Religious freedom for those evangelicals don't like

Let me preface this post by stating that I think Christians should support religious freedom for everyone, including and especially those they don’t like. It isn’t a matter of simply advocating religious freedoms for fellow Christians. This is my belief, and I won’t make that case here now.

I’ve come across a few items over the last few weeks related to religious freedom that I’d like to pass on. First, New Wine, New Wineskins at Multnomah is putting on a religious freedom conference that looks really intriguing, not only because it takes the stance I stated above, but also because the conference involves speakers from a variety of religious perspectives, and Humanist ones as well. Here’s the conference information:

Spring Conference: Religious Liberty - For All - Saturday, March 14, Multnomah University

What does religious liberty for all mean in our increasingly pluralistic society? We explore this and more at our upcoming conference.

Our keynote speaker is Leith Anderson, President Emeritus, National Association of Evangelicals.

We are pleased to announce the following plenary panelists and workshop leaders:
Kevin W. Pearson, Elder, a General Authority Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Tim Furlow, Reverend/Administrator, St. Patrick Catholic Church, Representative of the Archdiocese of Portland.
Andrea Gyokuko Carlson, Abbot Emeritus, Dharma Rain Zen Center, Portland.
Genko Sylvan Rainwater, Ordained Priest, Dharma Rain Zen Center, Portland.
Harris Zafar, National Spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, USA.
Robert Sanford, Member, Humanists of Greater Portland.
Stephen Kral, Member, Humanists of Greater Portland.
Annika Mongan, Leader and writer in the Pagan community, Greater Portland area.
Joseph Zichterman, Instructor, Bible and Theology, Multnomah University, Portland.
Paul Louis Metzger, Director, The Institute for Cultural Engagement: New Wine, New Wineskins, Multnomah University, Portland.

The question of religious liberty is a contentious one in our current culture. Often discussions of religious liberty have the connotation of applying to one religious group, but not others. What would religious liberty for all look like in our pluralistic society?

Our conference hopes to:

1. Explore and consider the historical backdrop of our country’s formation and present-day complexities surrounding advocating for distinctively Christian freedom in an increasingly pluralistic society.

2. Provide a sound biblical and constitutional basis for understanding the proper relation of church and state.

3. Highlight the missional importance of promoting not only Christians’ freedoms, but everyone’s religious freedoms—including freedom from religion for those who desire it in America today.

4. Help all gathered to consider the prospects and problems in our day associated with the “naked public square.”

5. Address these complex ideas in relation to concrete cultural issues facing Christians and our society at large.

Then there are a couple of books I picked up that relate to religious freedom. But what makes them interesting to me is that they are not written by Christians. They are written by non-Christians, and they discuss the increasing work of minority religious traditions to asert their rights for freedoms in the public square as they challenge Christian dominance. These volumes are worth reading for thinking Christians:

Our Non-Christian Nation: How Atheists, Satanists, Pagans, and Others Are Demanding Their Rightful Place in Public Life by Jay Wexler (Redwood Press, 2019).

Less and less Christian demographically, America is now home to an ever-larger number of people who say they identify with no religion at all. These non-Christians have increasingly been demanding their full participation in public life, bringing their arguments all the way to the Supreme Court. The law is on their side, but that doesn't mean that their attempts are not met with suspicion or outright hostility. In Our Non-Christian Nation, Jay Wexler travels the country to engage the non-Christians who have called on us to maintain our ideals of inclusivity and diversity. With his characteristic sympathy and humor, he introduces us to the Summum and their Seven Aphorisms, a Wiccan priestess who would deck her City Hall with a pagan holiday wreath, and other determined champions of free religious expression. As Wexler reminds us, anyone who cares about pluralism, equality, and fairness should support a public square filled with a variety of religious and nonreligious voices. The stakes are nothing short of long-term social peace.

Speak of the Devil: How the Satanic Temple is Changing The Way We Talk About Religion by Joseph P. Laycock (Oxford University Press, 2020).

In 2013, when the state of Oklahoma erected a statue of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol, a group calling themselves The Satanic Temple applied to erect a statue of Baphomet alongside the Judeo-Christian tablets. Since that time, The Satanic Temple has become a regular voice in national conversations about religious freedom, disestablishment, and government overreach. In addition to petitioning for Baphomet to appear alongside another monument of the Ten Commandments in Arkansas, the group has launched campaigns to include Satanic "nativity scenes" on government property in Florida, Michigan, and Indiana, offer Satanic prayers at a high school football game in Seattle, and create "After School Satan" programs in elementary schools that host Christian extracurricular programs. Since their 2012 founding, The Satanic Temple has established 19 chapters and now claims 100,000 supporters. Is this just a political group perpetuating a series of stunts? Or is it a sincere religious movement?

Speak of the Devil is the first book-length study of The Satanic Temple. Joseph Laycock, a scholar of new religious movements, contends that the emergence of "political Satanism" marks a significant moment in American religious history that will have a lasting impact on how Americans frame debates about religious freedom. Though the group gained attention for its strategic deployment of outrage, it claims to have developed beyond politics into a genuine religious movement. Equal parts history and ethnography, Speak of the Devil is Laycock's attempt to take seriously The Satanic Temple's work to redefine religion, the nature of pluralism and religious tolerance, and what "religious freedom" means in America.

If you have an interest in reflecting critically on religious freedom that accounts for the perspectives of those minority religions that Christians strongly disagree with, and maybe even consider revolting, this conference and these books will serve you well.