A negative aspect of religious freedom

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The transition from: freedom of belief to the freedom
to control, discriminate against, and/or oppress others.

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The transition:

While monitoring the U.S. debate over federal hate crimes legislation in 2009, the continuing attempts to legalize same-sex marriage from the mid 1990'd to now on a state-by-state basis, attempts to end the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy by the U.S. military in 2010, etc. we noticed a radical shift in the definition of religious freedom.

• FROM the historical meaning of freedom of religious belief, practice, assembly and proselytizing as experienced by believers. Such attacks typically victimize faith groups or individuals, while the perpetrators have been governments or other larger faith groups.
  
  
• TO the freedom demanded by faith groups or believers to oppress or denigrate others, to discriminate against them, and/or to mount political campaigns to deny them equal rights. Typically, the victims are either women or members of sexual minorities while the perpetrators are individual believers, faith groups, or parachurch organizations.

Religious freedom once referred mostly to the believers to express ideas and to engage in their religious practices. Now it is becoming mostly about the freedom for individuals and religious groups to take actions that limit other people's rights and freedoms without incurring negative consequences themselves.

Some attempts are being made to legalize and protect religiously motivated discrimination by faith groups, faith-based agencies, individuals, and other groups. They are sometimes called "conscience clauses."

A few examples of religiously motivated discrimination and denigration:

• The first three examples below were featured in an anti-same sex marriage ad prepared by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) in 2009. Its ominous title is "A Gathering Storm." NOM is the main national group that opposes marriage equality. In the ad, NOM suggests that fundamentalist and other evangelical Christians are the real victims of the drive towards marriage equality. They see the GLBT community as posing a massive threat to Christians' religious rights.
  
  Three such rights are mentioned in the TV ad:
  
  
  • The religious rights of physicians, psychologists, and other therapists who refuse to help lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered persons and transsexuals (LGBT), even though the clinics at which they are employed have a policy of treating the general public.
    
    
  • The right of a church group to continue to discriminate against LGBTs's in the provision of services even after the group had entered into a financial contract with the state government that stipulated they had to provide services to the general population.
    
    
  • The religious right of parents in Massachusetts to require their local public school board to keep information secret from their students that same-sex couples could marry in the state.
  
  
• Pharmacists who refuse for personal religious reasons to dispense prescribed medication of which they don't approve. This almost always involves birth control pills or emergency contraception.
  
  
• Religiously motivated crisis pregnancy centers who don't want to reveal to clients the exact range of services they provide and that their sole reason for existing is to reduce the number of women who have abortions.
  
  
• More examples
  

Topics covered in this section:

• Recent examples of the original meaning of religious tolerance: attacks on believers by others
  
  
• What religious freedom and oppression once involved in the past, and what it is becoming
  
  
• The new meaning of religious freedom: attacks and discrimination by believers against others:
  
  • Additional examples. What is the basic question? How to eliminate the problem
    
    
  • More detailed descriptions, by year:
    
    • 2010
      
    • 2011
    • 2012
      
      
• Details of specific cases exercising the freedom to discriminate against others:
  
  
  • Concerns by the Catholic Church in the U.S. about restrictions on their liberty & their freedom to discriminate
    
    
    • One example: birth control coverage in medical plans. The Church's "Fortnight for Freedom" campaign
      
      
  • Religious freedom aspects of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington, DC
    
    
  • Discrimination against same-sex couples by faith-based adoption agencies in Illinois: Part 1  Part 2  Part 3
    
    
  • Conflict over Ipod "apps," mainly involving Exodus International, LGBT's and Apple
    
    
  • A marriage Commissioner in Canada refuses to marry same-sex couples
    
    
    • Resolution of this conflict
      
      
  • Patriarchal forms of polygyny in fundamentalist Mormon denominations: U.S. and Canada
    
    
  • Cases where Catholic teachings on abortion may cause, rather than prevent, needless death
    
    
  • American Civil Liberties Association (ACLU) articles & newsletter on using religion as an excuse for discrimination

Copyright © 2009 & 2011 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
Originally written: 2009-DEC-08
Latest update: 2011-DEC-11
Author: B.A. Robinson

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