Religious freedoms should not be taken lightly

Last week Trinity commemorated individual liberty by organizing a variety of events celebrating the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Many of these events were clever and amusing, and I trust they highlighted the importance of freedom of conscience. I don’t have comprehensive knowledge of all of the events of the week, but I noted with interest the choice to focus the religion question on the establishment clause rather than the free exercise clause. Perhaps organizers feel the threat of a Baptist takeover of the government is more real than the threat to freedom of religious practice. And perhaps freedom of religious practice is such a given in our society that we no longer see any danger to this fundamental liberty.

If that’s true, then it may be useful to call attention to the fact that this fundamental liberty is not secure in many parts of the world.

I don’t imagine many reading this column recognize the name Youcef Nadarkhani. He’s a 34-year-old pastor in the Evangelical Church of Iran. He’s married and the father of two boys. He has also been sentenced to death.

What was Youcef Nadarkhani’s crime? Perhaps he betrayed his regime by selling nuclear secrets to its enemies. Maybe he plotted the violent overthrow of the government. It could be that he was a murderer or serial killer – the kind of thing Texas does not tolerate in its arguably vigorous use of capital punishment. What, indeed, was Youcef Nadarkhani’s crime?

When he was 19 years old, Youcef became a Christian. Two years ago he protested a government policy that required children, including his two young sons, to study the Quran in school. Originally arrested for protesting, the charges were amended to apostasy and evangelism of Muslims. He was sentenced to death last year, but the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court, lifting the death sentence contingent upon Youcef recanting his Christian faith, something he has steadfastly refused to do.

Last week, while Trinity was celebrating the First Amendment, Youcef stated for a third time in an Iranian court, “I am resolute in my faith and Christianity and have no wish to recant.”

What makes this situation particularly perverse is the blatant disregard by the Iranian regime of its own internal standards. According to the Iranian constitution, “no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief.” Iran is also a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18 of which states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

That seems pretty clear and uncontroversial. We have the freedom of conscience to worship God, to teach about God and to practice the tenets of our faith. James Madison would argue that this is a basic and inalienable natural right. As with all of the clauses in the First Amendment, it is not an absolute freedom – worshippers of Molech or Chemosh who desire to engage in infant sacrifice, for example, may be disappointed. But within the boundaries of civilization, this is about as basic a freedom as you can get.

To counter the obvious absurdity of its verdict, Iran has resorted to adding additional charges after the fact, including allegations of rape, extortion, security-related crimes and Zionism. Perhaps this is because attempts to convert Youcef back to Islam while he was imprisoned, including forced medication, failed.

All of this points to the critical importance of individual liberty in a republic, and to the interconnectedness of the two religion clauses in the First Amendment. The establishment clause protects us from governments that would presume to set up an official state-supported religion. And let’s be honest – who among us would trust the political class with having a deep understanding of religious truth? The free exercise clause goes one step further to protect our ability to practice our faith – to make operational, if you will, the dictates of our consciences.

Space prohibits me from exploring here how even this basic liberty is now being undermined in America today. For the moment, though, let’s be grateful that the secret police isn’t busting down our doors looking for evidence of heresy. No need to hide your crosses, icons, Torahs – even L. Ron Hubbard novels.

The same cannot be said for Youcef Nadarkhani and the many others in the world who suffer religious persecution. Think of them this week – and maybe, if you are so inclined, send up a prayer of support. You have that right.

Source: Trinitonian