Religion in Politics and "The Peace of the Realm"

We must ask why we enjoy the separation of church and state. Faith hardliners may well say it’s because godless leaders didn’t and don’t want to be bothered with the demands of faith. Nothing could be further from the truth. If we look at the political history from which Canada derives, we see the truth. To begin, the battle of Catholics and Protestants for state power in England was long and bloody, creating mayhem, chaos, schism, discrimination, and terror. (Such fights happen elsewhere, of course: the battle between Christians and Muslims - the Crusades - and between Muslims and Hindus, etc.) Out of the English mayhem, Protestant William of Orange was invited to invade England and take the throne in 1688. In his reign, the principle of religious toleration was set out. Though weak at first, religious toleration came to mean a person may have any faith, hold any public office, and live free from religious harassment and violence. Religious toleration assures the peace of the realm. Strangely, too, that is why a law (still in effect) was enunciated stating that no English monarch may be a Roman Catholic. Faith hard-liners might say the law was passed out of Protestant bigotry. It was passed to assure “the peace of the realm” - to end the bloodshed and terror bred in religious battles to win the throne. That apparent act of bigotry must be seen in terms of the social chaos caused in England by religious fighting. Combined with growing religious toleration, the law carried less and less threat to Roman Catholics and other non-Protestants as time passed. France and New France – from whom Canada’s political history also derives – tell a similar story. In the 1620s and afterward, Protestants (the “Huguenots” in French) were forbidden to migrate to New France. As W.J Eccles, still one of Canada’s finest historians of early European Canada, writes: “the presence of a sizable body of Huguenots practicing their religion in New France would only have been a source of bitter disputes that could only have disrupted, weakened, and perhaps wrecked the colony.” (Canada Under Louis XlV, M&S, 1964, p. 26) The famous Cardinal Richelieu (1858-1642) may have been a Roman Catholic bigot, setting up that regulation. But even Louis XIII – who feared Richelieu, his chief minister - said of him that his one motive in public affairs was the welfare of the realm. Religious toleration must accompany the separation of church and state. It says you may believe what you like, you may have the faith you please, but you may not shape the state to any one “religion” or “faith,” persecuting and discriminating against “religions” and “faiths” not your own. If there is to be peace in the realm, there must be freedom to think and act differently from others in matters of faith. Because of the incendiary nature that accompanies the mix of state and religion, differences in Canada about same-sex marriage and the right to abortion, for instance, MUST be argued on political and constitutional grounds, however much the positions of some politicians and some social activists may be motivated by religious doctrine or dogma. “The realm” in the modern world, moreover, has expanded, increasing the demand for religious toleration. Migration of peoples has increased all over the world. Modern communication has shrunken its size. Canada, in particular, has been and is a country hospitable to migrants of numerous faiths. Religious intolerance in our politics could only mean a breakdown of Canadian society. Unfortunately, the U.S.A. influences many Canadians. Unfortunately, it influences many of the people who say the separation of church and state is a “distortion,” a perversion, an unnatural condition. The U.S.A. wants global power without global religious toleration. It wants to be the heart of a global community that possesses neither religious toleration nor the separation of church and state. At home it has never been especially tolerant. The burning of witches was a U.S. entertainment. From its beginning in 1776 until 1960, moreover, no Roman Catholic was able to become president of the United States. In Canada, twenty-nine years after Confederation, a francophone Roman Catholic became prime minister. The U.S. has developed a Christian fundamentalism that it wants to impose on other countries. Not only is its barely disguised war against Islam (mixing racism with religious bigotry) a matter of great concern; but the U.S. also tries to tell Christian countries how to act in matters of faith and dogma. Very recently, offering $40 million to Brazil to assist it in the battle against AIDS, the U.S insisted Brazil condemn the use of condoms and criminalize prostitution. The Brazilians refused the $40 million saying – among other things – that cooperation with informed prostitutes was an important way to lessen the spread of AIDS. There can be no question that the present religious intolerance of the U.S. government is helping to seed death, mayhem, chaos, schism, discrimination, and terror around the world. Canadians must fight against such intolerance in this country. When anyone in Canada says the separation of church and state is a distortion or perversion or an unnatural condition, tell that person to read history. He or she will see that religious toleration in Canada as well as the separation of church and state were floated to us as precious gifts on an ocean of blood spilled in religious strife. [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on June 5, 2005]

Options

Religion In Politics And "The Peace Of The Realm"

Contributed By

Article Rating

Options

Latest Editorials

Your Voice