We begin the discussion with Prof. Smith’s personal journey to this topic.  For an Australian studying American politics, a field dominated by quantitative studies of contemporary political behavior, the choice of such a historical topic seems a bit unique.  Nonetheless, David points out how the eyes of a foreigner can often uncover interesting behavioral patterns that often go unnoticed by natives.  This leads us to a discussion of how “mythic ideals” within a nation often do not match with historical practice, particularly given that human beings are quite fallible when it comes to reaching noble goals.

David then jumps into a detailed elaboration of the persecuted path of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (i.e., Mormons) in the 19th century, from their early days in New York and Ohio, through an “extermination order” in Missouri, to the mob execution of their leader Joseph Smith, and finally through their travails into Utah territory and the struggles to become a state.  Along the way, David drops hints at his explanation to come, including how the presence of the Mormons in different areas affected the political calculus among existing elites.  David places the debates over polygamy and political partisanship into a context of broader struggles for political power that were affecting the nation in the pre- and post-Civil War era.  We learn some interesting things about how Harriet Beecher Stowe, famed feminist crusader, changed her position on whether or not Mormon women should be given the right to vote, and how Reed Smoot (half of the infamous Smoot-Hawley tariff act) was prevented from taking his seat in the US Senate because of ongoing concerns over polygamy.

We then jump into the early 20th century to discuss the rise of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a seemingly innocuous group of Christians who refused to salute the flag or have their children recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school.  Such actions, combined with their visible proselytizing presence, provoked a number of local organizations such as the American Legion to consider them a serious threat to American nationalism.  Combined with concern over the balance of political power at the local level and their stand against military service at a time war was on the horizon, a rash of physical harassment of Witnesses arose in the late 1930s and early 1940s, dissipating around 1941/42 when roughly half of the Witnesses young male missionaries were jailed.  We further discuss the reasons why the Witnesses were targetted, but not groups such as the Mennonites and Amish, another religious group that resisted military service and spoke German!

Prof. Smith shows how both of these instances of religious persecution were theoretically linked by how each group — Mormons and Witnesses — were perceived as a political threat to the existing state power structure.  We then discuss how his explanation played out in other historic instances of religious persecution (or lack thereof) including Catholics, Jews, and the Nation of Islam (a homegrown Muslim group).  Interestingly, while the Nation of Islam was facing persecution (around the time of the Witnesses), political authorities were encouraging Muslim immigration from overseas.  We also explore why Muslims over the past decade and a half (since September 11, 2001) have not seen the levels of persecution or harassment experienced by the Mormons and Witnesses.  David closes with some thoughts on how future persecutions might be contained.  Recorded: January 7, 2014.

RELATED LINKS

David Smith’s bio at the Department of Government & International Relations at the University of Sydney.

Religious Persecution and Political Order in the United States, by David Smith.

United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

RELATED PODCASTS

Patrick Mason on Anti-Mormonism and Mitt Romney.

Lynita Newswander on Mormons in America.

Jason Jewell on Locke and Religious Toleration.

Mark Koyama on Jewish Expulsions.

Anthony Gill on Religion and Religious Liberty (An EconTalk simul-podcast).

Anthony Gill on the Political Origins of Religious Liberty.

Michael McBride on Religious Free-Riding and Mormons.

Carmel Chiswick on the Economics of American Judaism.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Mark Hall’s bio at George Fox University and Baylor’s ISR.

“Religious Accommodations and the Common Good,” by Mark David Hall in The Heritage Foundation’s Backgrounder.

Faith and the Founders of the American Republic, edited by Daniel L. Dreisbach and Mark David Hall.

Roger Sherman and the Creation of the American Republic, by Mark David Hall.

 America’s Forgotten Founders, by Gary L. Gregg and Mark David Hall.

The Sacred Rights of Conscience, edited by Daniel L. Dreisbach and Mark David Hall.

See Prof. Hall’s bio (above) for additional books.

RELATED PODCASTS

Should Christians Have Fought in the U.S. War of Independence? (Discover Prof. Hall’s answer.)

Mark David Hall on Religious Minorities in the American Founding.

Mark David Hall on Roger Sherman, Puritan Patriot.

Mark David Hall on Religion and the Founding Fathers.

John Inazu on the Four Freedoms, Religious Liberty, and Assembly.

Rajdeep Singh on American Sikhs and Religious Liberty.

Jonathan den Hartog on Patriotism and Piety.

Michael McConnell on Church Property Disputes.

Francis Beckwith on Taking Rites Seriously.

Matthew Franck on Hosanna-Tabor and Ministerial Exemptions.

Matthew Franck on Hobby Lobby and Religious Freedom Jurisprudence.

David Cortman on Religious Freedom Updates.

The conversation begins with our usual banter to get to know the guest.  We discover that even though he has multiple degrees from Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill, John remains a solid fan of the Blue Devils.  He also explains his work as a lawyer for the US Air Force and why his position wasn’t categorized as a JAG and how this allowed him to avoid wearing a uniform.

