I believe the most profound and powerful reasons for religious freedom are Christian reasons, and they extend not only to Christians but to all people. In my view this means that there is also a deep theological warrant for international religious freedom.
In 2017 we commemorated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, so it's appropriate to recall the theology of religious freedom as it emerged from reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin.
I wish to emphasize religious freedom's pre-Reformation roots and how they converged with the ideas of the Protestant reformers in the American founding. In short, religious freedom as it emerged in America has its roots in the scriptures, the early church fathers, and the Middle Ages.
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