Pope Francis: religious freedom extends beyond worship, protects us from globalized uniformity

September 28, 2015

Emphasizing how important it is for the American founding principles to be “reaffirmed, re-appropriated and defended,” Pope Francis addressed a meeting for religious liberty with the Hispanic community and other immigrants at the Independence Mall in Philadelphia on September 26.

“In this place which is symbolic of the American way, I would like to reflect with you on the right to religious freedom,” he said. “It is a fundamental right which shapes the way we interact socially and personally with our neighbors whose religious views differ from our own.”

“Religious freedom certainly means the right to worship God, individually and in community, as our consciences dictate,” he continued. “But religious liberty, by its nature, transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families. Because religion itself, the religious dimension, is not a subculture; it is part of the culture of every people and every nation.”

“Our religious traditions,” he added,

remind us of the transcendent dimension of human existence and our irreducible freedom in the face of any claim to absolute power. We need but look at history – we always benefit from looking at history – especially the history of the last century, to see the atrocities perpetrated by systems which claimed to build one or another “earthly paradise” by dominating peoples, subjecting them to apparently indisputable principles and denying them any kind of rights …

In a world where various forms of modern tyranny seek to suppress religious freedom, or, as I said earlier, to try to reduce it to a subculture without right to a voice in the public square, or to use religion as a pretext for hatred and brutality, it is imperative that the followers of the various religious traditions join their voices in calling for peace, tolerance and respect for the dignity and the rights of others.

We live in an age subject to the “globalization of the technocratic paradigm” (Laudato Si’, 106), which consciously aims at a one-dimensional uniformity and seeks to eliminate all differences and traditions in a superficial quest for unity. The religions thus have the right and the duty to make clear that it is possible to build a society where “a healthy pluralism which respects differences and values them as such” (Evangelii Gaudium, 255) is a “precious ally in the commitment to defending human dignity… and a path to peace in our world,” wounded as it is by wars (ibid., 257).

 

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Further information:

• Apostolic Journey of the Holy Father to Cuba, to the United States of America and Visit to the United Nations Headquarters (19-28 September 2015) (Holy See Press Office)
• Pope in Cuba and USA (Vatican Radio)
• Vatican YouTube coverage