Religious Speech

This chapter examines religious speech, and the tensions between religion and freedom of expression. As a wide-ranging system of moral beliefs and commitments, religion, by its very nature, assigns to the freedom of expression a particular place in its hierarchical order of values. In non-theocratic States, this may clash with the (higher) normative value accorded to the freedom of expression under the secular order. Religious claims themselves will often be made from within the constitutional system: that is, the State’s own constitutional commitment to protect religious freedom will be invoked to argue that, in certain domains, the secular order must defer to religion’s hierarchy of values. This may include the subordination of religious expression to revealed religious truth. Disputes will often also involve contestation over a constellation of other constitutional norms, such as the commitment to maintaining diversity and pluralism, the right to equality and cultural dissent, and not least, the imperatives of public order. Consequently, such disputes raise a host of complex issues. The State’s adjudicatory authorities must decide whether to attempt an accommodation between the conflicting claims of religion and free speech, or privilege one over the other. The chapter then discusses the role of religion in censorship.