“I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. ”
——Thomas Jefferson. Inscribed in the Jefferson Memorial.
当然很多人会肯定杰弗逊写的《独立宣言》是他给人类历史留下的最光辉一笔。“我们认定以下真理不言而喻:人因创世主创造而人人平等;创世主亦赋予其不可被剥夺的权利;这些权利包括生命存在、自由和追求幸福。”(节选自《独立宣言》)(原文:We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal;that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable right;that among these are life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness. )
然而或许有人会问,为什么杰弗逊没有提及曾两任美国总统,签署路易斯安那购地文件而使美国的领土增大一倍等等,为什么如此看重他撰写的《弗吉尼亚宗教自由法案》(the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom)。它只是美国一个州政府通过的法案并只在一期的议会间有法律效应。我们如何体会这位美国建国先驱的良苦用心?
(原文:Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishment or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy author of our religion. . .)
(原文:Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief;but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.)
至此,美国成为世界上第一个以宪法保障人民宗教信仰自由的国家,进入了一个尊重宗教信仰自由、真正民主的时代,并开始形成一个极具包容性的社会。法国著名思想家及历史学家亚历西斯·德托克维尔(Alexis de Tocqueville)于十九世纪三十年代旅行美国观察这个独特新兴国家的民主制度。他非常惊异于“自由精神”和“精神信仰”,在欧洲这两个对立的“敌手”,竟能在这个国家和谐共存!
1998年,美国国会通过了《国际宗教自由法》。根据这一法律,美国国务院建立了国际宗教自由委员会(United States Commission on International Religious Freedom)。观察、监督世界是否有违反宗教自由的情况,每年起草年度国际宗教自由报告并向美国国家安全委员会就宗教自由问题提供建议。