On Monday 19 July, Elder Carl Maurer, Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, met with the Hon. Amanda Stoker, Senator for Queensland, to discuss the importance of supporting religious freedom.
“Parents need the freedom to be able to teach their faith to their children,” Senator Stoker said.
She continued: “We know that our nation is stronger when people of faith are able to practise their beliefs, able to strengthen their families and contribute to their communities with the kind of warmth and generosity for which they are renowned. They should not be pushed out of the public square.”
Elder Maurer said, “We are grateful for the work Senator Stoker and other civic leaders do to support the religious freedom of individuals, churches and organisations in Australia.”
Religious freedom safeguards the right of all people to hold their own religious beliefs and express them openly without fear of persecution or being denied equal rights of citizenship.
It ensures that people can freely choose or change their religion, teach their faith to their children, receive and disseminate religious information, and gather with others to worship and participate in the ceremonies and practices of their faith.
The International Centre for Law and Religion Studies, a leading organization in the field of international religious freedom, and part of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah, USA, will host the 27th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, “Religious Freedom: Rights and Responsibilities,” 4-6 October.