Aug 29, 2012 / 12:58 pm
The U.S. Republican Party included a significant section on the importance of religious freedom in its new official platform, adopted on Aug. 28 in Tampa, Fla.
"We pledge to respect the religious beliefs and rights of conscience of all Americans and to safeguard the independence of their institutions from government," stated the 2012 Republican platform, which was formally approved at the party's national convention on Tuesday.
The party explained that its positions respect "God-given individual rights," including the freedom "of every American to follow his or her beliefs."
The importance of religious freedom can be seen in its prominent placement in the "first provision of the First Amendment," the platform said.