Here’s my chat with Allen Hertzke of the University of Oklahoma about his new book Why Religious Freedom Matters: Human Rights and Human Flourishing. Hertzke opens:
Imagine a social force, a potent X factor, that underpins democracy, bolsters civil liberties, builds citizen loyalty, undermines religious fanaticism, reduces societal violence, improves women’s status, fosters economic development, spurs uplift for the poor, and nurtures international peace. And as I note in the book, it seems almost unbelievable that religious freedom is linked to all of these outcomes. But in fact, that’s what really sophisticated new global research is telling us, that religious freedom is a profound, powerful human right.
And, reflecting on integralists and self-identified Christian Nationalists who want to establish religion by law, Herzke concludes:
Christianity, to me, the essential message is uncompromising love versus coercion, universal dignity versus exclusion, forgiveness versus retribution. But what you see among the Christian Nationalists and others [are] drives for coercion, exclusion, and retribution, hardly a winsome picture of the Christian message. And so, for me, the greatest threat is to the faith itself.
Please enjoy the interview below on IRD’s YouTube channel!
Podcast audio is downloadable here on IRD’s SoundCloud account:
Comment by David on March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
You do not get religious freedom from religious groups as they feel they possess the truth and all others are benighted. It is secular forces which establish such freedoms such as that first formally established by a commercial company in the US in 1645.
Comment by Mike on March 6, 2026 at 11:40 am
David,
Where did you get such an idea? It was the Baptists, and other religious groups not affiliated with the state churches, that pushed for freedom of religion in this country.