Part II | Outline

Category G | Extrinsic Benefits

Topic 37 | Religious freedom facilitates social stability and even harmony

Religious freedom can facilitate social stability and even harmony. As Voltaire observes in Letters Concerning the English Nation (1733), “If one religion only were allowed in England, the Government would very possibly become arbitrary; if there were but two, the people would cut one another’s throats; but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace.”

• Religion and stability. The assumption throughout history was that political stability relied on religious conformity, and religious conformity relied on political/state support. The idea was that “an established homogeneous religion . . . could serve as a kind of social glue and ultimate motivation for loyalty and obedience to the regime.”

• John Locke’s A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689) rejected this conventional wisdom. Locke put forth powerful arguments that

  • state coercion in matters of religion is both unauthorized and ineffectual, producing hypocritical demonstrations of devotion at best; and
  • state toleration and respect all religions, rather than destabilizing the state, would be a source of state and social stability.
  • The Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights notes that if countries fail to protect basic human rights, they risk facing barbarous acts, tyranny, and oppression.

• Religious persecution, exclusion, or discrimination. If people are subject to persecution, exclusion, or discrimination on the basis of religion, it is more likely that they will become critical or even subversive of existing political orders.

• Religious pluralism is increasing nearly everywhere in the world. Religious freedom, and nondiscriminatory treatment of people on the basis of religion, is an important component of social stability.