Caspar Aquila, Joachim Westphal, Johann Wigand, Matthäus Judex, Joachim Mörlin, Tilemann Heshusius, Johann Timann, Simon Musaeus, Erasmus Sarcerius, and Aegidius Hunnius. The Crypto-Calvinistic Controversy