Freedom Of Religion? Let's Not Get Carried Away
MIAMI, FL - JUNE 08: Tere Rubio and other protesters hold signs as they pray during a gathering billed as the, 'Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally', in front of the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse on June 8, 2012 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
John Holbo at the Crooked Timber blog notices something funny while rereading Liberty, Equality, Fraternity by the great critic of John Stuart Mill, James Fitzjames Stephen. (Virginia Woolf's uncle, by the way.)
Stephens is obviously the ‘conservative’, rebutting Mill, the ‘liberal’. But in a lot of ways their positions don’t track contemporary notions. For example, Stephens is very opposed to the state tolerating lots of little heterodox churches. No. The state should do its best to figure out which one is best and sponsor it. (Theological spin on industrial policy and ‘picking winners’.) The proof, offered in passing: anything else and you’ll end up having to tolerate Mormonism. Which is obviously not on.
About the Author
David Frum
David Frum is a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast and a CNN contributor. He is the author of eight books, including most recently the e-book WHY ROMNEY LOST and his first novel Patriots, published in April 2012.
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