Beware the Taleban of tolerance

Wednesday, 7th February 2007

Think about it. This debate is not code for homophobia. It’s about the proper boundaries between the state and the individual; it’s about conscience in a free society, and it affects all of us in a free Europe. Gay people have experienced vilification for many years, yes — and often from people who identify themselves as religious. But now the attitudes displayed towards religious believers in public life look exactly the same: a form of prejudice and discrimination.

The legislation under discussion in Britain is not yet law, but in Northern Ireland it is already on the statute book. It was imposed by proconsular edict from Peter Hain on 1 January — rushed through by Order in Her Majesty’s Privy Council without the normal process of consultation proper to a democracy.

Have we forgotten the lessons of the totalitarianism of the 20th century? The bloody histories of other ‘new moralities’ — in Germany, Russia, China and Cambodia to name only a few — have shown that the real threat to a democracy comes from the encroachments of the state on individuals, not vice versa. For democratic societies to thrive, individuals must fight vigorously to retain the right to practise their faith.