We don’t often agree with Christian Nationalist organizations here at Americans United, but now and then, some common ground surfaces.
Recently, for example, ADF International, the global arm of Alliance Defending Freedom, lauded the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention for calling for the release of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a Nigerian man who was found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to death after sharing some song lyrics on WhatsApp.
During my time with Americans United, I’ve had the privilege of meeting with groups of international visitors at our Washington, D.C., headquarters. I brief them on the history of church-state separation in America, explain the work of Americans United and take questions. The issue of blasphemy laws often comes up.
In several majority Muslim nations, blasphemy remains a crime, and laws may punish people for “insulting” Islam or the Prophet Muhammad. Laws like this are often used to intimidate members of minority faiths and suppress their rights; mob violence is also common.
It can be difficult for those of us living in nations where blasphemy laws long ago faded away to grasp the idea of someone sitting behind bars for saying something critical about religion. Yet it’s not uncommon. A 2022 study by the Pew Research Center found that blasphemy laws exist in 79 nations.
When asked about blasphemy laws by visitors from abroad, I explain to them that in the United States, religious freedom has been interpreted as the right to reject all faiths and to criticize specific denominations or religion generally. I tell them if religious groups come under verbal criticism, they’re quite capable of defending themselves; it’s not the government’s job to take on that task.
Unfortunately, I don’t have an easy answer for people who live under these laws. Yes, they all ought to be repealed, but in a situation that is nothing short of Kafkaesque, sometimes publicly calling for the end of a nation’s blasphemy law can be interpreted as blasphemy itself. Given that some countries impose life imprisonment or the death penalty on offenders, I can understand why people don’t want to take that risk.
Americans United has its hands full dealing with domestic church-state threats, but we’re certainly sympathetic to those around the globe who live under the iron heel of theocracy. Our government may be able to help by applying pressure on countries that fail to respect basic human rights or helping resettle people who have been persecuted.
But there’s one more thing we can and must do: keep modeling how the separation of religion and government makes for a freer, safer and fairer society. We in America invented the separation of church and state. Let’s not be afraid to export it.
