Governments can be classified in four groups according to their respect of religious liberty. To achieve the highest level, Taiwan needs to solve the Tai Ji Men case.
by Hans Noot*
*A paper presented at the conference “Remembering Shimu’s Fight: Conscience and the Tai Ji Men Case,” Pasadena, California, April 5, 2024.
Today’s event is one that is happening constantly worldwide, and at the same time it is unique. Commemorating the passing of a loved one is typical in the lifespan of each human. But what is unique is that each such commemoration is always focused on a specific person. In this case, Madam Yu Mei-Jung. And each person is unique. Each person’s life experiences are unique, and the relationships we have with each individual is unique. And what is especially important to these events is that they, like the birth of a child, celebrate the intersection between physical life and life beyond mortality. When a child is born, we see the body, and we are in awe that it thinks, it learns, it moves, it makes sounds, all by itself. There is a spirit in it that causes life. As a matter of fact, spirit, or in Hebrew, “ruach,” or “nephesh,” or “neshama,” means breath of life—that which makes alive, which invigorates. And this breath of life is observed everywhere throughout nature. At the same time, when somebody dies, their spirits leave the physical realm, and the body becomes lifeless.
It is particularly the strength of spiritual movements, such as Tai Ji Men, as well as the myriad of religions to deal with the crossroads between the physical and the spiritual; between time and the timeless; between the realm of temporal and the eternities. Moreover, humans are uniquely equipped with the ability to see beyond the physical. We can imagine realities we cannot yet actually see. We can calculate numbers in our minds, travel distances with our memories and imagination, sense the feelings and thoughts of others, empathize with those who feel pain, and much more.
This unique ability to deal with the spiritual, needs to be cherished, not destroyed by technocracy, or suppressed by ridicule or totalitarian governments. And yet, this is what we increasingly see around the world. Consequently, it would be helpful if we can, somehow, describe the freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in a nation with the help of some sort of model.
The first level of some form of FoRB in a nation is when religious worship, or the decision not to worship, is enshrined in constitutional law. Overall, most nations have some form of protection to that extent. But clearly, a legal document does not, in reality, work well enough. Increasingly we see the numbers of victims in nations with so called protective legal status, go up and up.
What these nations could strife for is a second level of FoRB. In this state, the dominant sentiments against certain religions or new religious movements bow down to let them at least exist; or better yet, recognize them as legitimate. In most countries that are on this level, religions and religious organizations have to legally register, as they are seen as a potential threat to society. Registration is a form of exercising control over them.
One step higher on the ranking of freedom of religion or belief in a nation is step three, in which there is, what is called a free market of religions. Such states do not register religious organizations, and do allow freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom to change religions, and so on. Yet in this level, too, we observe that the ties between government and religion are not yet severed. Religions are politically involved, and state actors may use religions for their own political agenda.
That gets us to the fourth, or highest form of FoRB in our model. This is when the freedoms of the previous level are not just allowed, but equally protected by the state; in which the religions, too, do not mingle in government affairs and politics. It is complete separation of state and religion, and the law acts as the protector of both. It is sometimes referred to as SOROBAS (Separation of Religion or Belief and State). The power of definition in society works equally and independently between government, the judiciary, and religions.
Of course, this is just a model that may help us distinguish one level from another. But it may also help us understand the situation of Tai Ji Men in Taiwan. Clearly, Taiwan has a high form of freedom of religion or belief, perhaps best described by level three in our model.
And yet, would it not be great if, by some miracle, the government reigns in the National Tax Bureau and drops the illegal taxes against a spiritual movement, Tai Ji Men. Getting to level four in our model protects all religions and non-religions equally, socially, by law, and by enforcing the law. We are so close, and yet so far away.
