The PIC Board of Directors has submitted the following letter to the Editor of the News and Record. We invite you to join us as we call for respect and understanding of our neighbors.
The Piedmont Interfaith Council deplores the rising tide of religious prejudice, currently directed against Muslims, but directed at other groups at different times in our history. As persons of faith and as Americans we publicly and emphatically affirm the value of respect for the diverse members of our community and for the faith traditions that support and nourish them.
Millions of Americans—many of our ancestors—came to this country seeking freedom from religious persecution, and our nation's First Amendment guarantees the right of each person to worship freely. As Sept.11 approaches we call on all of us to honor those who died and their families by affirming this American heritage, and working to replace hatred with understanding, distrust with respect, bigotry with knowledge, and division with connection.
