Blackford - Freedom of religion [and] the secular state

Blackwell Public Philosophy

Blackwell Public Philosophy

Edited by Michael Boylan, Marymount University

In a world of 24-hour news cycles and increasingly specialized knowledge, the Blackwell Public Philosophy series takes seriously the idea that there is a need and demand for engaging and thoughtful discussion of topics of broad public importance. Philosophy itself is historically grounded in the public square, bringing people together to try to understand the various issues that shape their lives and give them meaning. This love of wisdom the essence of philosophy lies at the heart of the series. Written in an accessible, jargon-free manner by internationally renowned authors, each book is an invitation to the world beyond newsflashes and soundbites and into public wisdom.

Permission to Steal: Revealing the Roots of Corporate Scandal by Lisa H. Newton

Doubting Darwin? Creationist Designs on Evolution by Sahotra Sarkar

The Extinction of Desire: A Tale of Enlightenment by Michael Boylan

Torture and the Ticking Bomb by Bob Brecher

In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier by Thomas I. White

Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism: Ethics and Liberal Democracy by Seumas Miller

Who Owns You? The Corporate Gold Rush to Patent Your Genes by David Koepsell

Animalkind: What We Owe to Animals by Jean Kazez

In the Name of God: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Ethics and Violence by John Teehan

The Secular Outlook: In Defense of Moral and Political Secularism by Paul Cliteur

Freedom of Religion and the Secular State by Russell Blackford

Forthcoming

Evil On-Line: Explorations of Evil and Wickedness on the Web by Dean Cocking and Jeroen van den Hoven

This edition first published 2012

2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Wiley-Blackwell is an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, formed by the merger of Wileys global Scientific, Technical and Medical business with Blackwell Publishing.

Registered Office

John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom

Editorial Offices

350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA

9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK

The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell.

The right of Russell Blackford to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Blackford, Russell, 1954

Freedom of religion and the secular state / Russell Blackford.

p. cm. (Blackwell public philosophy ; 11)

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-470-65886-4 (hardcover : alk. paper)ISBN 978-0-470-67403-1 (pbk : alk. paper)

1. Freedom of religion. 2. Religion and state. I. Title.

BL640.B63 2011

201'.723dc23

2011024992

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDFs ISBN 9781118153291; Wiley Online Library ISBN 9781118153321; ePub ISBN 9781118153307; Mobi ISBN 9781118153314

Dedicated to freedom, reason, and tolerance and to all who labor on their behalf

Introduction

Religious freedom is not just one liberal freedom among others. As Rex Ahdar and Ian Leigh remind us, it is the prototypical liberal freedom, a cornerstone of modern political rights. At the same time, however, its nature is disputed. Exactly when should we say that people possess religious freedom? When should we say that the freedom has been denied? Importantly, how does it relate to modern notions of secularism and to other key freedoms such as freedom of speech?

Each day, we see passionate struggles over the concept. Patients refuse life-saving medical care for themselves or their children and invoke religious freedom in their defense. If a sick child dies after her parents deny her standard treatment, should the parents be criminally liable? Rival litigants strive to keep evolutionary biology out of the high-school science curriculum, or try to make sure it is taught. Strangely enough, both sides to this dispute invoke freedom of religion. Heated debates take place over concepts of blasphemy, over female dress, over religious displays on public land, over laws that enforce religious moralities. Churches seek exemptions from urban planning codes, claiming a freedom that others construe as religious privilege. Indeed, the very same churches and communities that claim to be marginalized can be seen by others as powerful and oppressive.

If religious teachings encounter severe criticism, or religious leaders receive scorn or mockery from their opponents, is that an exercise or a violation of religious freedom? What if a government tries to disarm a violence-prone apocalyptic sect? Is this a legitimate activity to protect citizens from harm, or an illegitimate encroachment on religious exercise? What if a government agency or a private corporation prevents its employees from wearing turbans on the job or burqas, or yarmulkes, or conspicuous crosses? In all these situations, both sides of the debate may claim that they favor true religious freedom. Neither side will admit to being opposed to freedom of religion, but surely both cannot be right. Religious freedom cant be all things to everybody, yet quite opposed policies are often pursued in its name.

In what follows, I consider religious freedom in historical and philosophical perspective. Somewhere at the core of the concept lies the fear of overweening government power, used to impose a favored understanding of the world or another, transcendent, world or to persecute those with a different understanding. As John Locke complained in the seventeenth century, the secular sword of government has been wielded to destroy unwanted doctrines, faiths, and sects. As Locke knew well, many heretics have been imprisoned, tortured, and often burned at the stake.

Historically, disagreement with the states preferred religion has often been met with ruthless force. As we look back, we see that this was sometimes successful; other times, it proved to be futile. Inevitably, it brought human costs, and in many times and places these were on a grand scale, as with the thirteenth-century Albigensian Crusade, in which hundreds of thousands of people died, many of them openly massacred. Even this was dwarfed by the European wars of religion in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. For the sake of one or another religious orthodoxy, men (and sometimes women) have been driven to terrible acts of destruction and cruelty.