A close reading of Dignitatis Humanae: a universalist argument would be at odds with Dignitatis Humanae. Certain hermeneuts of discontinuity might prefer to read the document as revolutionary with respect to pre-conciliar teaching on religious freedom

Do All Religions Deserve Respect?

by Joseph G. Trabbic

The Obama administration’s war on Catholics will continue into 2014 as many courageous Catholic institutions in the U.S. maintain their resistance to its encroachment on their religious freedom through the H.H.S. mandate. In light of this, we can expect that the public debate about religious freedom will also continue into the new year both inside and outside the Church.

A reflection on how we should argue for religious freedom is, therefore, in order. Not legal arguments but arguments of a more general sort will be the focus of this essay, although my comments may not be irrelevant to legal questions. Part of knowing how we should argue for religious freedom (or anything really) involves knowing how we should not argue for it. The following remarks will suggest how not to argue for religious liberty based especially on a close reading of Dignitatis Humanae promulgated by the Second Vatican Council.

• Do All Religions Deserve Respect? ...
• When Religious Freedom Can Be Restricted ...
• On the Prudential Toleration of False Religion ...

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