Without the freedom to practice, observe and worship what we believe, or not to believe at all, we are not free to pursue the ultimate truth about our purpose and destiny. Religious freedom ensures that every person is able to look to a higher being, to believe that we are not alone, to live our lives by the moral codes we see fit. Without this right, we are not free to develop to our fullest potential or to discover our reason for living. We also realize that promoting religious freedom benefits our nations. As mature democracies, we have seen how the freedom of religion and conscience keeps our democracies strong, for religion often plays an important role in developing public policy.
Democracy is a continuing experiment.
Its vitality depends on the diversity of voices heard, the clamor of debate. Silencing these voices would only lead to the perpetuation of the status quo, and would jeopardize the vibrancy of our national debates. We must not adopt the attitude that religious minorities should simply be tolerated, then. We should embrace the fact that, like other groups that bring their ideas and ideals to the table of democratic discourse, religious groups, large and small, old and new, add diversity and vitality to our nations, bolster our democratic traditions, and increase the wisdom of our public policies. Working together in the international arena, we have made tremendous progress in promoting people's religious liberty.