Reflections on religious freedom

Editor's note: The following post arises from small group reflections from The Rise of Global Christianity, 1910–2010, taught by Dr. Todd Johnson at Boston University in the Fall of 2010. Lead by doctoral students, the small groups discussed lectures given by Christian scholars in various disciplines, including significant changes that have occurred in global Christianity over the past 100 years.

One of our team members (D) questioned the “time frame” regarding Grim’s statistics. He asks, “How does the time frame of events affect the data as a whole?” In addition, he points out that the presentation did not mention any relationship between social events and religious freedom. For example, he wants to know how the religious riots in India in the 90s affected Indian society since then. Another member (B) shows her concerns over the lack of religious freedom in N. Korea, and wishes more numbers were available to consider.

(Student L) S. Korea does have social restrictions, despite what was seen on the chart. In S. Korea, Christianity is relatively conservative and preaches exclusivity, unlike any other faith in the country. (L) also raises questions over the reasons why the government wants to restrict the practicing of certain religions. Are there any cases when religious restrictions are needed? In other words, statistics can be misleading without mentioning the reasons for restrictions. We should acknowledge the fact that some countries have restrictions based on security.

Student J asks, “will the politicization of religion in Europe be prophetic for other areas where the state controls religion? Will religion fade in areas of the world where the state was tied so close to religion at one time? Or was European Christianity unique?”

Student D introduces very interesting concepts in understanding restrictions on religion, which are “shame-based“ and “guilt-based” cultures. According to him, Western cultures tend to have guilt-based culture which focuses on right or wrong, while Eastern cultures tend to have shame-based culture. And it seems that shame based society has more restrictions on religion (Iran, Iraq, etc). Guilt based societies have fewer restriction on religion (US, Canada, etc). Collective societies have more religious restrictions because they are more concerned about the group and the whole.

Student K argues that the government should play a strong role in promoting religious freedom, but should not be the primary initiative taker. What happens when there are conflicting ideologies brought forth by the government (i.e., banning the veil in France).

A number of members argue that the international community can play an important role by giving guidance to regional governments about religious freedom. Furthermore, religious groups and governments should provide education about the dynamics of all religions, tolerance, and understanding. Finally, regarding the role of the individuals, the role of family education seems to be important. Each family should teach the importance of being tolerant of other religions.

Hye Jin Lee, discussion moderator