Comments on: …And the Walls Came Tumblin’ Down http://www.bloggernews.net/18758 High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:10:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Doug Payton http://www.bloggernews.net/18758#comment-63009 Doug Payton Fri, 20 Jul 2007 12:46:21 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/18758#comment-63009 There are basic, fundamental human rights that are shared in a culture such as England or America. One of those is the right to life. If a religious practice goes against that, as in your examples, then the government can step in. Even America's founding fathers would agree with that. It appears that you agree with that statement. So then I would add, there is no basic, fundamental human right to a specific youth job at a particular church. Apple, meet orange. If the Church of England is free to hold a belief that does not conflict with some fundamental human right, and yet is not permitted to act on that belief, this is a critical eroding of religious freedom, whatever that country's position on separation is. There are basic, fundamental human rights that are shared in a culture such as England or America. One of those is the right to life. If a religious practice goes against that, as in your examples, then the government can step in. Even America’s founding fathers would agree with that.

It appears that you agree with that statement. So then I would add, there is no basic, fundamental human right to a specific youth job at a particular church. Apple, meet orange.

If the Church of England is free to hold a belief that does not conflict with some fundamental human right, and yet is not permitted to act on that belief, this is a critical eroding of religious freedom, whatever that country’s position on separation is.

]]> By: David Reid http://www.bloggernews.net/18758#comment-62908 David Reid Fri, 20 Jul 2007 07:07:42 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/18758#comment-62908 The established church is not above the law and in England it is actually part of the legislature (no seperation of church and state). No matter how strong religious belief, individuals cannot incite murder or for that matter murder, embezzle etc. So you may believe that your neigbour should be stoned to death given religious belief but it is illegal to carry that out. It is illegal in England to discriminate in terms of employment on sexual orientation (there are narrow exemptions for clerical postions based on doctrine). There is no where absoloute freedom to practice religious belief where that freedom impacts detrimentally on the freedoms and life of others, it is curtailed. The key is in the word belief it is a belief after all. The established church is not above the law and in England it is actually part of the legislature (no seperation of church and state). No matter how strong religious belief, individuals cannot incite murder or for that matter murder, embezzle etc. So you may believe that your neigbour should be stoned to death given religious belief but it is illegal to carry that out. It is illegal in England to discriminate in terms of employment on sexual orientation (there are narrow exemptions for clerical postions based on doctrine). There is no where absoloute freedom to practice religious belief where that freedom impacts detrimentally on the freedoms and life of others, it is curtailed. The key is in the word belief it is a belief after all.

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