Sunday, June 25, 2006

Should we be prosecuting people for what they believe in?

Melanie Phillips writes about the British government's equality law that could see religious schools prosecuted if they teach that homosexuality is sinful. In fact, they could be prosecuted just for failing to promote gay issues. (and this in a country where the Prime Minister is a religious Christian).

You can prosecute people for their actions, but it's both illiberal and dangerous to prosecute people for their beliefs. After all, the best way to tackle bigotry head on is to debate it. But Britain's MPs have already made their mind up, there's nothing to debate. It reminds me of the saying: Liberals are all for tolerance and understanding, so long as you agree with them.