Religious Bigotry in Public Life

Some secularists argue that religious beliefs shouldn't play any role in public policy decisions. Religious believers object to this, arguing that religious beliefs are fundamental to how a person views the world and so excluding those beliefs effectively excludes religious believers from public policy debates. This objection has some merit, but how do we prevent the use of religious beliefs from creating an imposition on others?

Josh Marshall made some interesting points in an editorial appearing in The Hill:

Religious believers argue that faith isn’t simply a private matter. It underlies the values and beliefs we bring to the public square. And they’re 100 percent right. But the shield that guards our private religious beliefs from any and every political scrutiny doesn’t follow those beliefs out into the public arena.

Once our religiously rooted beliefs cross the membrane from the private to the public, they become no different from any other political beliefs. People are free to disagree with us and oppose us on that basis. That’s not bigotry. That’s democracy.

I think that he is right. If someone wishes to argue, say, that gay marriages should be illegal and their reasoning is religious, then they should certainly be free to make their argument. At the same time, however, others are free to criticize their argument and criticize the religious basis for it — now that they have entered the public square with their ideas, their religious beliefs here are no longer “private.”

It’s not bigotry to criticize those beliefs and it’s not bigotry to oppose those beliefs. Just as importantly, though, it’s not bigotry to argue that it isn’t legitimate to pass laws based solely upon someone’s or some group’s religious values. No matter how fundamental a person's religion is to them, their religious beliefs cannot become the foundation of laws applied to everyone. If that happens, then in effect everyone is being subordinated to particular religious authorities by the power of the state.

 

Separation of Church & State:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Secularism 101
• What is the Separation of Church and State?
• Religion's Place in the Public Square
• Myths About Church/State Separation
• Church and State News
• Church & State Polls

 

Secularism & Secularization:

• What is Secularism?
• Religious Origins of Secularism
• Secularism as Philosophy
• Secularism as a Political & Social Movement
• Secularism vs. Secularization
• Religion in a Secular Society
• Critiques of Secularism

 

Christian & Religious Privilege:

• Religious Privilege
• Christian Privilege
• Hidden Christian Privileges
• Christian Supremacy