Freedom of Opinion, Conscience and Religion

This blog was a project for my Social Justice and Human Rights Advocacy class. I have turned in the link for the class, meaning that I technically do not have to post anything else (I think...). But I've decided, that if I stop posting just because I've already gotten my grade, that defeats the whole purpose of this blog. True? Of course true (thank you, Yente the Matchmaker).

See, the whole point of this blog is to raise awareness and call you readers to some sort of action. Furthermore, human rights violations and issues of social justice have not ceased to exist simply because I've gotten whatever grade Dr. Pittle decided to give me. Therefore, I will continue with this blog - and, I pray, you will continue to pray for these issues and look for ways to take action.

So, last week in Social Justice we talked about freedom of opinion, conscience and religion. What does that mean? Anyone want to take a stab at it? Really, it's not that complicated. Simply put, it's the freedom to have your own opinion, think what you want to think and practice the religion of your choice. According to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, every single human being on this planet has this right. And I quote:

Article 18.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Did you know there are people in prison right now because of opinions they have expressed? Let's take, for instance, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She is a citizen of Myanmar/Burma who (as of 2007) has spent 12 of the last 18 years under detention. Her crime? Would you believe that it's simply because she is vocal about her opinion that Myanmar/Burma should be governed by democracy?

You want another example? How about U Win Tin. He's a 77 year old man who, as of 2007, had spent the previous 18 years in jail. To add insult to injury, during this time, he has suffered inhumane treatment. His crime? His stance against Myanmar/Burma's military authorities and his promotion of freedom of expression.

But Myanmar/Burma is not the only country in the world with these kinds of problems. And lest you think that this has never happened on our own soil, let me remind you of America's past. I refer you to the "Alien and Sedition Acts" enacted in 1798; specifically, I am focusing on the "Sedition Act". This law was intended to minimize criticism of the government which, at that time, was under the administration of President John Adams. Under this law, people could be fined or even imprisoned for speaking against the government.

Now, I know that the Sedition Act is no longer in effect. Just turn on late night talk shows, and you will see the government being made fun of on a regular basis. I guess we've come a long way since 1798 - at least legally... or maybe not, because we are still arguing over what is included in our "freedom of speech" and lawsuits over this very thing still abound. The definition and perameters we give to freedom of speech matter.

And finally we get to the main point of this rather long post. I am concerned about the double standard that exists with the freedom of speech, opinion, and all of that. You may read this and think, "Yeah, go Erica! You take on those people who want freedom of speech for everyone but Christians!" I hate to break it to you, but that is not my only concern. The problem is that, as Christians, we are also guilty of trying to limit freedom of speech.

Case in point: I was at a friends' home a couple of months ago and her mom said "Someone just needs to shoot so-and-so." When I asked who so-and-so was, I was told, "Oh, he's a writer in our newspaper who says a lot of mean things about Christians and Christianity." Wonderful. Let's go around shooting the people who disagree and even mock our beliefs. That sounds like a great evangelism technique. Let me know how that works for you.

I say to both sides, if we are going to have free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and freedom opinion, then the same standards need to be applied to everyone.