12 April 2009
Editor, Washington Post
Dear Editor:
E.J. Dionne rightly applauds the healthy state of religion in America ("A Resilient Christianity," April 12). But I wonder if Mr. Dionne ever stops to reflect that America's thriving religions are strong evidence against his often-expressed belief in the necessity of regulation by government.
Americans' principled commitment to the First Amendment means that the market for religion in America is arguably the freest market on earth. In the U.S., no religion receives government funding; every religion in America is funded exclusively with voluntary contributions.
- No religion is protected by government from the competition of other religions.
- No religion receives special privileges from government.
- No licensing requirements exist to thwart the creation of new religions or churches.
- Similarly, no preacher, priest, rabbi, or other religious worker is licensed by government.
Entry into the religion market is utterly free. Government has no regulatory agencies to screen or validate religious doctrines before such doctrines are allowed to be marketed. There is no cabinet-level office devoted to religion. And no one is forced to attend religious services or to study religious doctrines.
If such freedom works so well for religion, why doubt that it would work equally well in other industries?
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
http://www.cafehayek.com/
http://marketcorrection.powerblogs.com/
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