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Defending Religious Liberty Against Double Standards

Defending Religious Liberty Against Double Standards

Last updated on: September 7, 2026 at 1:50 am by Henry Karlson

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Defending Religious Liberty Against Double Standards 2026-09-07T01:50:00-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Jennifer Aitkens: Freedom of religion, religious liberty, sculpture by Marlene Hilton Moore at the McMurtry Gardens of Justice in Toronto / Wikimedia Commons

As one interested in the study of religion, learning from the wisdom of many religious traditions, religious liberty has been a very important corn for me for many years. I have seen people have their religious liberty violated, or demands to have their religious liberty be violated, by those who claim to support religious liberty. That is, I have seen many engage religious liberty with a double standard, where they want their own liberty affirmed while finding ways to deny the liberty of others. This is one of the reasons why, throughout the years, I find myself having to talk about religious liberty again and again.I want to make sure religious liberty is properly understood and not abused. Most often, I see peoples’ attitudes are able to be summarized as “religious liberty is for me, not thee.” I especially see this coming from Christians who will talk about the “persecution of Christians” (whether or not there is real religious persecution going on), but who will ignore, or promote the persecution of people of other faiths. I find this happening in the United States, where Christian after Christian are saying Muslims should not be welcome in the United States, that they should not be free to follow their faith amongst themselves (“no sharia”), and that those who are here should be deported, even if they are American citizens.

Engaging religious liberty is meant to promote mutual respect and cooperation between people of different faiths and of no faith. It is meant to protect the dignity of the human person, and their personal conscience, so that they are allowed to follow the religious beliefs and practices their conscience suggests to them so long as they do not significantly harm “public policy,” that is, the common good. For example, if a religion demanded human sacrifice, that would harm the common good and the dignity of others, which would justify not allowing them to do so; denying human sacrifices does not undermine the general norms which should be set up to protect the free exercise of religion. Similarly, when the lives of children are put at risk because of the religious beliefs of their parents, such as when parents reject the use of blood transfusions, authorities have the right, if not the duty, to intervene. Thus, Dignitatis humanae, talking about religious liberty, tells us:

Provided the just demands of public order are observed, religious communities rightfully claim freedom in order that they may govern themselves according to their own norms, honor the Supreme Being in public worship, assist their members in the practice of the religious life, strengthen them by instruction, and promote institutions in which they may join together for the purpose of ordering their own lives in accordance with their religious principles.[1]

Or, as John Courtney Murray, speaking in an interview, explained:

The common good or common welfare is, of course, a much broader and more extensive concept than the public order. The problem is really quite simple. What is at stake here is a human and civil right which is exercised in society. The Declaration states explicitly that in society there is to be as much freedom as possible and only as much restriction as is necessary. In any question of governmental or legal restrictions on religious freedom, the criteria that would govern and control such restrictions would have to be very narrow. Therefore, the notion of the common good would not be an adequate criterion in itself because it is a notion that is much too broad.[2]

Pope Leo XIV sees that the American tradition has, at least in principle, promoted religious liberty in the public sphere, and in doing so, has helped people of different faiths to get to know each other:

In fact, religious freedom gave rise to the American tradition of allowing for interfaith dialogue and interreligious cooperation in promoting the public good and enriching the debates on the great moral and ethical issues that have faced the nation and shaped the course of its history. It is my hope that this tradition will continue to bear fruit in a public discourse marked by moderation, respect for the views of others and an ongoing effort to find common ground in promoting the cause of peace and reconciliation, at home and abroad. [3]

Sadly, I see something else happening in the United States; under the name of “religious liberty,” Christian nationalism is trying to take over the country. It is intending to instill a particular form of Christianity, one which is willing to deny people of other religions their rights, as the official religion of the country, indicating that only Christianity (and perhaps Judaism) should be given such liberty. This is especially clear in the way Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission talks about the need to deny the separation between church and state, the separation which has helped protect religious minorities! With such a view taking hold in the United States, it is not surprising to see many Christian nationalists attacking the basic rights of Muslims, despite the long history Muslims have had in the United States. This is especially clear in Texas:

In May 2026 Abbott threatened to pull US$530,000 in state funding from Grand Prairie unless the city canceled a private Eid celebration at a water park. He also threatened to withhold funding from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport unless it dropped plans for ablution stations, the washing facilities Muslims use before prayer.[4]

I have seen Mike Lee, a Mormon, promote the notion that the United States is meant to be a “Christian country,” ignoring the fact that such an ideology not only goes against the Founding Fathers of the country and the Constitution, it would also dismiss the rights of Mormons as well! It is not surprising that he was able to get on board Trump’s “Muslim travel ban,” because, once again, he is representing the direction his party is going as they slowly reject basic religious rights of anyone except for Christians, and even then, it is likely many Christians, those deemed not to have the right beliefs, will next be denied full religious liberty. Indeed, Catholics have already seen examples of this, such as the way Florida is trying to tell Catholics they do not have the right to determine how their schools will be run, that they can’t demand children to be vaccinated, and that they are being told the reason for this due to religious liberty. Which religious liberty? Not those of Catholics, as Catholicism doesn’t deny the use of vaccines:

Florida’s Catholic schools do not accept religious exemptions for vaccines. In a letter to Attorney General James Uthmeier, made public last week, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops said Florida bishops don’t have to justify their position, but are doing so “out of respect for you and your office.”

