Security, Religious Autonomy, and the Good Society

Brett Scharffs Saturday, 1 September 2007

An unfortunate and irrefutable truth is that we live in a world where there are individuals and groups who are willing to commit crimes in the name of their religion. A companion truth is that one of the most fundamental, important responsibilities of states is to protect their people from these crimes.

In such a situation, we find that some of our most cherished values, and the rights that reflect those values, are in conflict. On the one hand are values relating to freedom and human rights, including what is sometimes called our first freedom, religious freedom. A particular subset of this concern is the right of religious groups to exercise autonomy and self-direction in their affairs.

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