THE RIGHT TO BE WRONG: Kevin Seamus Hasson, head of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, has a new book out on the moral and metaphysical/spiritual case for religious freedom. I’ve read some of his speeches on which portions of the book are based, and if the book is anything like those speeches, there will be a lot of real, hardcore philosophical work being done, presented in clear and easily-grasped language. Hasson’s work is deeply influenced by Pope John Paul II, especially Fides et Ratio and Veritatis Splendor, but he does not share the great pope’s often Germanic writing style! Anyway, here’s a small hint of what’s in the book; I’m really looking forward to reading it.

Some people say they [Muslims] need a Reformation that separates mosque and state. I’ve argued that what they really need is a Vatican II: They need to discover within the roots of their own tradition the human truth that undergirds religious liberty: Coercing conscience is wrong, because human beings are born with an innate thirst for transcendence, a demand to search for the true and the good, and the need to express that truth in public, not just private. And that can only be done with integrity when it’s done freely. That development within Islam would go a long, long way towards guaranteeing the religious freedom of people in Islamic countries. Muslims and Christians can’t agree on who God is, but we can agree on who we are.

NRO: Do you think there’s any real interest in this idea in Islamic countries?

Hasson: Well, I’ve been invited twice to make religious-liberty arguments on Al Jazeera. So yes, I know first-hand there is an enormous hunger out there, especially among young people, for a new vision about how one can build a democratic, stable, and free society without incorporating atheism into the heart of government. State-sponsored atheism is how many of them see the current church/state separation as typically promoted in the West. That’s another thing we’re trying to change, with this book, The Right to Be Wrong, as well as in a host of other ways at the Becket Fund.

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Amazon link to the book.