A RECURRING THEME
Religious freedom and the pressures on it are a matter for growing concern within the media and with some politicians. It is also a matter of interest for Christians, and rightly some organisations are eager to raise the subject whenever they can. It is a theme that should be part of the prayer life of every believer and every Church.
This week the subject came up because a survey and report conducted on behalf of the religious think-tank Theos was published. The survey showed that 32% of people in the UK believe that religious freedom has been restricted in the UK. 63% of people believe that the law shouldn’t prevent people from expressing their beliefs in the workplace. In the accompanying report, “Free to Believe”, Professor Roger Trigg says, “A free society should never be in the business of muzzling religious voices, let alone in the name of democracy or feigned neutrality.” He goes on to say, “We also betray our heritage and make our present position precarious if we value freedom, but think that the Christian principles which have inspired the commitment of many to democratic ideals are somehow dispensable.” This latter point is of the utmost importance and is usually ignored by those seeking to reduce freedom.
The same concern was raised by former high court judge Baroness Butler-Sloss. In a debate in the House of Lords she claimed that Christians are being pushed to the sidelines of public life because Labour has put homosexual ‘equality’ before religious liberty. She strongly asserted that “conscience should be allowed to play a part” to allow employees freedom from carrying out actions which go against their belief on sexual orientation.
On this issue the Bishop of Winchester, the Right Reverend Michael Scott-Joynt, said that those who “believe that the churches and faiths are wrong on various matters of sexual ethics, or in having an all male priesthood or requirements concerning marriage and divorce, want to use the law to compel us to act differently”. This matter of compulsion is the heart of the current debate. So Professor Trigg says, “The pursuit of ‘equality’ is rated more highly than religious freedom. Yet we dare not give up the burning desire to protect such freedom, since it lies at the heart of all freedom.”
Further concerns were expressed recently by Mrs Julie Etchingham, the ITV news-reader. She claimed that Christians are suffering discrimination at the hands of the secular media. She maintained in an interview with The Independent newspaper that the media in the UK are “very secular”.
A couple of years ago David Blevins, former Washington correspondent with Sky News, warned that journalists select the information they wish to report based on an anti-Christian ideology. He said, “It’s important to remember that what appears in the newspapers is not an objective summary of the significant things that happened yesterday but an ideological selection based on the prejudices, agendas and assumptions of a relatively small group of people.” He went on to say, “Their ideology could be loosely defined as ‘progress will one day meet our needs.’ So as with other forms of thought that deviate from that ideological view, Evangelical Christianity is either dismissed out of hand or reported in a manner that serves to reinforce the ideology!” He explained that for many journalists “Religion” is viewed as obscure, life-denying and regressive.
This issue of religious freedom is not a clash between restrictive religion and freethinking advocates of liberty. Rather it is a clash of worldviews - theism against libertarianism. Both are capable of stifling freedom and both are mutually exclusive.
At the heart of the conflict is the definition of what is meant by tolerance. Britain has long congratulated itself as being a ‘tolerant society’ and historically that has some basis in truth. That tolerance, however, is now under threat. Modern libertarianism believes that tolerance is about removing any concept of right and wrong and requiring everyone to accept everyone else’s views and values. If there is a contradiction in that position then the contradiction has simply to be accepted. Personal views are valid as long as they are kept private and everyone lives by the set of assumptions accepted within the society. This leads to the nonsense of politically-correct policies which are reported on almost every week from some authority or other.
Theism, however, does not have a good record at tolerance either, as can be seen in many Muslim and Hindu societies. Even Christians have a poor record at being tolerant. The dictum “I disagree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it” has not been characteristic of the formalised Christian Church through history.
Biblical Christianity comes from a very different angle. All men are seen as being made in the image of God and having an equal standing before God. The will and mind of God have been revealed in the Bible and set out what God requires. Those who reject that message are to be challenged and shown where they are wrong. But it is not the right of any to silence another because he differs, provided what he says is not an incitement to do wrong. In other words tolerance is about holding different views, respecting those who differ, and having the right to challenge and disagree. That has been the essence of the historic position in our land and the basis of our freedoms. So, ever since Oliver Cromwell supported the Huguenots and also the Jews, we have been a haven for those who suffered religious persecution.
Having said all this, however, religious freedom is not the primary issue in our society: Its loss is a very serious matter, but even if it were not under attack the underlying state of men that leads to reducing freedom would not be dealt with. Men will not relate to each other properly when they do not relate properly to God. What we see happening with religious freedom is simply an evidence of the godlessness of our society. The answer lies only in a revival of true religion. There is still freedom to pray for that. And when God sends it then we should be careful to ensure that we use the freedoms that may follow well and constructively.
Roger Hitchings
20 March 2010
Note – All the quotations given in this article were taken from the “Religious Freedom” section of the website of the Christian Institute – www.christian.org.uk