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Religious Freedom Toolkit

Part IV | Select Quotes from Church Leaders

Category B | Principles

Topic 5 | Civil sphere versus religious sphere

One of English philosopher John Locke’s key contributions to political theory and our understanding of religious freedom was his categorical demarcation between the civil sphere and the religious sphere, and the importance of setting “the just bounds that lie between the one and the other.” According to Locke, the civil sphere should focus on the “care of the commonwealth” and the religious sphere on “a concernment for the interest of men’s souls.”

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Elder D. Todd Christofferson: A proper separation without hostility  

“Religious liberty facilitates a proper separation of church and state that avoids any justification for secular hostility toward religion. In a liberal democracy, the powers of the state should not be exercised directly or dominated by one religion at the expense of the rights and freedoms of others. Conversely, government should not interfere with the internal religious affairs of religious organizations. Nor should religious people be denied the right of all citizens to express their opinions and support policies that advance the good of the nation as they understand it.

In this balancing, lawmakers should strive not for an aggressive secularism that expels religious beliefs from the democratic conversation or marginalizes the role of religion in society. They should instead seek an inclusive, religion-friendly ‘secularity,’ based on equal respect for religious and nonreligious persons and viewpoints, where no one religion or ideology officially dominates the state. A generous, inclusive religious liberty is far more likely to lead to an enduring pluralism than a rigid, ideological secularism that oppresses religion and religious believers.”

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See also Religious Freedom Library
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