Thesis Summary
Shahrur rejects coercion in religion and makes freedom of choice a foundational principle of it. In contrast, he confines the state’s function to worldly affairs, so that it does not interfere in belief or turn the call to faith into compulsion.
Related Verses
Foundational Atoms
- Freedom of choice is a principle of religion
- Coercion contradicts the word of God
- The state’s mission is confined to worldly affairs
Place of Support Within the Book
This meaning appears in the final section of the book, within the linkage between freedom of belief, the function of the state, and the limits of intervention in religion.
Limits of the Reading
This summary does not deny the existence of social regulation, but it separates regulation from coercion, and keeps creed outside the authority of the state.