Today’s society has rejected the idea that human rights are God-given, Michael Farris, founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association and Patrick Henry College, said in a speech Sept. 17.
“The idea of religious freedom came from people who believe that rights come from God, not Enlightenment thinkers,” Farris said.
The Larry and Christine Kieft Endowment for Religious Freedom, Christian Expression, and Dialogue hosted Farris’ speech, titled “The Great Awakening vs. the Enlightenment: Which Movement Sparked the Drive for Religious Liberty and Which Can Sustain it Today?” in Christ Chapel.
According to Farris, there is a modern trend to reject the universality of human rights, the most obvious of which today is the suppression of free speech. He said historically battles for religious freedom have been gruesome.
“History reveals that religious freedom didn’t rise up by peaceful and natural progression – simply meaning the other writings of philosophers,” Farris said. “Religious freedom was like the eradication of slavery. Ideas and philosophy were clearly important, but the victories were achieved by consistent strength and sacrificial actions.”
Farris said it is important to consider both the beliefs that drove people to action as well as the actions they took in order to establish religious freedom.
There is a distinction to be made between religious liberty and religious tolerance, according to Farris.
“Those who stand for religious liberty believe that it’s a protection for everyone, even for those who will most strongly disagree,” he said. “Meanwhile, religious tolerance and personal tolerance are papier-mache imitations.”
Farris emphasized the importance of William Tyndale and John Wycliffe’s work in translating the Bible into English. He said individual congregants having access to translations of the Bible is a direct link to the idea of religious liberty.
“Tyndale directly answered the argument about the church officials attending them,” Farris said. “He said that if people could read the scripture for themselves, then they could perhaps interpret the Bible differently than the church teachers.”
According to Farris, little was done to settle religious discrimination in 16th century England. He said early English Baptists were the only ones to resist the idea of religious persecution.
“There were Catholics persecuting Anglicans and Protestants. Anglicans and Protestants persecuted Catholics,” he said. “Only one group of the era consistently rejected the idea of religious persecution. They were the early English Baptists.”
In America, Farris said the idea of religious tolerance was widely accepted, while religious liberty was not. However, by the work of the Founding Fathers, religious liberty was weaved into the Bill of Rights.
“James Madison is the one who insisted that we not have just religious toleration, but instead religious liberty,” Farris said.
Professor of Philosophy and Religion Nathan Schlueter said he did not agree with Farris’ approach to understanding the idea of religious liberty.
“It was an honor to have Mr. Farris here,” Schlueter said. “We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his legal and political efforts to defend religious liberty. Still, in my view, his understanding of the ground of religious liberty is historically and philosophically problematic.”
Schlueter said Farris’ discussion of religious liberty didn’t give the full picture of religious liberty.
“Mr. Farris argued that religious liberty requires assent to a sectarian and controversial interpretation of Christianity. But then it is very unstable,” he said. “Fortunately the American founders relied upon the natural moral law which is accessible in principle to all Christians, Jews, and even non-Christians. It would have been good to discuss this more.”
Senior Mark Den Hollander said Farris’ speech shed light on the historical side of human rights that is not discussed enough in today’s society.
“Most religious freedom speech today focuses on court cases without actually looking at some of the history that is involved,” he said. “Dr. Farris brings us back to a time when Christianity was much more akin to persecution and hangings. He reminds us that if we do not continually work toward maintaining religious freedom, it too will be lost.”