Here are some of the most notable quotes on religious freedom from historical figures, leaders, and thinkers:

Thomas Jefferson – “Among the most inestimable of our blessings is that of liberty to worship our Creator in the way we think most agreeable to His will; a liberty deemed in other countries incompatible with good government and yet proved by our experience to be its best support.”  – Thomas Jefferson: Reply to John Thomas (1807)

George Washington – “Every man, conducting himself as a good citizen, and being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience.”  – Letter from George Washington to United Baptist Churches in Virginia (1789)

James Madison – “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”  – This clause is part of the First Amendment, ratified on December 15, 1791, as a cornerstone of the Bill of Rights

John Quincy Adams – “Civil liberty can be established on no foundation of human reason which will not at the same time demonstrate the right of religious freedom.” – 6th US President Letter, 1823

Abraham Lincoln – “The Bible says somewhere that we are desperately selfish. I think we would have discovered that fact without reading the Bible.” – The Life and Public Services of Hon. Abraham Lincoln (1860)

Franklin D. Roosevelt – “Where freedom of religion has been attacked, the attack has come from sources opposed to democracy.” – Annual Message to Congress (1939)

Robert F. Kennedy – “America’s answer to the intolerant man is diversity — the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.” – Remarks at JFK Interfaith Chapel Dedication (1964)

Martin Luther King Jr. – “The hope of the world is still in dedicated minorities. The trail-blazers in human, scientific and religious freedom have always been in a minority.” – Where do we go from here: Chaos or community? (1967)

Raif Badawi – “States that are built on a religious foundation limit their own people in a circle of faith and fear.” – 1000 Lashes: Because I Say What I Think

Barack Obama – “The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are.” – Remarks supporting the construction of a mosque and community center near Ground Zero in New York City. (2010)

George Carlin – “Religion is like a pair of shoes… Find one that fits for you, but don’t make me wear It.” – Carlin originally used the metaphor in his 1970s comedy routines

Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary. Drafted by Joel Barlow,  Washington’s consul to Algiers, and ratified by a unanimous vote of the U.S. Senate on June 7th, 1797.  Signed by President John Adams, June 10th 1797

Thomas Jefferson – “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 opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.”

“And though we well know that this Assembly, elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding Assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right.” – A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom

Moncure D. Conway – “All religion and all ethics are summed up in justice.” – Methodist, Unitarian, and a Freethinker

Randall Balmer – “The separation of church and state is the best friend that religion (or faith) has ever had.” – Prominent historian and religious scholar

Roger Williams – the very first to call for a “hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world.” – 17th-century Puritan minister