As 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are emphasizing the importance of preserving and preserving the freedom to believe and practice religion around the world.
“At no point should we rest on our laurels and think we have understood religious freedom in the United States. There is still work to be done,” said Spencer McBride, a historian with the Church History Bureau.
McBride, who has worked on projects such as the Joseph Smith Papers, discussed the importance of religious freedom leading to the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on a July 7 Church News podcast.
He said religious freedom in the United States has evolved over time, much like the development of the Restoration, and that religious freedom did not begin or end with the birth of the nation.
turning religious ideas into reality
Religious ideas influenced the founding of the United States. However, McBride clarified that the revolution was “not a war fought for religious freedom.”
View a timeline of historic events in the Church and America here.
Before the Revolution, colonists experienced religious tolerance but not complete freedom. For example, they still had to pay taxes to state-run churches to which they did not belong.
After the revolution, the state constitution allowed greater religious freedom, and the number of affiliations and memberships in various churches and religions increased.
“It gives more Americans a choice in where they go to church, how they worship, what they believe in, and it increases the number of people who actually participate in religion,” McBride said.
These early steps gave way to the Bill of Rights, which was ratified in 1791, but full religious freedom was not granted in some states until 1833.
Mr. McBride highlighted the influence of a little-known 18th century law: the Proclamation Line of 1763. This line prohibited settlers from settling west of the line along the Appalachian and Adirondack Mountains.
The Revolution dissolved boundaries and new Americans began migrating westward, resulting in changing beliefs and reactionary cultural nerves that sparked a religious revival and fostered the familiar environment in which Joseph Smith grew up.
When considering the stage for the Restoration, the 30 years leading up to it were extremely important. Without other religious movements and truth-seekers, the church might not have been restored, McBride said.
Heavenly Father “can do miraculous things in small gradual changes, just as he can in big, grand moments.”
“Promote the worship of others”
Mob violence against early members of churches and other denominations shows there is no “universal religious freedom,” McBride said.
In 1833 the Saints were expelled from Jackson County, Missouri. Joseph Smith responded by attending Congress, advocating for religious freedom in the Constitution, and running for president.
He realized that while the Bill of Rights protects people from infringement by the federal government, it does not apply to individual states. He also noted how important religious freedom is for everyone, not just specific religious groups.
Although his appeals were unsuccessful, Joseph’s actions reflected his vision for the nation.
For example, when Joseph Smith was mayor of Nauvoo, he paid dues for a Catholic priest who had to cross the Mississippi River to visit a dying parishioner.
“Promoting the worship of others does not undermine our beliefs,” McBride said.
The church’s complicated history with the United States reveals “the complexity of religious pluralism” and how religious freedom is a process rather than a one-time event, he added.
national vision
For Joseph, the beauty of the founding of the United States was that it “fitted into God’s greater plan for the salvation of mankind,” McBride said.
America’s freedom allowed the church to grow, but from its earliest days the church was a global church. With these freedoms comes responsibility, McBride said, quoting Church President Dallin H. Oaks.
In a democracy, “we have a responsibility to be informed, to understand, and to stand up for what is right.
“If that power comes from the people, then we also have a responsibility.”
In connection with the recent July 5 fast for religious freedom, McBride pointed out that from the beginning of the nation, colonists were asked by their leaders to fast for freedom.
“It is no wonder, then, that the leaders of our church asked us not only to fast and pray in gratitude for the rights we have, but also to know how best to protect them going forward.”
