Thoughts on religious freedom and inalienable rights
We have survived 2020 and made it into 2021. What a year this has been!
Who would have thought that COVID-19 would alter our lives here, in our country, and throughout the world.Additionally, discrimination continues to persist all over the planet. More on that later.
The author, Joseph Zeitlin, wrote “when men and nations deny the relationship of men to the divine, then the soil is fertile for the growth of hatred, injustice strife, and war.”
This leads me to suggest the place of religion in the human experience.
In our nation, we are blessed with the emphasis that our founders placed in the founding documents and the role that God and the freedom to exercise our faith played in a free society.
When we look at today’s world we see an incredible amount of discrimination taking place regarding the free exercise of faith.
Here are a few examples of what I mean.
It is estimated that in China, Christianity has grown from around three million in 1949 to perhaps 60 to 100 million today.
For Communist rulers, aware of the democratic movements led by Christians, this is a threat.
We are also aware of the efforts that the Communist Party used to contain both Christianity and also Buddhism in Tibet.
Walter Mead, writing in the Wall Street Journal, notes that Christian populations in much of the Middle East are on the edge of extinction.
In Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere there is a systematic removal and genocide that, in earlier times, were the centers of early Christianity.
In sub-Sahara Africa, violence against Christians and other sects by Boko Haram fighters is on a rampage.
And, Anti-Semitic hate is on the rise in many parts of the world.
Muslims in China and other parts of Asia are subject to oppression.
Where do these observations carry us if freedoms of peoples is a beneficial objective for humanity?
It has been recognized that religious liberty is a key element for prosperity and security not just for our country but for the world.
Last July, the State Department released a report from the Commission on Inalienable Rights further advancing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 1948.
In addition to the UN declaration, the commission added that human rights must come from the efforts of sovereign nations.
Lastly, successful human rights diplomacy requires a focus on a relatively small number of rights that can be agreed upon by all nations.
This is a tall order, attainable, but a start if human rights based on religious freedom is to be universally achieved.
Ray McCool
St. Dennis Parish
Madison