The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is often accused of using its powers of excommunication to deny free speech. This was especially true in 1993 when six persons lost their membership status for various publishing activities. All were adjudicated to be propagating false doctrine or seeking to publicly discredit the church. More recently, church members who have published books arguing that Joseph Smith was not a prophet or that the Book of Mormon is not historical have run afoul of church discipline. Such arguments, when they leave the domain of personal conversation and extend to public advocacy, are deemed apostasy and suitable grounds for termination of membership status.

In short, among the Mormons, one is not free to promote disbelief in the church and remain a member of the church. Again, obviously, this has a chilling effect on free speech, but who says speech within religious communities is necessarily or even properly free? Freedom of speech is highly valued in democracies because they depend upon the free flow of information and ideas. But most churches are not democracies. And, no church that depends upon the free flow of right ideas -- doctrine and theology -- values the free of wrong ideas.

Ultimately, in this country, churches are as free to kick people out, as people are free to leave the church. It is where persons are not free to leave and where religious bodies have access to the coercive powers and punishments of the state that “free speech” (and much more) is at stake. Until the Afghanis remove from religious institutions the power over life and property, lack of free speech will be among the least of their problems.