We then jump into a discussion as to what the “four freedoms” are — free exercise of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the right to assembly — and how these freedoms were conceived of early in US history.  (It is here where John notes that there is actually a fifth freedom — petition — that not many scholars pay attention to.)  John sets this discussion into a pluralist framework as conceived of by Madison and other Founding Fathers.  The idea here as that division and conflict are likely to be part of the political landscape and knowing how to manage it with a balanced set of freedoms is critical.  Tony notes from his own work that the freedoms listed in the First Amendment are separated not by periods, but by semi-colons, which seems to indicate some degree of contingency.  John agrees and we talk a bit about the connection between these rights, particularly with reference to religious free expression and the right to assemble peaceably.

It is mentioned that US history, despite the lofty goals of the US Constitution, has not always lived up to the ideal of preserving and protecting these freedoms for all.  John noted that the Founding Fathers did have their blind spots, particularly over race, and there have been many instances of minorities being denied freedoms or outright persecuted.  One of the important groups for our discussion is the Jehovah’s Witnesses who were quick to assert their rights of association along with the labor movement in the early decades of the 20th century.  We talk about how the height of “four freedom” rhetoric occurred in the 1930s and ’40s when the US was faced with a totalitarian threat overseas and was also put in a position of promoting freedom abroad.  This leads to a particularly fascinating discussion of the limits of freedom and how living up to high standards was difficult during the 1950s when there was concern over communist interests using the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution to undermine American democracy.  This problem, John notes, is endemic to a free nation that must balance an absolute right to freedom (which is hard to ever achieve) with the threat of imminent violence.

…

RELATED LINKS

John Inazu’s bio at Washington University’s School of Law.

“The Four Freedoms and the Future of Religious Liberty ,” by John Inazu (article at SSRN).

Liberty’s Refuge: The Forgotten Freedom of Assembly, by John Inazu.

Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving through Deep Difference, by John Inazu (article for forthcoming book).

Theological Argument in Law: Engaging with Stanley Hauerwas, edited by John Inazu.

RELATED PODCASTS

 David Cortman on Religious Liberty Updates.

Matthew Franck on Hosanna-Tabor and Ministerial Exemption.

Matthew Franck on Hobby Lobby and Religious Freedom Jurisprudence.

Jordan Lorence on Religious Property Cases.

Phillip Muñoz on Catholic Bishops, Religious Liberty, and Health Care Mandates.

Mark David Hall on Religion and the Founding Fathers.

]]> http://www.researchonreligion.org/historical-topics/john-inazu-on-the-four-freedoms/feed 1 http://www.researchonreligion.org/historical-topics/david-smith-on-episodic-religious-persecutions http://www.researchonreligion.org/historical-topics/david-smith-on-episodic-religious-persecutions#comments Sun, 09 Feb 2014 09:00:38 +0000 http://www.researchonreligion.org/?p=3110 Join us on our Facebook Fan Page for regular updates.

Although the United States is often viewed as a beacon for religious freedom around the world, thanks in large part to the institutionalization of the First Amendment, the practice of religious toleration has often fallen well short of the ideals set for itself.  Prof. David Smith, lecturer in the Department of Government & International Relations and a faculty member at the United States Studies Center at the University of Sydney (Australia), discusses his explanation for episodic religious persecution in the United States.  Using the Latter Day Saints in the 19th century and Jehovah’s Witnesses in the early 20th century as comparative case studies, he argues that religious minorities that are seen as threats to the established political order will quickly find themselves victims of state-sanctioned persecution.

We begin the discussion with Prof. Smith’s personal journey to this topic.  For an Australian studying American politics, a field dominated by quantitative studies of contemporary political behavior, the choice of such a historical topic seems a bit unique.  Nonetheless, David points out how the eyes of a foreigner can often uncover interesting behavioral patterns that often go unnoticed by natives.  This leads us to a discussion of how “mythic ideals” within a nation often do not match with historical practice, particularly given that human beings are quite fallible when it comes to reaching noble goals.

David then jumps into a detailed elaboration of the persecuted path of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (i.e., Mormons) in the 19th century, from their early days in New York and Ohio, through an “extermination order” in Missouri, to the mob execution of their leader Joseph Smith, and finally through their travails into Utah territory and the struggles to become a state.  Along the way, David drops hints at his explanation to come, including how the presence of the Mormons in different areas affected the political calculus among existing elites.  David places the debates over polygamy and political partisanship into a context of broader struggles for political power that were affecting the nation in the pre- and post-Civil War era.  We learn some interesting things about how Harriet Beecher Stowe, famed feminist crusader, changed her position on whether or not Mormon women should be given the right to vote, and how Reed Smoot (half of the infamous Smoot-Hawley tariff act) was prevented from taking his seat in the US Senate because of ongoing concerns over polygamy.

