North American Religious Liberty Association
Encyclopedia
The North American Religious Liberty Association (NARLA) is a regional chapter of the International Religious Liberty Association
International Religious Liberty Association
The International Religious Liberty Association is a non-sectarian and non-political organization promoting religious freedom. It was originally organised by the Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders in 1893 to campaign for religious freedom for all when the danger of restrictions from blue laws...

 (IRLA). The IRLA was founded in 1893 and now has over 50 national and regional chapters around the world.

NARLA is the rebirth of the American Religious Liberty Association (ARLA) formed in the late 19th century by the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

.

NARLA's focus is on matters pertaining to freedom of conscience. This includes supporting a broad interpretation of the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

's guarantee of free exercise of religion and laws protecting religious freedom, supporting laws to advance religious liberty, and supporting the principle that religion must not be co-opted by the state through regulation or through financial entanglements.

Additionally, NARLA is associated with Liberty Magazine, a publication with a circulation of roughly 200,000, and with the radio broadcasts Freedom's Ring which is syndicated across the U.S., and Talking About Freedom, which is broadcast in the Washington, D.C., region.

Melissa Reid is the Executive Director of NARLA.

In addition to its lobbying efforts, NARLA and Liberty Magazine host an annual non-partisan dinner in Washington DC. Past speakers from include Senator Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum
Richard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social...

 (2004), Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...

 (2005), and Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

 (2006).

See also

  • Liberty (Adventist magazine)
  • International Religious Liberty Association
    International Religious Liberty Association
    The International Religious Liberty Association is a non-sectarian and non-political organization promoting religious freedom. It was originally organised by the Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders in 1893 to campaign for religious freedom for all when the danger of restrictions from blue laws...

  • Religious freedom
  • Seventh-day Adventist Church
    Seventh-day Adventist Church
    The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...


External links

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