Freedom of Worship—When Should It Be Granted?
● Most, if not all, governments claim to grant their citizens freedom of worship. Yet the fact is that some governments restrict or prohibit religions whose teachings they do not approve. Thus Jehovah’s Witnesses are banned in some places because of their Scriptural position of neutrality in political affairs. (John 6:15; 17:16; 18:36; Jas. 4:4) Is this action justified?
Dr. Bryan R. Wilson of Oxford University discussed this matter in a letter to the London Times, printed August 6, 1976. Among other things, he observed:
“It is surely implicit in the concept of religious freedom that men should be free to abstain from involvements that they believe to conflict with their religion, as long as, in doing so, they do not interfere with the rights of others. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that to take part in elections, to sing national hymns, and to salute national flags would be to compromise their religious principles. Ought they not, then, be free to abstain? The Witnesses today are passive and respectful of authority, and their neutrality in politics ought not to be an excuse for intolerance and discrimination in any democratic society. . . .
“There is, indeed, a curious irony in the short-sightedness of some African governments with respect to sects of this kind. Independent observers have indicated that Jehovah’s Witnesses are hard-working and often more conscientious and enterprising than the average among their fellow citizens. They are enjoined by their leaders to pay their taxes promptly, to refrain from violence, and to avoid giving offence. They are orderly, honest and sober. These values were of great importance in the economic and social development of Western society, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that Jehovah’s Witnesses are among the most upright and diligent of the citizenry of African countries. Were the values that they endorse and by which they live so consistently more widely diffused in Africa, some of the worst social problems from which African countries suffer would be considerably mitigated.”