Religion & Civil Rights in the 21st Century By Steven T. McFarland How should I treat those who are different from me and who have less political representation? What roles (if any) should law and government have in protecting them from discrimination? Who should be exempt from general antidiscrimination law and when? These will be volatile issues in the 21st century, as they have been in the past. Our Nation is becoming so diverse that it is more apt to become a Petri dish for xenophobia and bigotry than a melting pot. Americans do not naturally "celebrate the differences." Rather, private citizens tend to perpetuate them (usually unconsciously), while their government tries to steamroll the differences by forbidding unpopular discrimination. But integration and harmony cannot be coerced. It requires a change of heart, which is the realm of the spiritual. That is why promoting religious freedom should be a top priority. Our framers wisely made this our First Freedom in the Bill of Rights. They knew the best way to do this was for government to remain neutral, not punitive, toward religious beliefs and institutional autonomy. We will not advance gender equality by prosecuting churches for obeying their scriptural injunctions against ordaining women. We will not promote religious tolerance by ostracizing campus religious groups because they require that their members or leaders share their religious faith. Rather let religion flourish, without official favoritism or hostility, and we will optimize conditions for the Golden Rule to replace bigotry. Steven T. McFarland is Director of the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law and Religious Freedom.

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