Some time ago a young woman to expressed to me her offence at seeing some Muslim men on the streets of Niagara Falls praying in a public square. In brief, five times a day Muslims are mandated to turn towards Mecca (in Saudi Arabia), kneel, bow, and stand as they recite the Salah. She was of the opinion that people should keep their faith or belief systems in the private realms of their life.
Should people be allowed to publicly express their faith through word or action?
Courtesy of Unsplash.com by Leon Seierlein
Personally, as a Christian, I believe that every person, independent of their belief system should feel free to express their faith or belief system for two reasons.
1. Freedom is at the Heart Human Nature. First let’s clarify what freedom is. To be free is not to do whatever we feel like. That’s anarchy. Freedom is striving to understand and then choosing what we ought to do.
I would hope that all people at one point in their lives strive for Truth. When people search for objective Truth it’s messy. Individual’s don’t exist independent of everyone around them. Individuals search for truth, purpose, and reality by engaging those around them. Every human being is an individual and unique and is emotionally and rationally (hopefully) invested in what they believe. So when someone disagrees or challenges our belief systems things can get a little heated. As a result on occasion we will be offended.
But is feeling offence a legitimate reason to silence people and take away their public expression of faith? Not quite.
Remember, we in the West, have freedom of religion and belief not freedom from religion and belief. There is no such right as freedom from being offended. If we disagree with a particular belief we should challenge it, through avenues that are provided in the public sphere.
One such place is the university. Did you know that certain universities across North America have allotted “safe spaces” where speech is restricted for the sake of students not having risk feeling offended? That’s crazy! The universities initially took form (in the context of the Church, I may add) for the very purpose that different views can engage each other in the pursuit of Truth. This leads me to my next point.
2. Arguing is Good! Do a search of “arguing” on Google images. Most of the images that come up show people yelling at each other. That’s not arguing. That’s fighting.
Simply put, arguing is a set of propositions presented by parties against one another. The objective of each party is to provide evidence in favour of their own position. Then the evidence is measured up against one another.
Personally I have not problem with Muslims praying publicly, despite me disagreeing with their religion. I also don’t have a problem with atheist organizations posting public signs that say “God is probably not real, so enjoy your life.” despite the philosophical errors with the statement (This actually happened in London, England). People definitely shouldn’t make a big deal about a family saying Grace before eating in a public restaurant.
Be Authentic
In our youth group we have teens from different backgrounds. There’s no secret that our youth group is Christian, yet in the past three years I met students who were Hindu, Buddhist, and skeptics or atheists. They were never offended at the message they heard, neither were their families. And I certainly wasn’t offended by their beliefs.
My wife, Jennine, has two close friends from university. One is a Hindu from an Indian family and the other is a Muslim whose family is from Somalia. Jennine has told me that in they constantly spoke about their beliefs, asked questions, and gained deep insight. Obviously there’s disagreement, yet they are Jennine’s closest friends. Why? Because they are authentic with one another.
In my opinion, sacrificing freedom of expression for the illusion of political correctness is the worst decision we can make if we are serious about discovering Truth.
Question: Do you thinks it’s important to have the freedom to express your belief at the expense of the possibility of offending others?
