During the release of the 2009 international religious freedom report Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that “an individual’s ability to practice his or her religion has no bearing on others’ freedom of speech.”

She was referring to anti-defamation policies supported by some at the United Nations which would suppress offensive speech about religion.

Citing the U.S. experience, Clinton said “the best antidote to intolerance is not the defamation of religion’s approach of banning and punishing offensive speech, but rather, a combination of robust legal protections against discrimination and hate crimes, proactive government outreach to minority religious groups, and the vigorous defense of both freedom of religion and expression.”

See Clinton’s full remarks here and more information on the report here at America.gov.

Check out Freedom of Faith for a look into how fundamental principles like religious freedom are best upheld in a nation where the population has multiplied by 100 since the principle of religious freedom was outlined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

How does your country protect the right to freely practice religion?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today will deliver remarks about the release of the State Department’s 2009 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. The report documents, in 198 countries, abuses of religious freedom and progress toward what Clinton calls “the price of admission into the 21st century”: Learning to respect the faith of one’s neighbors.

Check back later for more details about what’s found in the 2009 report. You can see past reports here.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, U.S. president from 1933-1945, outlined four fundamental freedoms that he said human beings throughout the world ought to enjoy: freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from want and from fear.

On September 11 this year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received an award named after those freedoms. During her acceptance speech she talked about how some governments may want to restrict freedom of speech and religion in order to stop hate speech against religions.

She was referring to what is called an “anti-defamation” policy that’s being considered at the United Nations. Proponents of anti-defamation policies claim that restricting hateful speech against religions will protect freedom of religion. Clinton says she strongly disagrees and that the U.S. will stand against any UN resolutions that curtail free speech in order stop defamation of religion.

“An individual’s ability to practice their religion should have no bearing on others individuals’ freedom of speech,” she said. “The protection of speech about religion is particularly important since persons of different faiths will inevitably hold divergent views on religious questions. And these differences should be met with tolerance, not suppression of discourse.”

So tell us what you think: is it ok to limit freedom of speech to “protect” religion?

Photographer Satyajit Grover from Portland, Oregon sent us this photo:

He says: “Diwali is all about celebration. And lights. We would celebrate with fireworks, delicious sweets, exchanging gifts and smiles all around. We would celebrate to health, relationships, wealth and ambitions. My favorite memory of Diwali is from my childhood. Our street would be lit up with candle light. We decorated our own house and balcony with hundreds of candles. It was a serene and beautiful scene followed by the music of the evening puja and the cacophony of fireworks.”

Check out other posts on Diwali.

On the occasion of Diwali, one of the most popular festival in India celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists, Talking Faith interviewed Anju Bhargava, senior vice president at Bank of America. She is currently a member on President Obama’s Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and is a convener of Hindu American Seva Charities. Bhargava is a graduate of Stella Maris College, the University of Madras in India and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Rutgers University, with training at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, American University, the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and Dale Carnegie Institute. Read more on her Web site.

Question: How do you celebrate Diwali?

Bhargava: Diwali or Deepavali means spending time with family and friends, praying for prosperity for all, sharing mithais (sweets), lighting the house with diyas/deepams candles and lights. It is bringing light into our lives symbolizing victory of good over evil. Diwali celebrations in the U.S. start five days earlier. This year, I started our observations at the White House. We had a council meeting and then I met the president and attended the Diwali celebration at the White House. It was an exhilarating event where I felt totally accepted in my country, America.

Diwali is celebrated by all of Dharmic traditions (Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists) and is the most popular festival of the people of and in India. Homes are decorated with diyas and lights. A variety of food is cooked. Prayers are offered. For businesses and many communities it is marked as a New Year on the Hindu calendars. The spiritual significance is that outwardly the light symbolizes the search for knowledge and goodness while the inner Divine removes the darkness of ignorance and erroneous values. And the president aptly said in his address, one should not forget the joyous Diwali celebrations — the fireworks lighting up the dark skies of a new moon night, the exchange of gifts and the savored sweets.

For me, the next few days will be spent preparing (cooking, cleaning) for the Diwali and then celebrating with friends and family. We will put lights around the house to observe the victory of good over evil; symbolically it is also the illumination within that removes darkness of ignorance. On Friday evening, I will celebrate with the children who attend Livingston’s Indian School to learn language and culture. The children will share their learning of Diwali and we will distribute ladoos (sweets) to them. On Saturday morning, my daughter and I will cook the traditional sweets and we will visit our friends to share the mithais. In the evening, we will light lamps around the house, do our puja invoking prosperity for all, and have dinner with our friends. A time for prayers and a time for merriment!

Read the entire interview here.

Check out this photo sent to us by Flikr user and photographer Canon Balaji in Hyderabad, India.

Balaji says: “I am a working professional with pretty much a hectic work routine. Diwali as an occasion gives me the opportunity to take some time off to be with my family and friends. To me It is a day of brightness and cheerfulness, that keeps me kicking for the rest of the year.

The photograph is a collection of pictures of Hindu Gods usually found in any Hindu home. The entire image is lit only by a single diya, whose lights spread across the pictures lighting them, signifying the importance of Diwali - spreading the light of the Good over the darkness of the Evil.

Happy Diwali to everyone. Let there be light!”

Steve over at the Obama Today blog writes that President Obama is the first president to light a ceremonial Diya at the White House to mark the observance of Diwali.

You can check out the video of Obama’s Diwali wishes.

Join us later today when Anju Bhargava, senior vice president at Bank of America and a member on President Obama’s Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships answers questions about celbrating Diwali in the United States.

“Cultural preservation offers an opportunity to show a different American face to other countries, one that is non-commercial, non-political, and non-military. By taking a leading role in efforts to preserve cultural heritage, we show our respect for other cultures by protecting their traditions.”

These words are found in the text of the 2001 Congressional bill that created the U.S. Ambassadors’ Fund for Cultural Preservation. Since the passage of that act, more than $13.4 million has been spent across the world to help preserve some of the oldest cultural sites, including religious sites. You can see what sites it has funded on the State Department’s Web site.

One of those places is Serbia’s Studenica Monastery, which in 2008 was awarded $33,850 to help preserve frescoes that depict religious stories and tell part of Serbia’s history. The church dates back to the 12th century and features the country’s oldest paintings of Serb kings. Today the church is visited by people across the region and used for religious events. It is also home to about fifteen monks who work on the monastery’s land.

Preserving these 50-square meters of painted walls takes a lot of careful - and patient -work. The year and a half long process is almost complete. There are layers of color - and each layer has to be carefully worked on, often with simple small tools like scalpels, to ensure that no piece is destroyed. During the process, workers discovered more art below a layer of cement.

Stooanka Samardić, director of the restoration project, gave me a tour of her team’s work. As we stood on the scaffolding closely examining the paintings, it became visibly clear how much of the church’s long history is demonstrated on the walls. Some of the art is from the 12th century while other frescoes date around the 16th. Samardić pointed out different materials - marble in some places, stone in others. She noted how some work suggested Roman influence, some Turkish, among others.

In its 800-year history, Studenica has withstood a lot - as different empires conquered the region, parts of Studenica were pilfered and burned. It even survived a massive earthquake in the 17th century, although the cracks caused by it can be seen on many walls. And yet throughout this time, the church remained and monks always continued to work the land. So while the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation is helping this church in dire need of repair, this renovation is just the latest of dozens, maybe even hundreds, of efforts by its own people to preserve and keep its culture flourishing. And hopefully these renovations will continue for the next 800 years.

Read more about Michelle’s trip at America.gov’s By the People blog.