When Steven T. Collis enrolled at the University of Michigan Law School, he was unaware that a world-renowned scholar in religious liberty — Douglas Laycock — was teaching there. Collis took Laycock’s class because it appeared “interesting.”
The class unexpectedly ignited his passion for the field. Captivated by the nuances of religious liberty law, Collis often couldn’t wait to hustle home and share with his wife what he had learned.
“I didn’t even know religious liberty law was a field, and I just fell in love with every aspect of it,” he said. “I couldn’t get enough of it ... and I’ve been involved ever since.”
Collis, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is an author, clinical professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law and founding faculty director of the Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center and of its Law and Religion Clinic. As a scholar and a lawyer of religious freedom, he speaks with people of almost every religious belief, including atheists and agnostics.
Collis discussed religious freedom and why it matters as a recent guest on the Church News podcast.
“Religious freedom is critical to each of us in our own journeys,” he said. “I hope we can all appreciate it. I am certainly grateful that it was in play at that time when I was exploring and asking the hard questions about ‘Is there a God?’ and ‘Why are we here?’”
What is religious freedom?
Collis said religious freedom in the United States is the right to practice one’s religion without government interference. It also means protection against the government favoring one religion or religious belief over another.
“The idea is that as much as possible, government stays out of our religious choices and our religious decision-making, then we are left on our own to persuade one another, to convert one another,” Collis said. “It protects everyone who lives in this country, regardless of their beliefs or nonbeliefs.”
Why does religious freedom matter?
Collis offered two reasons for why religious freedom matters.
First, he said, upholding religious liberty contributes to the prevention of human suffering and warfare. The absence of religious freedom has historically led to religious warfare.
“When we have no religious liberty, what ends up happening is we have to fight over control of government based on kind of our religious beliefs, and that has led to warfare historically, all over the globe and even leading to warfare today. So we care about religious liberty because it leads to the peace that we enjoy,” he said.
“We live in the most religiously diverse country in the history of the world, and we live alongside one another in relative peace. That is a miracle that people don’t truly understand.”
The second reason? It means the protection of personal decision-making.
“These are the most important decisions any of us make in our lives — Why are we here? What happens when we die? Is there a God?" he said. “Those types of questions are so intimately personal that we don’t want someone else in government forcing them upon us, and we should all care about that, regardless of our beliefs or nonbeliefs.”
The Church’s perspective
Collis said the Church values religious freedom based on its scriptures, which advocate for the right of everyone to worship as they choose (see Article of Faith No. 11 and Doctrine and Covenants 134:7, 9).
Church leaders have also been active in promoting religious freedom worldwide, advocating for the rights of all faiths.
“As someone who regularly speaks at conferences all over the globe and who is regularly involved in educating people about religious freedom, the Church is always a willing participant in these things — helping educate people about religious freedom and standing up for the religious freedom — and not just for the Church’s interests, but for everyone. ... It’s great to behold and a great blessing to people of our faith, but also many people not of our faith."
Role of individuals
Collis said individuals can promote religious freedom by educating themselves, standing up for others’ beliefs and highlighting religion’s positive impacts. Since most threats occur locally, citizens can effect change by engaging in local governance and defending religious rights, he said.
Along with striving to understand religious freedom, Collis spoke of being a peacemaker, as taught by Church President Russell M. Nelson.
“Peacemakers tend to spend time trying to understand the motivations and viewpoints of those with whom they disagree, instead of just immediately assuming they must be a monster,” he said. “A good peacemaker will try to understand.”
