THE NATIONAL Church Alliance and the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship have let fly a volley of concerns over what they see as inadequacies or dangers in the proposed Charter of Rights regarding the right to propagate religious - specifically Christian - views and the greater potential for homosexual unions to be legally sanctioned.
The underlying fear is that the aggressive pro-gay activism and push for civil liberties elsewhere are now being quietly foisted on the Jamaican public. Ironically, in adopting uncritically, the language and agenda of the American religious right which has taken an activist position in shaping the legislative agenda of the United States, the groups seem to be running ahead of themselves, straining at gnats and in danger of swallowing camels. Even more critical is that the groups seem not to appreciate that the rights they want for themselves cannot logically be denied others. Should Muslims, Buddhists or Rastafarians, for example, be allowed the freedom or be restricted from expounding on their beliefs in our public education system?
We note, too, that Minister of Justice, A. J. Nicholson, has been quite clear that same-sex marriages would not be sanctioned by the proposed Charter. We doubt very much that any political party would dare accommodate such a policy in homophobic Jamaica.
Unfortunately, local discussions about the concepts of individual freedom and liberties are taking place in a vacuum, largely uninformed by centuries of critical thinking about such rights. The U.S. Bill of Rights and France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the citizen with their protection for individual rights and freedoms which have served as guide to many other societies, were crafted out of years of thoughtful debate and discussion undergirded by a rejection of totalitarianism and strictures of a state church.
In the current debate, the expressed concerns that local pastors might be exposed to personal risk and liability 'for preaching the Gospel' is perhaps the greatest irony of all. Ancient and contemporary history would suggest that persecution has hardly been able to curtail the propagation of the Christian Gospel. From ancient Rome to the days of the Iron Curtain, a Christian underground movement not given any official sanction and in many instances one that was severely restricted, not only survived but thrived. Certainly we expect the church community to be alert to any potential danger to its ability to carry out its mission. But this has to be done with due regard and respect for the civil liberties of other groups even where they have sharp differences in opinion.
We would find greater ground for sympathy and endorsement had the church groups been as strident about the excesses and abuse of individual rights by the security forces over many years as they now are about the potential infringement on theirs.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
