The religious freedom Trojan horse

Such beliefs are concerned with the relation between man and the God whom he worships, although they are also concerned with the relation between man and the civil government under which he lives. They are political in character, but they are none the less religious on that account. [emphasis added]

If religious and political matters are so often intertwined, then one must conclude that any logical derivation to the limitation imposed on freedom of religious communication amounts to a violation of the broader protection to freedom of political communication implied in the Australian Constitution. In other words, since views about religion may so very well influence government policies through Australia's constitutionally-prescribed system of representative and responsible government, Section 116's constitutional protection of the free exercise of religion should also encompass communicating and associating about a religion's view on government or political matters.

If such a demand were to be attended, then the final outcome would be to outlaw our constitutional freedom of political communication if such communication may be displeasing to the inflated sensitivities of radical religionists. As Fairfax journalist David Crowe points out in the Sydney Morning Herald, 'The obvious danger is a blasphemy law – if not in name, then in effect. At what point does speaking out against a religion turn into a form of discrimination that should be stopped?'

Of course, there is no apparent reason as to why speech about religious matters should not be characterized as political communication to be protected by the (constitutional) freedom of political communication. Arguably, the push to protect people from strong criticism of their religion could provide a legal shield to religious extremists (jihadists) to freely advocate for a religious war against the West, or to promote without due criticism extremist religious ideas which are deeply offensive to the more tolerant and inclusive values of our democratic society.

From a more strictly moral point of view, it is a self-evident truth that no law should ever forbid the strong criticism of religion. After all, some religions absolutely deserve to be severely criticised, perhaps for embracing a theological perspective that fundamentally violate the fundamental rights and freedoms that we share so much in our deeply tolerant and pluralistic society.

Above all, we should never allow our fundamental rights and freedoms to be undermined by the inflated sensitivities of any religious group, whatever this group might be. In a true democracy, everyone must be legally entitled to criticise religion, and to have the democratic right to consider any form of religious manifestation ultimately retrograde and a potential threat to the preservation of our fundamental rights and freedoms.