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"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of [[citizen|the governed]]." </blockquote>

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of [[citizen|the governed]]." </blockquote>

According to the [[Founding Fathers|Founders]], unalienable rights belong to each person by [[virtue]] of the fact that man is made in God’s image, and is therefore endowed with certain attributes, powers, [[freedom]]s, and [[legal]] protections as part of his essence. These rights are thus inseparable -- or unalienable -- from each person individually and from the human race in general. They are a gift from the Creator and it is impossible for government to alter or nullify mankind’s divine inheritance. Except in extremely rare and limited circumstances, the unalienable rights of a particular individual, or the population at large, cannot be suspended, [[abrogate]]d, or diminished by government. When government does take action against a particular right, it may only do so to the extent necessary to address a genuine concern for [[public safety]]. (See "Legitimate Exceptions" below.) Unalienable rights automatically belong to each individual at the moment his or her life begins and continue throughout that person’s time on earth.

According to the [[Founding Fathers|Founders]], unalienable rights belong to each person by [[virtue]] of the fact that man is made in God’s image, and is therefore endowed with certain attributes, powers, [[freedom]]s, and [[legal]] protections as part of his essence. These rights are thus inseparable—or unalienable—from each person individually and from the human race in general. They are a gift from the Creator and it is impossible for government to alter or nullify mankind’s divine inheritance. Except in extremely rare and limited circumstances, the unalienable rights of a particular individual, or the population at large, cannot be suspended, [[abrogate]]d, or diminished by government. When government does take action against a particular right, it may only do so to the extent necessary to address a genuine concern for [[public safety]]. (See "Legitimate Exceptions" below.) Unalienable rights automatically belong to each individual at the moment his or her life begins and continue throughout that person’s time on earth.

An exhaustive list of the unalienable rights possessed by man would probably fill several volumes. However, at a minimum they include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In general, the courts have not decided which rights are unalienable and which are not.  Nonetheless, some philosophers have identified the following items, derived from the American Bill of Rights, as expanding on these themes:

An exhaustive list of the unalienable rights possessed by man would probably fill several volumes. However, at a minimum they include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In general, the courts have not decided which rights are unalienable and which are not.  Nonetheless, some philosophers have identified the following items, derived from the American Bill of Rights, as expanding on these themes:

# To earn a living and keep the [[profit|fruit]] of one’s labor.

# To earn a living and keep the [[profit|fruit]] of one’s labor.

# To freely [[migrate]] within the country or to leave the country.

# To freely [[migrate]] within the country or to leave the country.

# To [[worship]] -- or not worship -- God in the manner one chooses. ([[First Amendment]])

# To [[worship]]—or not worship—God in the manner one chooses. ([[First Amendment]])

# To associate with -- or disassociate from -- any person or group.  ([[First Amendment]])

# To associate with—or disassociate from—any person or group.  ([[First Amendment]])

# To express any idea through print, voice, banner, or other media.  ([[First Amendment]])

# To express any idea through print, voice, banner, or other media.  ([[First Amendment]])

# To be [[Fourth Amendment|secure in one’s home, papers, and person]] against un[[warrant]]ed searches and seizures ([[privacy]]).  ([[Fourth Amendment]])

# To be [[Fourth Amendment|secure in one’s home, papers, and person]] against un[[warrant]]ed searches and seizures ([[privacy]]).  ([[Fourth Amendment]])

The successful conclusion of the [[Revolutionary War|War for Independence]] in 1783 left the Americans free of their British oppressors, but faced with the daunting task of creating a new type of government that would transform the dream of ''universally protected God-given rights'' into a practical reality. Nothing like this before had ever been attempted. Consequently, the representatives of the thirteen states who assembled for the constitutional convention in Philadelphia (1787) had no illusions that the destiny of the new nation lay in their hands. To their great credit, they soon produced a legal manuscript which is arguably the greatest charter of liberty the world has ever known: the Constitution of the United States of America. This document, along with its first ten amendments -- commonly called the Bill of Rights -- set forth the framework and mechanisms by which the unalienable rights of the People would be recognized and protected from overreaching officials.  Simply put, the Constitution establishes a limited government (a [[Constitutional Republic]]) that is empowered to protect the unalienable rights of the People, and is prohibited from doing virtually anything else. After two hundred years, the principle of unalienable rights, though buffeted by statism, atheism, communism, and individual ambition, remains at the core of American political, legal, economic, and social theory:  

The successful conclusion of the [[Revolutionary War|War for Independence]] in 1783 left the Americans free of their British oppressors, but faced with the daunting task of creating a new type of government that would transform the dream of ''universally protected God-given rights'' into a practical reality. Nothing like this before had ever been attempted. Consequently, the representatives of the thirteen states who assembled for the constitutional convention in Philadelphia (1787) had no illusions that the destiny of the new nation lay in their hands. To their great credit, they soon produced a legal manuscript which is arguably the greatest charter of liberty the world has ever known: the Constitution of the United States of America. This document, along with its first ten amendments—commonly called the Bill of Rights—set forth the framework and mechanisms by which the unalienable rights of the People would be recognized and protected from overreaching officials.  Simply put, the Constitution establishes a limited government (a [[Constitutional Republic]]) that is empowered to protect the unalienable rights of the People, and is prohibited from doing virtually anything else. After two hundred years, the principle of unalienable rights, though buffeted by statism, atheism, communism, and individual ambition, remains at the core of American political, legal, economic, and social theory:  

