The sexual agenda and religious freedom

Challenges in the Western world

Abstract

The sexual agenda is today’s greatest threat to religious freedom in the developed world. Campaigns for women’s and homosexual rights, same-sex marriage, public education, and other issues related to family and sexuality have provoked the pre-ponderance of cases, and proponents have described Christian and other religious principles as direct impediments to their agenda. But what has precipitated most cases is the increasing role of the state in previously private areas of life, leading to claims that freedom must be curtailed when it involves government officials providing public services. This too proceeds from the sexual agenda, because such state services arise from the breakdown of family life, where they were previously performed. Critical here is the state’s claim to redefine marriage, less through same-sex marriage than divorce, which itself represents a long-standing threat to religious freedom. Growing state power over family life and sexuality has also been transferred to supranational organizations, where many clashes between sexual militants and religious believers now arise.