Upholding Religious Liberty: A Timeless Principle
This is part of Family Council’s ongoing series outlining the importance of traditional family values in society. Today’s installment focuses on the value of religious liberty.
Religious liberty is a core value woven into the fabric of our nation.
Below are a few points to consider.
Religious Liberty is a Fundamental Human Right
The free exercise of religion is a fundamental human right secured by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Religious liberty lets individuals practice their faith without fear of persecution or discrimination.
Protecting the free exercise of religion helps ensure people are able to live out their deeply held convictions in everyday life.
The Free Exercise of Religion Promotes Morality and Ethics
On August 23, 1984, President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech at the Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast in Dallas, Texas. During the speech he commented,
“Without God, there is no virtue, because there’s no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we’re mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society.”
Faith and religion help shape moral values and principles. Religious freedom ensures we’re able to follow our beliefs and pass them on to future generations.
Religion and Charity Benefit All of Society
In 2016 researchers writing in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research and Religion published a study examining economic contributions of religious institutions. Researchers estimated “religion” in America contributes at least $378 billion to the U.S. economy annually — and possibly as much as $1.2 trillion or more.
Religious freedom allows individuals to provide a source of support and comfort in their communities. It lets people and groups engage in charity and service motivated by their faith.
Religious liberty also helps build a healthy society, because it lets people of different faiths live out their beliefs peacefully and respectfully without government interference.
Marijuana Use “Scientifically Linked” to Heart Disease, Stroke: American Heart Association
Marijuana is scientifically linked to heart diseases, according to the American Heart Association.
In a statement released last week, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health highlighted scientific statements warning that marijuana use may increase the risk of deadly cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks, and strokes.
The statement notes how “the chemicals in cannabis have been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks, heart failure and atrial fibrillation in observational studies.”
According to research from the heart association, smoking marijuana has been associated with heart muscle dysfunction, chest pain, heart attack, heart arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac death.
States that have legalized marijuana have seen increases in hospitalizations and E.R. visits for heart attacks.
Research increasingly links marijuana use with serious health problems.
A recent study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session found people who used marijuana daily were 34% more likely to develop coronary artery disease compared with people who have never used marijuana.
In February, a survey of more than 2,500 teens and young adults led by the American Heart Association found that vaping THC was associated with self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety.
A study by the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center recently found that vaping CBD — a substance found in marijuana — can cause more severe lung damage than vaping nicotine.
A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found adults under age 45 who frequently use marijuana are roughly twice as likely to suffer from a heart attack as adults who do not use marijuana.
A study published last year in the journal of the Radiological Society of North America found marijuana smoke may be more harmful to lungs than cigarette smoke, after researchers examined some 150 lung scans from marijuana smokers, tobacco-only smokers, and nonsmokers.
A 2019 study found that regular marijuana use increased the risk of heart problems for young people, and a 2017 study reported marijuana smokers were three times more likely to die of hypertension.
A 2022 study published in The Lancet determined that using marijuana with high levels of THC was linked to an increased risk of psychosis.
A 2021 report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found self-harm rates rose 46% among men ages 21 to 39 in states where commercial marijuana sales were legalized.
A 2019 study published in The Lancet found using marijuana with THC levels exceeding 10% increased the odds of a person suffering a psychotic episode.
The list goes on and on and on.
This research shows how Arkansans were right to reject recreational marijuana at the ballot box last November, and legislators made the right call in choosing not to pass legislation that would have legalized marijuana and Delta-8 THC in Arkansas this year.
All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.