When ‘Morality’ Becomes Law: A Global Legal Crisis
From Iran to the US, India to Poland, how legislating personal morality is threatening modern legal systems
In 2024, a woman in Iran was arrested for not wearing her hijab “properly.”
In the United States, books are banned in schools because they “confuse children.”
In India, a film is denied release because it may “hurt religious sentiments.”
In Poland, access to abortion is criminalised under “moral protection.”
In Uganda, LGBTQ+ identity is punishable by law.
Different continents. Different religions. Different governments.
But the same dangerous trend: law is being hijacked by morality.
Here’s the problem: morality is personal. Law is universal.
When law starts enforcing one group’s idea of right and wrong, it ceases to protect, and starts to control.
This isn’t about being pro- or anti-religion.
This is about asking:
Should judges act like priests?
Should legislators act like moral vigilantes?
And who decides what’s “moral” anyway?
Every time a court bans an artwork, a politician criminalizes identity, or a bureaucrat censors a textbook, in the name of “culture” or “values”, it’s not just censorship. It’s legalized moral coercion.
And make no mistake: this isn’t just happening in authoritarian states.
Even the world’s oldest democracies are witnessing a return to moral legislation dressed up as public interest.
We need to reclaim law as a neutral space, not a pulpit.
The future of global justice depends on separating sin from crime.
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