JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 27, 2017 — Americans should care about religious liberty because it is a fundamental human right, said Ryan Anderson, senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Anderson spoke on the topic of 鈥淒ebating Religious Liberty and Discrimination鈥� at the Constitution Day Lecture Sept. 12 at 51社区.
鈥淸Religious liberty] is not just the right to be right,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also the right to be wrong.鈥�
He said it is easy to see the importance of religious liberty if one agrees with religious institutions, but even non-religious Americans should see the importance of the right to religious freedom.
鈥淎ll of us have a human right to be able to seek out the truth about God on our own, come to conclusions about the truth about God on our own, and then live our lives in conforming with that truth as we understand it,鈥� he said.
Anderson said this right is not without limits, and this is where the issue of discrimination comes into play. He said issues of racial bigotry and discrimination are prime examples of this. If the right to practice religion harms others or infringes on their rights, it must be limited.
Anderson said this can become complicated in the context of issues of same-sex marriage and gender identity. He said it is important to distinguish kinds of discrimination and have an understanding that people can disagree without being bigots.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e going to have to do as a community is call out real acts of bigotry and injustice and discrimination where they exist,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淭here is anti-gay bigotry in the United States. 鈥� It鈥檚 wrong. It鈥檚 evil. It should be condemned. But that we think that we are created male and female and that male and female are created for each other isn鈥檛 bigotry.鈥�
Anderson said even those who disagree with that should not be in favor of the government forcing those who do believe it to conform.
The Constitution Day lecture series is sponsored by the Center for Politics and Religion, the Department of Political Science, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Theology and Missions and coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.
Anderson鈥檚 full lecture can be viewed ,a href= "/video/detail.cfm?ID=445">online.