CAN religious believers and secularists find a consensus on what sort of human entitlements are fundamentally important and in need of protection? Given that in virtually all countries that aspire to be liberal, rights-based democracies, there are people of many religious beliefs and none, that is a pretty important question. And despite the best efforts of Voltaire and other enlightened libertarians, it is still unresolved.

Theos, a religion-minded British think-tank that says it tries to foster intelligent debate about faith and public life, has just waded into these deep waters with an extended essay by its research director, Nick Spencer, on "How to Think about Religious Freedom". Although the study is written from an emphatically Christian perspective, its tone varies; it is emollient (in the sense of seeking common ground with secularism) in some places and uncompromising in others.

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