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Religious Freedom Toolkit

Part IV | Select Quotes from Church Leaders

Category G | Extrinsic Benefits

Topic 36 | Bundle of associated social goods

Social scientists have observed that a “bundled commodity” of closely associated rights and liberties, which includes the right to religious freedom, correlate with a bundle of social goods. These include security, gender equality, innovation, education, health, and the development and persistence of democracy.

Note: Many of the quotations in Topic 34 (The good religion does) and Topic 35 (The good religious freedom does) are closely related to this topic and may be useful cross-references.

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Elder D. Todd Christofferson: Promoting civic virtue, providing for the less fortunate, and nurturing strong families and communities.  

“First, religious freedom protects other fundamental rights. The freedom to express beliefs about God, which took centuries of struggle to establish, also supports the right to express opinions about morality, society, politics, literature, art, science or virtually any other subject. The hard-won religious rights to peacefully assemble for worship or to print religious literature also support the rights to assemble for political, social, cultural and familial reasons or to print books or newspapers addressing a host of subjects.

Requiring government to treat people equally despite their different religions has strengthened the imperative of treating people equally despite differences in race, color, national origin, sex and so forth. There are many other examples. . . .
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The second benefit I want to highlight is that religious freedom allows religion to perform the vital function of promoting civic virtue, providing for the less fortunate, and nurturing strong families and communities. There is a rich scholarship addressing the social benefits of religion freely exercised.”

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Elder Ronald A. Rasband: Religious freedom as a unifying and rallying force for shaping values and morality  

“Freedom of religion acts as a unifying and rallying force for shaping values and morality.

In the New Testament we read of many turning away from Jesus Christ, murmuring of His doctrine, ‘This is an hard saying; who can hear it?’

That cry is still being heard today from those who seek to expel religion from discourse and influence. If religion is not there to help with shaping character and mediating hard times, who will be? Who will teach honesty, gratitude, forgiveness, and patience? Who will exhibit charity, compassion, and kindness for the forgotten and the downtrodden? Who will embrace those who are different yet deserving, as are all of God’s children? Who will open their arms to those in need and seek no recompense? Who will reverence peace and obedience to laws greater than the trends of the day? Who will respond to the Savior’s plea ‘Go, and do thou likewise’?

We will! Yes, brothers and sisters, we will.”

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Elder Gerrit W. Gong: Rights like freedom of religion and freedom of expression should be viewed as a package.  

“Rights, such as Freedom of Religion or Belief and Freedom of Expression, are appropriately viewed as a package. Indeed: “the same principle which would trample upon religious freedom rights, would trample on rights of freedom of expression, and a host of other rights that collectively makeup the core human dignity of the individual.

Contrary to sometimes popular belief, experience shows nations and societies that uphold religious freedom rights are more likely, rather than less likely, to enjoy a wealth of other liberties. . . .

Rights of expression and Freedom of Religion or Belief can be collectively trampled when ideas based on moral or religious conviction are excluded from the public square. Distinguished international groups remind us ‘religious or belief convictions are a source for the protection of the whole spectrum of inalienable human entitlements—from the preservation of the gift of life, the freedoms of thought, conscience, religion, belief, opinion and expression to the freedoms from want and fear, including from violence in all its forms.’”

Previous - Topic 36 Analysis
See also Religious Freedom Library
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