Britannia Radio

In his excellent Public Discourse essay today, Philip Tartaglia, the Roman Catholic bishop of Paisley, Scotland, explains how an “aggressive secularism” aims (in the phrase of one of the aggressive secularists) to confine religious freedom inside “the door of the temple.”

Bishop Tartaglia’s contrast between “totalitarian liberalism” and “traditional liberalism” (a contrast that he credits to Cardinal George Pell of Sydney) succinctly captures the ongoing battle. Whereas traditional liberalism “sees the individual, the family, and the association as prior to the state, with the state existing only to fulfill functions that are beyond the capabilities of individuals and families,” totalitarian liberalism “tends to imply that institutions such as the family, the Church, and other agencies exist only with the permission of the state, and, to exist lawfully, must abide by the dictates or norms of the state.” Note that the adjective “totalitarian,” far from being an empty epithet, captures the ambition of aggressive secularism to occupy the totality of public space.

For yet another reminder of what totalitarian liberalism threatens, here’s news of a ruling by a German court that (according to the article) “neither the rights of parents nor the constitutional freedom of religion can justify interventions such as circumcision.” One German expert even commends the fact that “the court was not deterred by fears of being criticized for anti-Semitism or hostility toward religion.”
http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/304145/totalitarian-liberalism-versus-religious-liberty-ed-whelan

At the Door of the Temple: Religious Freedom and the New Orthodoxy

by Philip Tartaglia
June 27, 2012
The new orthodoxy of secularism fails to understand that the virtues generated by religious freedom underpin and encourage a healthy democracy.

When I was consecrated a bishop in 2005, I was not fretting about religious freedom in Scotland or in the United Kingdom. Yet just six and a half years later, I can say with a concerned and fearful realism that the loss of religious freedom is now arguably the most serious threat that the Catholic Church and all people of faith in this country are facing. The way this issue unfolds will determine how the Church will present itself to society for the foreseeable future. Will the Catholic Church—and other religious bodies and groups—have the space to adhere to, express, and teach their beliefs in the public square? Or will these basic elements of religious freedom be denied, driving the Church and other religious bodies to the margins of society, if not actually underground?

How has the question of religious freedom arisen in this country? 
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/06/5751?printerfriendly=true