Press release from The Iona Institute

Tanaiste’s speech an attack on religious freedom

July 1, 2012
IN HIS speech at the Tom Johnson Summer School today Tanaiste Eamon
Gilmore spoke at some length about religious freedom but the speech in
fact amounted to an attack on religious freedom.

It
revealed that by Church/State separation Mr Gilmore means something
closer to the privatisation of religion and by religious freedom he
mostly means freedom from religion.

Commenting
on the speech, Dr John Murray of The Iona Institute said today:
“Religious freedom has to include the freedom to fully participate in
the public and political life of the country as religious believers. It
does not mean that religious believers must put their religion to one
side when they enter the public square. That is the opposite of
religious freedom.”

He
continued: “It is good that the Tanaiste recognises the contribution of
religion to society, but religious freedom means very little if
religious believers are barred from being able to persuade their
law-makers and fellow voters by democratic means of the value to society
and the law of their beliefs.

“Why
should religious believers alone of all citizens be barred from
influencing the laws of our country with their values, as the Tanaiste
seems to imply when he speaks of ‘Church/State separation’? This amounts
to the privatisation of religious belief and a truncation of religious
freedom.”

Dr
Murray said: “It must also be borne in mind that most religious values
can be defended using reason alone. For example, the traditional
definition of marriage can be defended without any reference to religion
at all.

“The
reason it would be wrong to permit same-sex marriage is because doing
so is a denial of the importance of sexual complementarity and of the
need of a child for a mother and a father.”

He
concluded: “The Tanaiste has in fact outlined a very secular view of
society, one which most religious believers will strongly reject.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The Iona Institute is a pro-marriage, pro-religion think tank.