Editor: Robert T. Rock, in his letter published Feb.12 (“No right to tell others what to do”) brings up a very important point: when belief systems are wedded with power it usually results in a bad end for those opposed to that belief system. Those of us who hold a religious belief of some kind ought to own up to that reality.
However, the history of the Soviet Union and Cambodia has shown us that the same results can occur when an atheistic world view is wedded with power. I believe that we human beings can do better.
Rock states that “It is time to reconsider the privileged place of any religion in modern society when it violates basic human rights.” That raises the question, what are included in basic human rights? Do people have the right to gather together and voluntarily limit their rights? Do people have the freedom to hold personal beliefs that may be at odds with secular humanism, or should we all have to believe the same thing?
In the public conversation about what kind of society we are going to be, does everyone get an opportunity to speak, or only those who hold to secular humanism?
When religion is at its best, it encourages people to be good citizens, love their families and care for the poor and marginalized, and it provides a framework for a free and just society with open discourse about important issues such as the ones Rock raises, even if we do not all agree.
James Paulgaard,
Langley
