The Invisible Hand of Faith

In 2026, three anniversaries coincide that together illuminate the enduring significance of religious liberty. Apart from marking two hundred and fifty years since the founding of the United States and a political order premised on liberty of conscience, free from government compulsion, it will also mark three hundred years since the Swedish Conventicle Act was introduced, and two hundred and fifty years since Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations. Together, they expose both the dangers of state-enforced orthodoxy and the conditions under which freedom—religious as well as economic—can endure.