Part II | Outline

Category B | Principles

Topic 7 | Avoiding statism

A commitment to religious freedom can help avoid statism, the belief that all rights exist only after the state enacts rights. Both the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are grounded in the idea that certain fundamental rights are inherent and unalienable to the human person. The state does not create or bestow these rights; rather, it enacts laws to recognize, promote, and protect fundamental rights that people already possess by virtue of their being human. One of these unalienable constitutional and human rights is the right to freedom of religion.

Dualism v. monism/statism  

• Dualism is the idea that the state’s domain over our lives is subject to limits that lie beyond the state itself. In a dualist system, individual liberty or unalienable rights exist apart from the state, are not bestowed by the state, and do not depend on the state for recognition. The state is justified and maintains legitimacy based largely on the extent to which it respects and protects such rights.

• Monism, manifest in various forms of statist systems, regards rights as gifts bestowed by the state on individuals—gifts that can be taken away as well as given. In monist systems, the state does not derive legitimacy from its respect for individuals’ rights; rather, the state claims de facto legitimacy in restricting rights.

Dualist frameworks  

• The U.S. Declaration of Independence, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) are all grounded in the idea that certain fundamental rights are not bestowed by the state but rather are inherent and unalienable to the human person.

Consequences of monist/statist and dualist regimes  

• Under monist/statist systems:

  • Discrimination against religious minorities tends to increase.
  • A close alliance between a favored church and the state tends to result in unequal treatment of other religious groups.
  • A high degree of government control over religion often results in high degrees of government control over other important civil rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and association, and the right to petition the government.

• Under dualist systems, a due regard for religious freedom tends to diminish the government’s control over social and economic affairs more generally.

Monist/statist v. dualist views of religious exemptions  

• Strong insistence on nondiscrimination—and the wholesale rejection of accommodations or exemptions for those with conscientious objections to a legal mandate—reflects a monist/statist view.

• Dualism maintains that religious freedom is not a sanction to avoid laws under the guise of one’s religion. Even when exemptions from laws or accommodations are made on the basis of religion or conscience, these are within the framework of lawfulness and do not amount to claimants becoming a law unto themselves.