Does religious freedom require a secular public sphere?
by Will Jones, Courtesy of Ian Paul, Psephizo:
Findings from the 2015 annual British Social Attitudes survey published this month sent secularists into a mild panic. Showing an increase in those identifying as Christian, from 42% to 43%, and a corresponding decrease in those of ’no religion’, from 49% to 48%, they seemed to confirm that the steady decline in Christian affiliation had plateaued, at least for now. A number of academics were quick to point out that the wide difference in religiosity between older and younger generations meant that this is likely to be only a pause before the plummet, as the older, more devout cohort dies out. But perhaps just in case it isn’t, the Economist was quick to seize the initiative and call on the UK to lead the way as a post-religious society.
Whatever turns out to be the true future of religion in this country, the Economist’s response is perhaps a timely reminder that there are always those ready to press for a hard-line secularist agenda and seek to drive religion further to the margins of society. The decline of religion can in this way become a self-fulfilling prediction, as dwindling affiliation is used to justify the dismantling of its public presence, which only further accelerates its decline and ensures any visibility of its revival is stifled.
This is a crucial moment to stand up for freedom of religion in this country. But do we know what that looks like? In particular, do we know whether religious freedom includes freedom to be religious in the public realm? Certainly there are many people who would argue that it doesn’t – that religious freedom mandates a purely secular public sphere to safeguard the individual’s freedom from unwanted religious interference. I believe they are wrong, very wrong in fact, and that religious freedom, so far from excluding public religion, requires it. But it is a debate which Christians must engage, if we are not to see our ability to express our faith in the public sphere continue to be eroded before our eyes.
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