A new kind of multiculturalism

“I continue to defend multiculturalism, but with this vital caveat: multiculturalism is a force for good, providing it does not involve tolerating values and practices that sustain prejudice, injustice and suffering. Everyone should have the freedom to pursue their own morality and lifestyle, so long as they do not harm others or diminish other people's freedom. With these qualifications, the right to be different should be respected and we should be able to think and do what we like. Christian fundamentalists ought, therefore, be free to practice their beliefs. If they believe homosexuality is wrong, they are entitled to hold that belief and to abstain from same-sex relations. Christian husbands and wives who believe in a Biblical-based, strict male-female gender division of labour in the home should be allowed to lead their domestic lives accordingly. But they have no right to insist that their homophobic, patriarchal interpretation of scripture should become the law of the land and be imposed on everyone else. In the public sphere, all citizens should be treated as equals, with a shared commitment and entitlement to human rights.”  Peter Tatchell, “Their Multiculturalism and Ours.”