Tue, Apr 21 2009

Is the very act of practicing my religion going to defame your religion?

I'm just beginning to look into the issue of religion and defamation that the United Nations has apparently been tackling for some time now. I read one Adventist man's take on things. He reminds us of how trusting we are in the U.S. when it comes to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. He also talks about the way countries' customs can affect the passing of international law. I tend to check out the general Seventh-day Adventist take on religious freedom, mostly because the denomination has a history of helping individuals from all faiths to practice their religion and follow their personal convictions in the workplace and in legal situations. Seventh-day Adventists' point-of-view is not the last word on this topic by any means, but it's a well-educated viewpoint when it comes to the legalities. I'm going to look for more material, but I do have to say that I'm unsettled by the UN's leaning in this whole direction. For one thing, how on earth would we as individual nations, ever enforce such a resolution? If my religion is Christianity and your religion is Islam, whose religion can be defamed and whose can not? Even in a democratic country, if speaking out in favor of my religion, or religious principles, goes against your religion or religious principles, which of us is the defamer? And who decides that? It's a complicated topic that I hope everyone will spend a bit of time studying so that it doesn't sneak up on us when it's too late to do anything about the UN's decisions.

posted at: 10:32 | category: /Religious and Spiritual | link to this entry