The first International Conference on Human Rights was held in Tehran, Iran, in 1968. A powerful bloc of Asian, African, and Arab states successfully asserted their control over the UN Human Rights Program. Their aggressive conference diplomacy was the culmination of a major transition in UN politics, with supposedly Western notions of individual freedom rejected in favor of an agenda that privileged economic modernization and the collective rights of peoples in Third World nations over those of individuals in those nations. Twenty years after the iconic image of [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] holding the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], the residual elements of the program she presided over were repudiated in a storm of insistent demands from the new anti-colonial order.<ref>Burke (2008)</ref>  

The first International Conference on Human Rights was held in Tehran, Iran, in 1968. A powerful bloc of Asian, African, and Arab states successfully asserted their control over the UN Human Rights Program. Their aggressive conference diplomacy was the culmination of a major transition in UN politics, with supposedly Western notions of individual freedom rejected in favor of an agenda that privileged economic modernization and the collective rights of peoples in Third World nations over those of individuals in those nations. Twenty years after the iconic image of [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] holding the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], the residual elements of the program she presided over were repudiated in a storm of insistent demands from the new anti-colonial order.<ref>Burke (2008)</ref>  

The UDHR implicitly asserted that human rights are superior to notions of state sovereignty and called for the imposing of moral standards across the globe. These notions of universal human rights derive in part from [[Wilsonianism]]--the efforts of President [[Woodrow Wilson]] after World War I.  They were reiterated in 2002 by President [[George W. Bush]] in his refusal to recognize Iraqi sovereignty and his efforts to impose a new democratic system of governance upon Iraq, and are a component of the [[Neoconservative]] effort to spread democracy in the Middle East, even in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.  The UN has supported this program, but the high cost has troubled Americans.

The UDHR implicitly asserted that human rights are superior to notions of state sovereignty and called for the imposing of moral standards across the globe. These notions of universal human rights derive in part from [[Wilsonianism]]—the efforts of President [[Woodrow Wilson]] after World War I.  They were reiterated in 2002 by President [[George W. Bush]] in his refusal to recognize Iraqi sovereignty and his efforts to impose a new democratic system of governance upon Iraq, and are a component of the [[Neoconservative]] effort to spread democracy in the Middle East, even in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.  The UN has supported this program, but the high cost has troubled Americans.

===India===

===India===

Supreme Court Justice [[Antonin Scalia]] said that the U.S. Constitution can favor religion over "non-religion".<ref>[http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/02/justice_scalia_atheists_and_mass_murder.html Justice Scalia, Atheists, and Mass Murder] by Frank R. Gunter, ''American Thinker''</ref>  

Supreme Court Justice [[Antonin Scalia]] said that the U.S. Constitution can favor religion over "non-religion".<ref>[http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/02/justice_scalia_atheists_and_mass_murder.html Justice Scalia, Atheists, and Mass Murder] by Frank R. Gunter, ''American Thinker''</ref>  

[[Image:Stalin-140508 27880t.jpg|right|185px|thumb|[[Joseph Stalin]], the Premier of the [[Soviet Union]] from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953, patronised the [[League of Militant Atheists]], whose chief aim, under the leadership of Yemelyan Yaroslavsky, was to propagate militant [[atheism]] and eradicate [[religion]].<ref name=Hesemann-Strieber>{{cite book|author=Michael Hesemann, Whitley Strieber|title=The Fatima Secret|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=tx-BEpkJBq8C&pg=PT107&dq=Joseph+Stalin+militant+atheism&hl=en&ei=-DeRTpLrJoPi0QHo88wi&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=Joseph%20Stalin%20militant%20atheism&f=false|quote=Lenin's death in 1924 was followed by the rise of Joseph Stalin, "the man of steel," who founded the "Union of Militant Atheists," whose chief aim was to spread atheism and eradicate religion. In the following years it devastated hundreds of churches, destroyed old icons and relics, and persecuted the clergy with unimaginable brutality.|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|date=2000|accessdate=09 October 2011}}</ref><ref name=Steeves>{{cite book|author=Paul D. Steeves|title=Keeping the faiths: religion and ideology in the Soviet Union|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=l7soAAAAYAAJ&q=%22When+a+priest+is+deprived+of+his+congregation,+that+does+not%22&dq=%22When+a+priest+is+deprived+of+his+congregation,+that+does+not%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_ijVUemwOoXRyQGqkICwBA&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ|quote=The League of Militant Atheists was formed in 1926 and by 1930 had recruited three million members. Five years later there were 50,000 local groups affiliated to the League and the nominal membership had risen to five million. Children from 8-14 years of age were enrolled in Groups of Godless Youth, and the League of Communist Youth (Komsomol) took a vigorous anti- religious line. Several antireligious museums were opened in former churches and a number of Chairs of Atheism were established in Soviet universities. Prizes were offered for the best 'Godless hymns' and for alternative versions of the Bible from which ... the leader of the League of Militant Atheists, Yemelian Yaroslavsky, said: "When a priest is deprived of his congregation, that does not mean that he stops being a priest. He changes into an itinerant priest. He travels around with his primitive tools in the villages, performs religious rites, reads prayers, baptizes children. Such wandering priests are at times more dangerous than those who carry on their work at a designated place of residence." The intensified persecution, which was a part of the general terror inflicted upon Soviet society by Stalin's policy, ...|publisher=Holmes & Meier|date=1989|accessdate=04 July 2013}}</ref>]]

