DUBLIN, Ireland — Those fighting for religious liberty have enjoyed an “incredible string of success” in the courts — not only in the United States but also around the world, said Dean G. Marcus Cole of Notre Dame Law School.
But those successes, he added, come with a recognition that more than legal institutions are needed to make religious freedom a reality and to promote “the centrality of religious freedom to human flourishing.”
Speaking at the fifth annual Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit in Dublin, Ireland, Cole said this important battle must not only be won “in the courts of law, but also in the courts of public opinion.”
Scholars, faith leaders, policymakers and legal professionals of numerous faith traditions — including many Latter-day Saints — gathered June 22 through June 25 for the summit. In recent years, both President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency and Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have participated in the summit, with President Oaks offering the keynote address in 2022 in Rome, Italy.
During times of political discord and polarization, Cole said followers of Jesus Christ can look to his example.
Referencing Luke 19, Cole spoke of the Savior’s interaction with Zacchaeus, chief among the publicans. Wanting to see the Savior, but short in stature among the crowd, Zacchaeus climbed a tree.
When Jesus saw Zacchaeus, a sinner, he called to him by name. “Zacchaeus,” he said, “make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.”
Cole noted that as recorded in this Biblical passage, “Jesus does not insist that Zacchaeus conform to any standards, nor does he impose any particular set of preconditions on him.”
Instead, Jesus exhibits something all too rare among us: tolerance.
“Jesus not only knows Zacchaeus’ name, he knows that he’s a sinner. But he doesn’t insist that he stop being a sinner before he engages and embraces him.”
That doesn’t mean that Jesus accepts or condones or supports Zacchaeus’ sin, Cole continued. “He doesn’t. But … he doesn’t let Zacchaeus’ sin come between him and Zacchaeus.”
Cole encouraged all to look up and see their “neighbor in a tree,” and share the same loving embrace with him or her that Jesus extended toward Zacchaeus.
“As a follower of Jesus, I need to truly follow Jesus,” he said.
When Cole and his wife, Angie, were raising their sons, they prayed each morning with and for the boys — as well as for all the people the boys would encounter.
The Coles taught their sons that it is important to believe in miracles and pray for miracles. “But it is also just as important to realize that sometimes God wants us to be the miracle for someone else.”
As the boys left their home each day, their mother would tell them, “Be someone’s miracle today.”
On one occasion, Cole’s youngest son asked his father if he was permitted to take his Bible to school. “I assumed that he asked me this because he knows I’m a lawyer,” said Cole.
Without giving it additional thought or asking why, Cole assured his son that it was lawful for him to take his Bible to school.
A few weeks later, Cole learned that his son had shared Bible verses with a friend whose family was in crisis.
Cole never learned if the effort or the message helped his son’s friend.
But the lesson was powerful anyway “because I think this is what is missing in the fight for religious freedom,” he said. “My son was trying to help his friend in the only way he knew how. He was not trying to convert his friend; he was trying to comfort his friend. Whether he was conscious of it or not, my son was simply practicing his faith.”
He was moved to help his friend by offering hope. “He was trying to be someone’s miracle.”
Quoting 1 Corinthians 13, Cole shared the Apostle Paul’s teachings about charity: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails,” he read.
“If we are going to win the case of religious freedom for the benefit of all people, we cannot settle for winning that case in the court of law; we must also win in the court of public opinion and that courtroom is in each heart.”
Cole said his son’s faith was not merely a belief, “he put that belief into practice.”
There are many examples, he said, of religions putting faith to practice.
In the United States, the single largest provider of health care is the Catholic Church, with over 600 hospitals and 1,600 long-term health care facilities, he said. The Catholic Church is also the largest provider of education in the United States, with over 6,400 schools serving nearly 2 million children. “These numbers are multiplied by orders of magnitude all around the world, especially in the poorest communities around the world.”
And the Catholic Church is not alone, he said.
Each year, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spends more than $1 billion in 190 countries to help those in need. The church runs online degree and certificate programs, distributes vaccines, provides mental health and family counseling services, and leads food and water security projects all around the world.
Other faith traditions do the same.
There are over 1,000 registered Muslim charities that provide relief to the poor, he noted. The International Waqf Fund and Islamic Relief have provided clean water and sanitation, and access to education for children.
This work is an expression of love rooted in faith, said Cole.
“If nothing else, religious freedom allows us the freedom to show others that we love them,” he said.