The Spanish adventurers brought many things with them to the lands they referred to as the ‘New World”, including disease, advanced weapons and the Spanish Inquisition. The majority of the native people did not die as a direct result of the invasion but rather from imported diseases such as smallpox and malaria to which they had no immunity. Those who survived the soldiers then had to face an even greater enemy – the army of the Spanish Inquisition which sought to save their souls. These bishops and priests were probably sincere in their belief that their moral and religious values were the only path to salvation. As in Europe so in the Americas, they sought to persuade at the point of a sword.
In the modern world we have moved away from theocratic government and control towards individual responsibility. Few people now believe that such actions are morally right, but there are those who believe that they have a moral duty not only to share their values with others in the hope of saving other souls but also to impose their moral values on everyone else. In their zeal to promote their own world view, they ignore the words of their own sacred texts that stress individual free will, prohibitions about being judgemental and the importance of treating others with humanity.
Such tolerance in no way prevents individuals from following a particular religious or moral way of life but rather allows everyone to choose their own path. Everyone has a right to explain and proselytise their moral position to others, but they do not have the right to impose these values. We no longer excommunicate and isolate people for heresy even if we do not agree with their views. Nor do we outlaw many types of behaviour that we may not approve of for ourselves provided it does not harm others.
Thus we do not criminalise drinking alcohol but we do proscribe drinking and driving. Almost all modern religious faiths stress the value of faithfulness within marriage but we no longer condone punishments such as stoning adulterers to death. We leave any divine punishment for such actions in the hands of God. Most of us recognise that our religious beliefs are supposed to support our own individual efforts to live a moral life. However, there is a vocal minority that is zealous in trying to impose its own views on others. They appear to be particularly concerned about human sexuality and are much more relaxed about other sins such as lying and cruelty.
There can be no excuse for the intrusion of others into sexual activity between consenting adults or attempts to restrict access to accurate information on sexual health. If our own moral compass proscribes certain activities such as homosexuality or commercial sex work then we can work valiantly to avoid them in our own lives. We can also preach against these activities, but in so doing we must be careful to avoid language that encourages stigma, discrimination and violence. If we believe that contraception is wrong we are not forced to use it; however, that does not give us a right to prevent its use by others. The issue of abortion is one area where the rights of individuals might clash with other rights and this is an area that must be mapped with great care. Almost certainly greater access to contraception and sexual health education is an important way to reduce the demand for abortion.
We must protect children from sexual abuse whatever its nature but this is a completely separate issue. However, abuse should not be confused with provision of and access to sexual and reproductive health education and services.
There is a lot of money and organisation being poured into efforts to change persuasion into coercion. Many ordinary people are being deceived into supporting restrictive laws that impinge on individual freedoms. They do not recognise that there is a difference between believing that certain moral values are correct and imposing those values on others. It is more important to try to live our moral values in our own lives and this must include respect for the rights of others to live by different values.
