Is the U.S. an Illiberal State?

In class the other day we read "Civil Disobedience" by Joseph Raz and he gives an interesting description of what he calls liberal and illiberal states. A liberal state is one where the government does not restrict political participation on the part of the citizens. An illiberal state does the opposite; it violates this right to political participation.
Now, you don't need to be a democracy to be a liberal state, as Raz explains. Therefore, even though the United States does have a democratic system, it is still illiberal. I believe that de facto inhibitors to voting such as Voter ID laws and Corporate spending on campaigns does in fact inhibit the right of political participation. Even though neither, in their description, restrict people from voting, they do just that. And, because the government is the entity which promulgates these laws, that would then make the U.S. an Illiberal State.

The Cristero War and Non-Violent Clericalism

     During the 1920s in Mexico, a vigorous anti-Catholic movement swept Mexican politics and alienated a large portion of the Mexican population. As a result, there was a mix of backlash against the government that included violent revolution and civil disobedience. The clergy specifically engaged in more civilly disobedient acts rather than violent. The reasons for this, which I argue in my paper, come from their duty as Catholic Christians.
      Jesus' directives in the New Testament to "turn the other cheek" and to carry someone's pack the extra mile reflect not actual pacifism  but rather an aspect of shame. The cultural context surrounding these statements explains that those actions attempt to publicly expose the error of the oppressor. Likewise, in the case of the Cristero priests, they were following in that main directive to expose the injustice of their oppressors rather than fight it head on.
      Furthermore, the encyclical written by Pope Pius XI, Iniquis Afflictisque calls for peace in the situation and condemned violence. This message from the Holy Father clearly implies that there should be opposition to the anti-clericalism of the Mexican government but not outright violence.
   
   Thought not a very lengthy analysis, this paper will show how based on their own religious traditions, the priests of Mexico in the 1920s should not, and did not, act with violence.