Respecting One Another’s Beliefs

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution enumerates several foundational rights:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

These freedoms—religion, speech, the press, and peaceable assembly—are more connected than we sometimes realize. Journalism and political gatherings are both significant venues for speech. And religion represents our most cherished beliefs, which often form the content of our speech.

Now there was no law against a man’s belief; for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to unequal grounds.

For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.

Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him; but if he did not believe in him there was no law to punish him.

Alma 30:7-9

This principle has both legal and personal applications. The legal application is that the government is limited in its ability to compel or prohibit behavior:

We believe that religion is instituted of God; and that men are amenable to him, and to him only, for the exercise of it, unless their religious opinions prompt them to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others; but we do not believe that human law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, nor dictate forms for public or private devotion; that the civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the freedom of the soul.

Doctrine and Covenants 134:4

The personal application is articulated in the Eleventh Article of Faith:

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

This is easy to say but hard to do, particularly when our beliefs appear to be contradictory and incompatible. President Dallin H. Oaks provided some practical guidance to help us live this principle more fully:

1. “Accept the reality that we are fellow citizens who need each other. This requires us to accept some laws we dislike, and to live peacefully with some persons whose values differ from our own.”
2. “We should make every effort to understand the experiences and concerns of others, especially when they differ from our own.”
3. “We should not seek total dominance for our own position; we should seek fairness for all.”
4. “Far from being a weakness, reconciling adverse positions through respectful negotiation is a virtue.”
5. “We must not allow fears about losing our own freedoms make us insensitive to others’ claims for theirs.”
6. “As President Russell M. Nelson has challenged our members,…‘expand our circle of love to embrace the whole human family.’”

(“Going Forward with Religious Freedom and Nondiscrimination,” University of Virginia, 12 November 2021)

Today, I will strive to apply the principles of freedom of religion and speech in my personal life, by respecting others’ beliefs, seeking to understand them better, and negotiating to achieve outcomes that are fair to all.