[[Image:Stalin-140508 27880t.jpg|right|185px|thumb|[[Joseph Stalin]], the Premier of the [[Soviet Union]] from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953, patronised the [[League of Militant Atheists]], whose chief aim, under the leadership of Yemelyan Yaroslavsky, was to propagate militant [[atheism]] and eradicate [[religion]].<ref name=Hesemann-Strieber>{{cite book|author=Michael Hesemann, Whitley Strieber|title=The Fatima Secret|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=tx-BEpkJBq8C&pg=PT107&dq=Joseph+Stalin+militant+atheism&hl=en&ei=-DeRTpLrJoPi0QHo88wi&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=Joseph%20Stalin%20militant%20atheism&f=false|quote=Lenin's death in 1924 was followed by the rise of Joseph Stalin, "the man of steel," who founded the "Union of Militant Atheists," whose chief aim was to spread atheism and eradicate religion. In the following years it devastated hundreds of churches, destroyed old icons and relics, and persecuted the clergy with unimaginable brutality.|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|date=2000|accessdate=9 October 2011}}</ref><ref name=Steeves>{{cite book|author=Paul D. Steeves|title=Keeping the faiths: religion and ideology in the Soviet Union|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=l7soAAAAYAAJ&q=%22When+a+priest+is+deprived+of+his+congregation,+that+does+not%22&dq=%22When+a+priest+is+deprived+of+his+congregation,+that+does+not%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_ijVUemwOoXRyQGqkICwBA&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ|quote=The League of Militant Atheists was formed in 1926 and by 1930 had recruited three million members. Five years later there were 50,000 local groups affiliated to the League and the nominal membership had risen to five million. Children from 8-14 years of age were enrolled in Groups of Godless Youth, and the League of Communist Youth (Komsomol) took a vigorous anti- religious line. Several antireligious museums were opened in former churches and a number of Chairs of Atheism were established in Soviet universities. Prizes were offered for the best 'Godless hymns' and for alternative versions of the Bible from which ... the leader of the League of Militant Atheists, Yemelian Yaroslavsky, said: "When a priest is deprived of his congregation, that does not mean that he stops being a priest. He changes into an itinerant priest. He travels around with his primitive tools in the villages, performs religious rites, reads prayers, baptizes children. Such wandering priests are at times more dangerous than those who carry on their work at a designated place of residence." The intensified persecution, which was a part of the general terror inflicted upon Soviet society by Stalin's policy, ...|publisher=Holmes & Meier|date=1989|accessdate=4 July 2013}}</ref>]]

Frank R. Gunter wrote in the ''American Thinker'':

Frank R. Gunter wrote in the ''American Thinker'':

{{Cquote|Why should the Constitution favor religious belief over unbelief -- [[atheism]]? History provides an answer. Many atheists are fond of reminding people that when it comes to crimes against humanity, Christianity has much to answer for including the Thirty Years War, the Inquisition, and involvement with slavery. But two out of three of the [[Atheism and Mass Murder|worst mass murderers in all of history were atheists]] and the third might best be described as pagan.

{{Cquote|Why should the Constitution favor religious belief over unbelief -- [[atheism]]? History provides an answer. Many atheists are fond of reminding people that when it comes to crimes against humanity, Christianity has much to answer for including the Thirty Years War, the Inquisition, and involvement with slavery. But two out of three of the [[Atheism and Mass Murder|worst mass murderers in all of history were atheists]] and the third might best be described as pagan.

* UN. ''Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments - Vol. 1 pt. 1'' (2002) by Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Geneva; [http://www.questia.com/SM.qst?act=adv&contributors=Office%20of%20the%20United%20Nations%20High%20Commissioner%20for%20Human%20Rights%20Geneva&dcontributors=Office%20of%20the%20United%20Nations%20High%20Commissioner%20for%20Human%20Rights%20Geneva online edition]

* UN. ''Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments - Vol. 1 pt. 1'' (2002) by Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Geneva; [http://www.questia.com/SM.qst?act=adv&contributors=Office%20of%20the%20United%20Nations%20High%20Commissioner%20for%20Human%20Rights%20Geneva&dcontributors=Office%20of%20the%20United%20Nations%20High%20Commissioner%20for%20Human%20Rights%20Geneva online edition]

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