The next battlefront for religious freedom
by Philip Booth, Catholic Herald:
One reason Donald Trump was able to put together a coalition big enough to get him elected as president was that there were so many single issues about which different groups of people were exercised. They cared much more deeply about that one issue than a whole range of other issues, on which they may have disagreed with the Republican nominee. This is one explanation for Trump’s lead among Catholics.
Particular concerns among Catholics included life issues, of course. Many people voted against Hillary Clinton despite disagreeing strongly with Trump’s personal behaviour among women or with his views on globalisation.
Another issue which no doubt motivated a large number of people was that of the threat to religious liberty and freedom of association coming from legislation and court judgments. America has had its fair share of controversies in relation to Catholic adoption agencies and the right of people to sell products to whomsoever they like.
As the spotlight turns to elections and political developments in Europe, the question is whether such issues will dominate here sufficiently to change the outcome of elections, perhaps leading to victory for candidates who otherwise have unpalatable views.
[…] So why have these threats to liberty come about? They have arisen as a result of the emphasis which, since the 1960s, has been put on enshrining particular rights in legislation rather than simply using the law and the courts to promote general freedoms.
The problem with a politics that is based on rights and not freedoms is that rights conflict. The freedom to swing my fist stops at the end of your nose. Contracts, property rights, tort law, common law and the criminal law are quite sufficient for regulating a society that is based on freedom.
But once positive rights are the main governing principle, such rights can clash. My right to run a care home conflicts with your right to get access to euthanasia any way, any place, any time. The right of an atheist not to be offended by having quotations from the Bible shouted over a loudhailer conflicts with somebody else’s right to free speech and to the practice of their religion. And so on.
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