Commentary
Few questions have divided liberals over the centuries more than the place of religion in a free society. Some have seen faith as irrelevant to liberty, a separate sphere best kept sealed off entirely from politics. Others have viewed it as the very enemy of freedom, pointing to centuries of clerical repression. Still others argued that religion was useful, a prop to social cohesion for a regime of limited government. Lastly, there was a bolder group that claimed that religion—particularly Christianity—is not just compatible with freedom but essential to it, historically and conceptually.
