Religious Freedom and Ecclesial Illiberalism

Mikhail Antonov is a Professor of Law associated with the Law Faculty of the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Saint Petersburg

Similar changes in the world today urge different religious denominations to respond similarly. In recent years it was not uncommon for the Catholic Church and the biggest Orthodox Church—the Russian Orthodox Church (the ROC), all their theological differences notwithstanding, to come to close conservative conclusions in the matters of church-state relations, human rights, religious freedom, and some other key problems of political and legal philosophy.

As their credos presuppose the Absolute—the source of absolute truths and values—it comes as no surprise that both churches demonstrate their distrust with ideas and conceptions based on religious pluralism and ethical relativism which are often associated with liberal democracy.

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Neutrality and “Religious Freedom for the Good of All”

Jeremy Patrick is a Lecturer for the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice

There are many laudable statements in “Religious Freedom for the Good of All.”  The document acknowledges the Church must exist in a pluralistic and multicultural society (para. 10), that individual freedom is the birthright of every human being (para. 37), that coercion is not a legitimate means of religious conversion (para. 41), that the existence of “intermediary bodies” (including religious associations) between the individual and the state is crucial for a well-functioning society (para. 52), and that the free exercise of religion should be limited only when the rights of others or the necessities of public order are infringed (para. 79).  These may not be new positions for the Catholic Church since 1965, but they certainly represent real progress in the Church’s understanding of religious freedom across its long (and in the document, carefully-elided) history (see, e.g., para. 27).

The irony is that they are all also quintessential elements of the self-professedly “neutral” secular liberal democratic state that is repeatedly castigated throughout the document. According to the document, the liberal state is (somehow) simultaneously indifferent to religion (and thus responsible for the rise of “religious radicalization”) but also actively hostile to religion (and thus responsible for a “soft totalitarianism”) (para. 4). The heart of the problem, we’re told repeatedly, is the false idol of state neutrality towards religion (para. 5, 62-65, and 86).

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WEBINAR: Advancing Religious Freedom in Different Political Regimes

Webinar Presented by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies’ Blog

“Talk About: Law and Religion”

7 June 2020

9:00 a.m. (Mountain Time), 17:00 (Central European time)

This webinar will highlight opportunities and successful stories, as well as challenges and failures in advancing religious freedom globally. Five distinguished panelists will share their personal experience of promoting religious freedom on political and legal levels, as well as in communities, education, and academia ranging from Iraq to Eastern Europe. What model of religious freedom should be promoted? What obstacles do religious freedom defenders face in non-democratic regimes and young democracies? How have they interacted with local politicians and other important public actors? How does advocating for religious freedom contribute to a broader human rights agenda and the common good? What are more important—legal and political reforms or religious literacy programs and promoting religious tolerance? What are realistic results to be achieved? Why are international religious freedom programs sometimes ineffective and being criticized?

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