In recent years I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the way some persons have used “religious liberty,” a core value embedded in our constitution, for political purposes and, intentionally or not, as a means of oppressing others of a different ethnicity, religious affiliation or lifestyle. For example, some business owners have refused to serve “others” in the name of religious liberty. They forget that in opening a business, the owner enters into a “contract” with the community to treat everyone with the same dignity and respect.
But it’s not as simple as that. The question remains, what is driving this phenomenon. Let me suggest that this wave of oppression, disguised as religious liberty, is a desire to hold on to “traditional” values which are increasingly challenged by the ever expanding reality of globalization which imposes a culture of its own on a population.
Political scientists have long held that Western, neoliberal economic-globalization -- begun in the 1980s with new modes of communications and transportation -- undermines traditional values at home and abroad. These scientists point out that this McWorld takeover results in new waves of fundamentalism. But that is a deeper dive than we might want to take at this juncture.
Clearly we have to have an honest dialogue with one another about religious liberty and other challenges to “traditional” values, or we are doomed to live in a world with greater and greater division. Hopefully the following article will open up some avenues for that conversation. In that vein, I always welcome your feedback. Finally, please note, that I have taken the liberty to edit the article to say “some conservatives” because, while the author’s ideas are very worthy, I do not believe that they apply to everyone who might claim the title of conservative.
Or so it seems to me.
But it’s not as simple as that. The question remains, what is driving this phenomenon. Let me suggest that this wave of oppression, disguised as religious liberty, is a desire to hold on to “traditional” values which are increasingly challenged by the ever expanding reality of globalization which imposes a culture of its own on a population.
Political scientists have long held that Western, neoliberal economic-globalization -- begun in the 1980s with new modes of communications and transportation -- undermines traditional values at home and abroad. These scientists point out that this McWorld takeover results in new waves of fundamentalism. But that is a deeper dive than we might want to take at this juncture.
Clearly we have to have an honest dialogue with one another about religious liberty and other challenges to “traditional” values, or we are doomed to live in a world with greater and greater division. Hopefully the following article will open up some avenues for that conversation. In that vein, I always welcome your feedback. Finally, please note, that I have taken the liberty to edit the article to say “some conservatives” because, while the author’s ideas are very worthy, I do not believe that they apply to everyone who might claim the title of conservative.
Or so it seems to me.
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