Freedom to Worship

Freedom to Worship — page 1 — We are a nation of many nationalities many races many religions bound together by a single unity the unity of freedom and equality Whoever seeks to set one religion against another seeks to destroy all religion Franklin Delano Roosevelt The year was 1940 Franklin Delano Roosevelt also known as FDR was president of the United States He had been president for two terms He was running for a third time when he spoke these words at a November 1 campaign rally in Brooklyn New York Europe was in the middle of World War II Germany and Italy had invaded Denmark Norway France Egypt Greece and other nations There were reports of Jews being held as prisoners in Germany In the speech FDR asked people to stay strong and help one another He reminded them that the U S was a nation that respected all people and religions 4 INTRODUCTION Freedom for Faiths

Freedom to Worship — page 2 — Franklin Delano Roosevelt or FDR was president from 1933 to 1945 He served three full terms and part of a fourth 5

Freedom to Worship — page 3 — World’s Largest Religions The world is a big place There are more than seven billion people Around the world there are more than 20 major religions Each has different branches Christianity is the world’s largest religion It has more than two billion followers The people in this faith believe in one God and Jesus Christians believe Jesus is the son of God and follow his teachings The second largest religion is Islam People who practice this faith are called Muslims About a quarter of the people in the world are Muslims They believe in God Muslims follow the teachings of Muhammad the founder of Islam Did You Know The five major groups of Christianity are Roman Catholic Eastern Orthodox Oriental Orthodox Anglican and Protestant branches Each has different beliefs Many Christians however belong to smaller branches or denominations within these major religions 6

Freedom to Worship — page 4 — Other Faiths Together the two largest faiths have more than four billion people That is more than half of the population in the world About two billion people follow other faiths Another billion people say they have no religion Many people with no religion still think there is a higher power They just do not believe in one set of ideas Even people in the same faith do not always think the same way For this reason and others people in the U S are allowed to choose how to worship In 1940 FDR brought attention to this fact The world was at war and people were fighting for this kind of freedom Did You Know There are three major branches of Islam Sunni Shi’a and Sufism Each branch has different beliefs Some Muslims are part of smaller branches 7

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