• An upcoming documentary, Free Exercise: America’s Story of Religious Liberty, details the struggles that the religious endured in America’s infancy.
• Many religious people faced state-sanctioned murder and banishment.
• America’s viewpoint on religion has become more positive in recent history, with a vast majority recognizing its benefits to communities.

“Religious freedom has always been an essential part of the American experiment,” wrote Bill Duncan, Sutherland Institute constitutional law and religious freedom fellow, in Sutherland’s publication Religious Freedom 101.

This experiment has not been without its challenges. Power struggles, intolerance and even calls for extermination of religious groups have plagued America’s past.

These challenges are detailed in the upcoming documentary Free Exercise: America’s Story of Religious Liberty. Sutherland recently hosted two exclusive screenings of the film in coordination with UVU’s Center for Constitutional Studies, American Heritage School, and St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

The documentary explains the struggles Mormon pioneers endured as they were banished from communities across the country before members finally found peace in what is now the state of Utah.

Such peace was not easily achieved, as the state of Missouri infamously put an extermination order on followers of the church. In 1838, Missouri Gov. Lilburn Boggs said that Mormons “must be treated as enemies and exterminated or driven from the state.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not the only church to undergo persecution in early America.

For example, Catholics faced intense scrutiny, as many political leaders believed the pope’s influence on the devout would cloud their judgment to pursue America’s best interests.

Entities like the Know-Nothing Party, Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups sought to bar Catholics from public office and criminalize Catholic schools – even burning down convents.

In today’s America, these examples seem unheard of, as political leaders strive to provide religious protections in America’s laws, but such history is why these protections are so important.

A recent survey released by Sutherland shows the views of religion among likely voters in Utah. Of those surveyed, 82% believe that religion provides a net positive for society, and 93% of nonreligious individuals believe it provides a neutral or positive benefit to society.

Duncan, in Sutherland’s publication What Good Does Religion Do? Volume 1, highlighted that 91% of religious people are more likely to give money to any charitable cause, compared with 66% of non-religious people.

“People of faith believe they are accountable to God and have a religious duty to care for others,” wrote Duncan. “Studies show our communities are best served when we let them.”

For a more in-depth perspective on this article, review our Religious Freedom Issues Page here.