New Historical Documentary, Free Exercise: America’s Story of Religious Liberty, to Air on PBS Member Stations Beginning on October 12, 2024
“Religious liberty has been the glue that has held American society together.” – Marcus Cole, Dean of Notre Dame School of Law, from “Free Exercise”
“There are a lot of people in America today who think that churches and religious people need to stay out of politics. Well, if the Baptists had stayed out of politics, we wouldn’t have a Bill of Rights.” – Michael McConnell, Stanford Law School, Former Federal Judge, from “Free Exercise”
“The gains of the Civil Rights movement are really a massive expression of a people acting on their deeply held religious convictions.” – Jacqueline Rivers, Harvard University and Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies, from “Free Exercise”
“The U.S. stands apart from many places around the world in…still offering the most robust protections for religious freedom anywhere in the world.” – Asma Uddin, Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, from “Free Exercise”
“Religious liberty will not survive and thrive unless it lives in the hearts and minds of the American people.” – Akhil Amar, Yale Law School, from “Free Exercise”
Washington, D.C., Sept. 17, 2024 –“Free Exercise: America’s Story of Religious Liberty,” will be available on PBS Member Stations (check local listings) beginning on October 12, 2024. The new documentary is the most comprehensive film ever produced on the history, development and meaning of the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The clause, which is found in the First Amendment and states that “Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion,” represents the most advanced expression of religious liberty in history. Yet, its meaning has been the subject of contentious and even violent debate that continues to this day.
The film explores the development of religious freedom in the United States as told primarily through the eyes of six American faith communities – Quakers, Baptists, Black churches, Catholics, Mormons and Jews – before widening its focus and turning to twentieth century and more contemporary challenges.
“Free Exercise: America’s Story of Religious Liberty” is a production of Peregrine Institute and is presented to public television by WETA in Washington, D.C. through the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA).
“This film presents a history of the greatest experiment in religious liberty the world has ever known,” said Thomas D. Lehrman, the film’s executive producer. “Among the blessings of liberty endowed by our Creator and secured by our Constitution, none surpass the free exercise of religion. Religious liberty inspired our Founders and soldiers bringing forth a new nation, galvanized slaves and abolitionists seeking a new birth of freedom, and gave strength to Civil Rights leaders striving to fulfill the promissory note of our Declaration of Independence. As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation, let us recall that America remains a shining city upon a hill and the hope of our posterity because our Constitution guarantees each of us the free exercise of religion – peaceably to assemble, worship, educate, work, and serve, according to the dictates of conscience and religious obligations.”
The film is hosted by noted award-winning columnist and historian Richard Brookhiser and was directed initially by the late Leo Eaton and later, John Paulson. The film was edited by Barbara Ballow, and Gary Keith Griffin served as the director of photography.
As the host, Brookhiser takes viewers on an epic journey spanning 400 years and two continents, from the canals of Amsterdam to the fields of Flushing with the Quakers of New York; to an existential debate over religious liberty in Virginia involving upstart Baptists and a young James Madison; to a synagogue in Newport where George Washington made clear that American religious freedom included the Jewish people; to a trip up the Ohio River and a stop on the Underground Railroad where Christian faith leaders helped enslaved people to freedom; to the streets of Philadelphia where residents attacked their fellow citizens over their Catholic faith; and on an epic journey to the mountain desert of Salt Lake where the Mormons sought out a place they could practice their religion in peace. Finally, the film lands in the twentieth century and brings us up to the present, as we the American people still grapple with this most fundamental question: What does our Constitution’s commitment to the free exercise of religion mean?
“Free exercise is an epochal principle. But even the greatest principles are not self-enacting, they need to be understood and upheld in every generation,” said host Richard Brookhiser.
“America’s path to religious liberty has been long, hard and often steeped in violence,” said director John Paulson. “The film humanizes that history through the stories of brave citizens who defended the right to exercise their most deeply held beliefs.”
Interested viewers can check local listings for the PBS Member Station in their area to see when the film will air. Viewers can also go to the film’s website at FreeExerciseMovie.com for updates about the film or on X, Facebook and Instagram.
About WETA
WETA is the leading public broadcaster in the nation’s capital, serving Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia with educational initiatives and with high-quality programming on television, radio, and digital. WETA Washington, D.C., is the second-largest producing station for public television, with news and public affairs programs including PBS NewsHour, PBS News Weekend, and Washington Week with The Atlantic; films by Ken Burns and Florentine Films, such as The American Buffalo and the forthcoming Leonardo da Vinci; series and documentaries by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., including Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and GOSPEL; performance specials including National Memorial Day Concert and A Capitol Fourth; and health content from Well Beings, a multiplatform campaign. More information on WETA and its programs and services are available at weta.org. Visit facebook.com/wetatvfm on Facebook.
About NETA
The National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) is one of the nation’s leading service organizations strengthening and amplifying public media’s education mission. It is a 501(c)(3) membership organization providing leadership, support, and services to individual public media licensees, their affinity groups, and the public media system as a whole.