In his Jan. 5 article, "Lost religious liberty worldwide," writer Doug Bandow states that religious liberty is the "most fundamental freedom" and "the most basic freedom of conscience." He then goes on to present a list of countries associated with horrible religious conflict and persecution.
I would offer, first of all, that "conscience" involves a set of values and beliefs that are logically coherent and are not based on blind faith in scripture, for example. Second, as religion seems to be such a prevalent source of conflict between people, it is highly questionable whether it should be considered the "most fundamental freedom." If it were, religious groups would not be continually trying to butcher each other.
It would seem that democracy, or the use of reason in a free and open, collective, decision-making process, is the most fundamental right of people, as it helps them understand public decisions that have been arrived at. Religion on the other hand is mutually exclusive, leaving a void between peoples of different faiths that is often not possible to bridge — at least not without education, which is based on reason.
In this light, the fact that the Chinese cite social harmony as a prerequisite for the permissible practice of religion would seem to be a responsible move by a government striving to keep religion in its proper place — as a source of private inspiration, not public strife.
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