U.N. Resolution Attacks Free Speech by Criminalizing Criticism of Religion

COMMENTARY | The L.A. Times is reporting in an oped that the United Nations is preparing a resolution that will criminalize speech that attacks religion or belief. Though this would seem to be in opposition to the First Amendment, the Obama administration is supporting it.

The resolution is being pushed by governments of Muslim countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, as a means to suppress criticism of the Islamic religion in the West. Many of these governments, particularly those operating under Sharia law, do not exercise a lot of tolerance to religions other than Islam, especially Christianity and Judaism.

It is unclear what exactly will be sanctioned under the new resolution. Will it apply to criticism of all religious faiths equally? Or will some faiths be more equal than others? Will the resolution apply to critiques of various religious doctrines such as Islam's oppression of women and gay people, the Catholic Church's opposition to birth control and abortion, or Mormonism's prohibition of drinking tea? One can certainly oppose these things without being a bigot.

It is understandable that Muslim governments might want to suppress criticism of religion, especially if it applies just to Islam. It is less clear why the Obama administration is lending this effort aid and comfort.

Stipulating that bigotry of any kind is never a good idea, the U.S. Constitution still gives one the right to be a bigot, so long as it does not involve advocacy of criminal activity. Criminal activity would include killing other people in the name of God. One is free to say that one religion or another or indeed all religions are silly and that people practicing them are ill-advised. Religious people should be permitted to say that their faith is superior in any other. Atheists should be permitted to say that religion itself is dumb.

Certainly religion in the United States is not threatened by people criticizing it or even doing unseemly things in its name. A recent Pew study showed that roughly 83 percent of Americans follow some kind of religious tradition. Another 5.8 percent consider themselves religious by unaffiliated with any faith. Clearly, with its tolerance of both religion and speech against religion, the United States is doing something right where it concerns the strength of faith.

Sources: Criminalizing intolerance, Jonathon Turley, L.A. Times, Dec 12, 2011

Statistics on Religion in America, The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life