Essay( 1 page): Morals and the Public Square

By Lynn S. Nored

Feb. 26, 2024

Part One

Is there any place in the public square for a discussion of morals?  You might think the answer to that question is obvious! But in our present culture it is not.  What is the public square and what is allowed to be discussed or said in it?  What are morals and morality?  What is the Christian’s responsibility for morals in the public square? This essay, in several one-page installments, will attempt to answer these questions.  

The public square has two primary definitions: a)  an open public area in a city or town where people gather b) the sphere of public opinion.[i]  This definition includes normally “private” areas that are open to the public. This is readily apparent when we have laws for businesses “open to the public.”  “When we use the phrase public square today, we mean any place that a story can be shared, a newspaper, magazine, book, website, blog, song, broadcast station or channel, street corner, theatre, conference, government body, parliament, assembly to name but a few.”[ii]  These additional media can, and most do, have private ownership.  Being private, within certain limits they may restrict what is discussed or said.  However, since social media has become so prominent for discussion, some states are considering laws prohibiting certain restrictions on speech on these platforms[iii]

What are morals?  Morals or morality is usually described in one of two ways: “a.) descriptively to refer to certain codes of conduct put forward by a society or a group (such as a religion), or accepted by an individual for her own behavior, or b.) normatively to refer to a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational people.”[iv] Examples that distinguishes between these two definitions are Moslems , Christians, and other religions which have a particular definition of what is moral conduct.  A universal moral code applicable to all people is what is said to be “normative.”  Depending upon one’s definition of murder, “murder”  might be an example of a normative moral. Even this is disputed by some.

What can be discussed in the public square?  Public speech is protected by the First Amendment. It says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”   “The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. It prohibits any laws that establish a national religion, impede the free exercise of religion, abridge the freedom of speech, infringe upon the freedom of the press, interfere with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibit citizens from petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted into the Bill of Rights in 1791. The Supreme Court interprets the extent of the protection afforded to these rights. The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress. Furthermore, the Court has interpreted the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the rights in the First Amendment from interference by state governments. “[v]    Laws, then should not abridge freedom of expression for Christians. 

However, are Christians in fact restricted to what they can say?  Is it different for a local congregation? We shall see… next installation of the essay.

[i] Public square Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster

[ii] https://care.org.uk/news2022/04/what-is-the-public-squares

[iii] https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2022/05/09/424885/texas-argues-facebook-and-twitter-are-a-modern-day-public-square-in-defense-of-censorship-law/

[iv] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries.morality-definition

[v] Https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/first_amendment