Freedom for Religion from the Religious

Religion has always played an important role in American society. One article in the opinion section of the Austin American Statesman attempts to define the nature of our own liberty and how freedom of religion is an important part of that liberty. The author of this article, Jennifer Marshall, the director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation, is clearly on the side of religion, religious influence in society, and it's spread across the nation and the world, appealing to readers who are members of religious institutions.


Marshall argues for religious freedom, and states that the Founders “based the American model of religious liberty on a favorable view of religious practice.” She goes on to say that authentic religion promotes a positive and public role for moral insights and habits and that true religious liberty would create a milieu in which religion would have a more profound influence on public life. Marshall then concludes that believers of any faith can live together peacefully if only they can find common ground in their religious and social views.


Sadly, this is just another article pushing for more religious influence in society and in government, masquerading as an article about simple religious tolerance. Saying that the Founders based the American model of religious liberty on favorable views of religious practices is not so clear. Are we to ignore the unfavorable views of religious practices? And what are the favorables views of religious practices anyway? I'm sure that after asking ten different individuals, one would get ten different answers.


There is no direct correlation between religion and positive morals, and to insinuate a correlation between the two is naïve. As Thomas Jefferson said in his letter to Thomas Law, “If we did a good act merely from love of God and a belief that it is pleasing to Him, whence arises the morality of the Atheist? ...Their virtue, then, must have had some other foundation than the love of God.” Many religious texts and institutions teach their readers and followers to despise and loathe certain parts of society. A prominent example of this discrimination is the gay community. Even those who have pre-marital sex are put in a similar category. Those who are Muslim will find that the Qur'an tells them that friendship with Jews and Christians is forbidden (Qur'an 5:51).


It's obvious that many religious communities can't live peacefully together because they are taught that others are sinful, hell-bound, unclean, etc... If only they would just stop and think. If only they could show some compassion, stripped of any spiritual motives. Instead, they result to segregation and violence. This is very evident in the Middle East, where Muslims and Jews are still at war; and though they share much common ground in their faiths, they are unwilling to sacrifice other views in order to come to some peaceful compromise. Ergo, Marshall's conclusion can't be more wrong. If she wants to talk about discrimination and intolerance for religious freedom, there's no better example than the religious community.