La defensa y promoción de la libertad religiosa por la Administración norteamericana (2000-2007). Parte I: U.S. Department of Justice

Abstract

The commentaries in Europe about Religious Liberty in the United States are principally jurisprudential and legislative studies. Now, it's necessary to offer an analysis of the work realized by the American Administration. This year 2007 represents an excellent opportunity to do it. In effect, the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) commemorates the 50th Anniversary of its Civil Rights Division and the Attorney General Gonzales announced -on February 20, 2007- a new Department of Justice initiative to protect religous liberty: The First Freedom Project . This Department is charged with enforcing a wide range of civil rights statutes designed to protect religious liberty: laws in education, employment, housing, credit, public facilities, public accommodations, zoning laws, religious rights of persons in state institutions, and federal crime suffered by a person or a place of worship based on religion. To protect religious liberty, the USDOJ has taken several initiatives: for the first time this Department established a Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination in 2002; the USDOJ provides a number of publications about religious liberty; and a new project is beginning in this year. In conclusion, the USDOJ seems firmly decided to protect this first freedom in the United States. These domestic efforts authorize the international fight in defense of the religious liberty by the United States Department of State. The second part of this study will analyze this question.