Freedom from religon?

Lord Justice John Grant McKenzie Laws, a judge in a high court in England, ruled that Christian beliefs – which, he says, lack evidence and thus cannot be proven – have no standing in British courts. Thus, Lord Justice Laws ruled, using the law to protect "a position held purely on religious grounds cannot therefore be justified." Indeed, according to Laws, no religious belief can be protected under the law.

The decision was rendered after Gary McFarlane, a Christian relationship counselor in England, refused to offer sex therapy to gay couples because he believed homosexuality to be antithetical to his Christian beliefs. He protested that he was fired as a result, and brought his case before the court.

Mr. McFarlane’s experience is not unique to England, of course. This article tells of a New York nurse forced to assist in a late term abortion despite voicing her religious convictions against abortion. In this article, we read of an English nurse whose employer insisted she remove the cross she had worn for more than 30 years. She refused and was barred from working on hospital wards; according to her employer, the cross she wore posed health and safety concern. In late April, the Belgian parliament approved a bill banning the wearing of the full Islamic face veil in public. This article tells of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s position that Catholic health care providers should not assert their moral objections in hospital settings.

On Thursday April 29, 2010, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom named 13 nations - Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam - which violate religious freedom. While these countries may be of “particular concern” for allowing “severe persecution”, we should also ask if we are on a path that will lead us more and more in this direction.

How far should we go in protecting freedom of religion?

Under what conditions should we provide “conscience protection”?

What do you think?

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