We then jump into the early 20th century to discuss the rise of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a seemingly innocuous group of Christians who refused to salute the flag or have their children recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school.  Such actions, combined with their visible proselytizing presence, provoked a number of local organizations such as the American Legion to consider them a serious threat to American nationalism.  Combined with concern over the balance of political power at the local level and their stand against military service at a time war was on the horizon, a rash of physical harassment of Witnesses arose in the late 1930s and early 1940s, dissipating around 1941/42 when roughly half of the Witnesses young male missionaries were jailed.  We further discuss the reasons why the Witnesses were targetted, but not groups such as the Mennonites and Amish, another religious group that resisted military service and spoke German!

Prof. Smith shows how both of these instances of religious persecution were theoretically linked by how each group — Mormons and Witnesses — were perceived as a political threat to the existing state power structure.  We then discuss how his explanation played out in other historic instances of religious persecution (or lack thereof) including Catholics, Jews, and the Nation of Islam (a homegrown Muslim group).  Interestingly, while the Nation of Islam was facing persecution (around the time of the Witnesses), political authorities were encouraging Muslim immigration from overseas.  We also explore why Muslims over the past decade and a half (since September 11, 2001) have not seen the levels of persecution or harassment experienced by the Mormons and Witnesses.  David closes with some thoughts on how future persecutions might be contained.  Recorded: January 7, 2014.

RELATED LINKS

David Smith’s bio at the Department of Government & International Relations at the University of Sydney.

United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

RELATED PODCASTS

Patrick Mason on Anti-Mormonism and Mitt Romney.

Lynita Newswander on Mormons in America.

Jason Jewell on Locke and Religious Toleration.

Mark Koyama on Jewish Expulsions.

Anthony Gill on Religion and Religious Liberty (An EconTalk simul-podcast).

Anthony Gill on the Political Origins of Religious Liberty.

Michael McBride on Religious Free-Riding and Mormons.

Carmel Chiswick on the Economics of American Judaism.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 heralded what many thought would be a new era of liberty in a region of the world that has known little freedom for most of its history.  However, many of the new regimes that emerged from the Soviet rubble have slipped back into autocracy.  We review these political developments and what it has meant for religious freedom in the region with Prof. Ani Sarkissian, an assistant professor of political science at Michigan State University.  Our discussion begins with some reflections on the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the decade of optimism that it ushered in to the former Soviet world.  Prof. Sarkissian then discusses the “creeping authoritarianism” that has beset the region over the past decade or so, focusing on Russia as a classic example of what is occuring in other regions while also highlighting some of the differences in regime types that have emerged.  Ani mentions that while most scholars have spent time examining how elections and party systems have been manipulated by aspiring autocrats, looking at how groups in civil society — namely religious organizations — are treated is also a first indication of where the government is headed.  She reviews four different patterns of church-state relations that impact religious liberty: 1) states repressing all religions; 2) states repressing all but one faith tradition; 3) states repressing some religions but not others; and 4) states who appear to have wide-ranging religious freedom.  To explain why such variation has emerged, Ani focuses both on factors affecting the religious composition of society, the nature of the authoritarian regime, and the historical church-state relations that existed prior to the Soviet Union and that emerged during Soviet domination.  She reviews a typical country in each of these categories letting us know what is happening in countries such as Uzbekistan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Albania.  Tony notes that he recently met with a Kyrgy delegation interested in implementing religious freedom policies and that he was given a traditional Kyrgy hat that he has to this day.  (A picture of Tony wearing this hat with his favorite Western waistcoat can be viewed on our Facebook Fan Page.)  We finish with Ani’s thoughts about the future of the region and whether there is reason for optimism or pessimism.  Recorded: March 6, 2013.

RELATED LINKS

Ani Sarkissian’s home page at Michigan State University.

Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War, by Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way (mentioned during the podcast).

The Political Origins of Religious Liberty, by Anthony Gill (mentioned during the podcast with some prodding).

RELATED PODCASTS

Catherine Wanner on Religion in Russia.

Jonathan Fox on Religion & State around the World.

Karrie Koesel on Religion & Politics in China.

Thomas Farr on Religion, Religious Liberty, and Diplomacy.

Timothy Shah on the Case for Religious Liberty.

Monica Toft on Religion, Terrorism, and Civil War.

Daniel Philpott on Religious Resurgence & Democratization.

Kevin Cooney on Religion and Rule of Law in China.

Allen Hertzke on Religious Liberty.

Listeners are asked to contact the host to let him know you are listening and to share your comments and suggestions about the podcast.  tgill (at) uw (dot) edu

RELATED LINKS

Roger Finke’s website at Penn State University.

The Price of Freedom Denied: Religious Persecution and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century by Brian J. Grim and Roger Finke.

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) at Penn State University.  Try it out!

International Religious Freedom Reports (at the U.S. Department of State).

A World Survey of Religion and the State by Jonathan Fox.

The Political Origins of Religious Liberty by Anthony Gill.

RELATED PODCASTS

Catherine Wanner on Religion in Russia.

Karrie Koesel on Religion & Politics in China.