Freedom of Religion
The concept of freedom of religion has been perverted in the United States, as the left attempts to ban religion from the public square.
Separation of Church and State
Thomas Jefferson wrote, in an 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists, that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution created a "wall of separation" between church and state. But even this concept has been perverted and extended as if he were meaning that there should be a wall of separation between religion and the state.
I accept the idea of separation of church and state. But church is organized religion. It is clergy, buildings, and set forms of worship. The Ten Commandments is not church, it is religion. Christmas is not church, even Christianity is not a single church.
Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not bear false witness. These are religious statements and they are a foundation of key parts of our laws.
Church buildings, priests and pastors, donations, those are part of Church. They are organized religion. The ten commandments are not Church, they are religion. If you tell me you believe in the ten commandments, I can't tell what Church you belong to. You may be Pentecostal, Jewish, or even Muslim, for all I know. If I examine your donations on your tax return, I can make a pretty good guess about what Church you belong to. And what the founders intended was there to be a wall of separation between organized religion and government, not between religion and government. Our founding documents recognize and even enshrine a commitment to religious principles.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines religion thus: “Religion: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe.” I contend that if someone feels that a critical part of their purpose in life is to "save the planet," that is a religious belief. Likewise, a belief that society should strive for material equality between the rich and the poor, in other words that government should take from the rich and give to the poor, that is also a religious belief. In fact, many of those who promote this belief claim that this is what Jesus taught. Adherence to the global warming ideology has been compared on many levels to religion and religious faith, and its staunch adherents behave like religious zealots.
Which brings me to an interesting thought. If our goal is a separation of religion and state, then liberalism needs to be expunged from our government and neither liberalism nor radical environmentalism can be promoted by any government entity, because they are both religious beliefs.
You say that would be absurd. I can grant you that. But then, to be even-handed, those who espouse the religion of Liberalism should grant other religious beliefs, such as Christianity, full rights in the marketplace of ideas and not demand that Christianity, including the ten commandments, be expunged from government.