The letter goes on to say that the position against religious exemptions for vaccines is rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that, “Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.” [5]

It’s ridiculous! Florida is telling a Christian community they can’t regulate what is expected of those who join in and receive the benefits of their own community ! Florida is willing to deny Catholics their rights. Behind this seems to be an anti-vaccination agenda in Florida, an agenda which Catholics are resisting. This is exactly what religious liberty is meant to protect, that religions, within their own communities, can establish rules and regulations to live by, and that those who visit those communities, can be told they need to follow those rules as well:

Provided the just demands of public order are observed, religious communities rightfully claim freedom in order that they may govern themselves according to their own norms, honor the Supreme Being in public worship, assist their members in the practice of the religious life, strengthen them by instruction, and promote institutions in which they may join together for the purpose of ordering their own lives in accordance with their religious principles.[6]

Certainly, it’s not just Catholics who are finding their religious liberty being violated in the United States. It is happening to people of many faith traditions. Antisemitism has attacked Jewish rights to worship. Islamophobia has demanded Muslims lose their rights. Native Americans have had a long history of having their rights violated, sometimes, sadly, by those who should know better (like Catholics). And, once again, what really gets to me, is the way religious liberty is being violated under the name of religious liberty. That is, religious liberty is being invoked to prop up, and promote, one form of religion, one form of Christianity, in the United Sates; it alone will have all its rights protected, even at the expense of the rights of others, or the common good. Christians should know better, and see through the way Christian nationalism is abusing religious liberty! They should see how Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission stands against the principles of religious liberty when it seeks to deny the separation of church and state, and say something about it instead of remaining silent because they think it helps them in some way.

All of this has been disconcerting for me because, as I said, I am very much a proponent of religious liberty. It has been and continues to be a major concern of mine. I have long sought for the protection of people from faiths other than my own, which, I believe, is exactly what Christians should be doing, as they are to love their neighbor as themselves. Religious liberty should promote cooperation among people of differing religious faiths; it should not be used to promote the supremacy of one religion above all others. When they work together, people of different faiths will be able to get to know each other better, and through such knowledge, respect each other and not believe propaganda which misrepresents each others’ faiths. Religious liberty is intended to makes sure government authorities do not abuse people of various religious faiths; certainly, it makes sure people are not denied their basic rights like the right to believe and worship God (or even the gods) as they see it, so long as their actions do not needlessly hinder the basic rights and dignity of others:

Government is also to help create conditions favorable to the fostering of religious life, in order that the people may be truly enabled to exercise their religious rights and to fulfill their religious duties, and also in order that society itself may profit by the moral qualities of justice and peace which have their origin in men’s faithfulness to God and to His holy will. [7]

This is the exact opposite of what I see coming from many Christians who invoke religious liberty today. They have turned it into a tool of oppression. When they are being stopped from disrupting the public order, they say their rights are being violated, even though religious liberty does not allow such disruption of society. But then, they will quickly find ways to deny others their religious liberty under false pretenses, such as those who say Islam is not a religion, using that to deny Muslims their basic rights. Catholics should stand up and protest the abuse being done to Muslims as they should know their rights were also once in question in the United States, with many similar accusations aimed against them as are used against Muslims. And if they don’t, they should at least consider that they will likely lose their own rights, that anti-Catholicism will reemerge once the Muslims have lost their rights. While I think we should care about others, even if we are not being adversely affected, I know, for many, they need that extra incentive, which is why it must be brought up. I wish the need wasn’t there, but it is.

Religious liberty is invaluable. It must be preserved. But it must be preserved, not just for a few select groups, but for everyone. We should all come together, making sure our common dignity and rights are protected. And this means, we must make sure we understand what religious liberty is; once we do so, we will realize it should be given to everyone. And to emphasize this we should focus on people of other faiths than our own, defending them from violations of religious liberty. In doing so, we will protect religious liberty, and show we truly care about it instead of just talk about it when we need our own religi instead of using it as a tool for ourselvesFor by doing that, we will be able to show we truly understand religious liberty and follow it instead of invoking it for some unseemly objective.

[1] Dignitatis humanae. Vatican translation. ¶4.

[2] Edward Gaffey, “Religious Liberty and Development of Doctrine: An Interview With John C. Murray.” From Georgetown University Library (last accessed 9-2-2026).

[3] Pope Leo XIV, “Acceptance of the Liberty Medal Of the National Constitution Center (USA)” (7-3-2026).

[4] Asma Uddin, “In Texas, Ordinary Muslim Religious Practices Are Increasingly Being Treated As Political Threats” in The Conversation (8-31-2026).

[5] Sarah Boden, “Catholic Bishops Tell Florida AG There’s No Theological Reason For School Vaccine Exemptions “ in CIDRAP (8-24-2026).

[6] Dignitatis humanae, ¶4.

[7] Dignitatis humanae , ¶6.

* This Is Another Post From My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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