I Don't Think It's a Case of Being Politically Brain Dead

as much as it's a natural consequence of what Fr. Richard John Neuahus termed the Naked Public Square, a society in which religion has been pushed entirely into the realm of personal preference. It is the consequence of seeing man's moral end in the precepts of secualr humanism and ordering it accordingly. One of the duties of government is to see that those under its authority are free to pursue and fulfill their moral obligations and seek their moral end, and in a secular humanist society, the moral end of man is considered to be personal fulfillment because the individual is regarded as god of his own life, determining his own moral end. Hence, the greatest offense that can be committed in a secularist society is anything that inhibits the goal of personal fulfillment, be it murder or simply refusing to celebrate the choices made by others, even if we happen to think them wrong. Problems arise when the action person A believes will lead to his fulfillment is in conflict with what person B considers necessary for his own fulfillment. The law being proposed by tony Blair is an attempt to limit the extent to which person A and person B can obstruct each other's personal fulfillment by constraining the ability of each to find fulfillment in the realm of religion, something that may well be necessary if you consider the moral end of man to be the fulfillment of his desires.

However, this whatever-floats-your-boat view of religion can only hold up if the principles of secualr humanism are assumed, something that adherents of religions other than secualr humanism cannot assume and still hold to their faith. This is why the mainline Protestant churches and many Catholic parishes are experiencing a decline in membership and church attendance. If the members of churches see the underlying principles of their church to be those of secular humanism, there is no reason for them to take part in the activities of their church unless they somehow find participation in their church more fulfilling than sleeping in on Sundays. People practice a religion because they believe it is true, not because they find it personally fulfilling, and if it is true for one, it is true for all. The religious "hatred" bill being pushed by Blair misses this point. Religion is not about feeling good, it is about finding the Truth, and because religions disagree with one another on what that Truth is, debate and sometimes conflict must necessarily occur. However, the debate between religions is a necessary one because when it's all said and done all religions seek the moral end of man, which can only be found by finding the Truth. Secular Humanism says that personal fulfillment is the moral end of man, and this is the assumption under which Blair is proceeding. In effect, he is promoting the superiority of secular humanism and telling everyone else to play nice.