Threats to religious freedom are real, leaders agree at BYU Religious Freedom Conference
Elder Lance B. Wickman, general counsel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and emeritus general authority, speaks at the Religious Freedom Annual Review, sponsored by Brigham Young University and the BYU International Center for Law and Religious Studies, Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Provo. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
UVU President Matthew S. Holland speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new NUVI basketball facility that will be built at Utah Valley University, Wednesday, June 22, 2016. Hundreds of guests were in attendance for the event including former basketball players and coaches for UVU. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
Elder Lance B. Wickman, general counsel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and emeritus general authority, speaks at the Religious Freedom Annual Review, sponsored by Brigham Young University and the BYU International Center for Law and Religious Studies, Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Provo. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Elder Lance B. Wickman, general counsel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and emeritus general authority, speaks at the Religious Freedom Annual Review, sponsored by Brigham Young University and the BYU International Center for Law and Religious Studies Thursday, July 7, 2016 in Provo. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
On Thursday, the same day the Brigham Young University law school was holding a conference on religious freedom, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an anti-terrorism law that limits private citizens from sharing their faith with others.
According to Christianity Today Magazine, a person seeking to evangelize in Russia must secure a permit through a registered religious organization and the person’s work is limited to churches and other religious sites. Failure to comply may result in fines up to $15,500 and deportation for foreign visitors.
Current threats to religious freedom are very real. Many people are being penalized for their faith according to Elder Lance B. Wickman, general counsel to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and emeritus general authority.
Wickman was one of two keynote speakers at the third Religious Freedom Annual Review sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religious Studies of the J. Reuben Clark Law School.
Utah Valley University President Matthew Holland was the other keynote speaker and addressed “Religious Liberty v. Secularity: Is the American Founding Still Useful?”
The event held Thursday and continues Friday at BYU. The conference theme is “Religious Freedom in an Era of Social Change.”
Elder Wickman
In his presentation, Wickman addressed religious freedom as a fundamental right of paramount importance. Any discussion on the subject must begin with that truth and that religious freedom is essential to mortality’s central purpose of our divinely granted moral agency, he said.
“Religious liberty is the cocoon in which that agency is nurtured and thrives,” Wickman said. “It provides meaning and purpose to our families and relationships. It provides hope and assurance that this mortal sojourn, so often fraught with pain and sorrow, is not the end but only a step toward a glorious hereafter.
“It defines who and what we are — reaching deep into our very souls, our very identities. That alone justifies the protection of religious liberty as a fundamental human right.”
Wickman noted that current threats to religious freedom are deeply troubling.
“It is easy for pundits to dismiss concerns about religious freedom as overblown,” Wickman said. “After all, no one has repealed the First Amendment. And hasn’t the Supreme Court been ruling in favor of religious liberty even in controversial cases? You’ve heard similar arguments.”
Wickman added, “But make no mistake. The current threats to religious freedom are very real and growing rapidly.”
Wickman said that while the majority of Americans are willing to let others believe and worship as they choose, that sphere of openness is shrinking as society grows. People are growing indifferent toward religion.
“A major flashpoint, of course, is the ongoing sexual revolution and the increasing use of nondiscrimination laws and other coercive means to force acceptance of secular views of marriage, family, sexuality, and gender that directly conflict with profoundly important religious beliefs and ways of life,” Wickman said. “And this is occurring not just in public and commercial settings, but also with respect to religious organizations and their affiliated non-profit organizations, like religious colleges.”
Wickmkan said there is a hierarchy of religious freedoms and we have no choice but to set priorities.
“Those that relate to private and ecclesiastical contexts, or are part of the basic rights of all citizens, are the most essential and least subject to compromise, while those that relate to commercial and governmental settings will of necessity require greater pragmatism and compromise,” Wickman said.
Wickman suggested that if people want to preserve religious freedom and live in peace in a society increasingly intolerant of faith, they have to be very clear about what matters most and make wise compromises in areas that matter less.
“Because if we don’t, we risk losing essential rights that we simply cannot live without,” he said.
Wickman offered four ways individuals could help preserve religious freedom.
First, become informed.
“To defend religious freedom we need wisdom — indeed inspired wisdom,” Wickman said. “And that requires knowledge. So it is vital that we become informed about what religious freedom means, what freedoms are most essential, what competing social interests exist, how society and our friends, neighbors and children view religious freedom, what challenges religious freedom faces, and how those challenges will affect real people living real lives.”
Second, learn to speak up with courage and civility. Wickman said this is a fine line.
“We cannot be intimidated into silence by intolerant voices that claim to represent progress and open-mindedness,” he said.
Third, lift where you stand.
“You don’t need to run for Congress or the legislature to make a difference,” Wickman said. “And the church doesn’t need you to undertake lawsuits on its behalf.”
He said people need to get involved in the political, community, professional and business organizations around them and to express their concern and support for religious freedom.
“The time for an insular focus on just our own families and congregations is gone,” he said.
Finally Wickman added, “At all times, be an example of the believers so that others will see your good works, experience your genuine friendship, and be sympathetic toward your concerns about religious freedom.”
President Holland
As an expert on the Constitution and the founding of this country, Holland has much to say on the role of religious freedom versus secularity and the Founding Fathers.
“The role of religion seems to be changing, and changing rapidly,” Holland said. “I think the clear answer as to whether the founding remains useful is still a resounding yes.”
Holland added, “From my personal perspective, the founding is not more important than religion, but is more difficult to get rid of, from a broad public perspective.”
Holland noted that from the times of Socrates and Plato foundings have mattered a great deal, and can never be quite escaped.
“At a minimum, cultural recollection of such moments always shapes — at least to some degree — a contemporary society’s moral vision, sense of purpose and capacity to act,” Holland said.
This is especially true of America’s founding because it was so fully documented. It was filled with drama and intelligence in what proved a crucial turning point in development of self-rule in the West, Holland noted.
“Look, even this very day, you recast the thing as a multi-racial hip-hop experience and it becomes one of the hottest tickets in Broadway history,” he said. “Foundings can be reimagined and reinterpreted, but, for good or evil, they tend to remain in force. “
Holland said the founders provided a more complicated stew of competing opinions and ideas than he would care to admit.
“The founding has rather understandably become something of a national Rorschach test, with folks finding in it what they want to see, perhaps especially when it comes to issues where religion, law and politics intersect,” Holland said.
Holland noted that the First Amendment is a grand gift from those who went before.
“Understanding the nature of that gift, and the context of its creation, is just the starting point of us enjoying it and preserving it,” Holland said. “For in the changing age in which we live, its preservation will require more than that, it will require a certain character. “
Holland again says we need to turn to the founders for guidance. We must build good character, he said.
“It does seem increasingly we are facing spiritual, political, social, economic and geological calamities,” Holland said. “Maybe the day of calamity is here. Maybe it is still ahead. But maybe such a day of calamity holds the seeds of the very success that seems to so quickly be slipping from our grasp.
“Regardless, if we are content to live by the fruits of the founding, let us not shrink from the kind of character that brought the founding forward.”
He closed acknowledging that it is ultimately God’s work.
“Calmly do your duty, take the air, be cheerful and be prepared for whatever may occur,” Holland said.
