Tag: religious freedom

November 29, 2013
image of classic birth control pill pack

The big news this past week was the US Supreme Court said it would hear two cases that challenge the contraceptive requirement in the Affordable Care Act. Two companies, operated by devout religious people, claim that having to provide health insurance to their employees that would pay for contraceptives violates their religious freedom under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The companies claim religious freedom by denying the religious freedom of their employees.

I was going to write a long essay pointing how wrong Hobby Lobby and the Mennonite owners of a wood cabinet company are but Jill Filipovic writing for The Guardian hits the nail on the head. Here is a sample but read the whole article as it gives a great summary of the issue:

November 8, 2013
Outline of State of Ohio with a Latin Cross on top

Since I’ve started working with the Secular Coalition for Ohio, I’ve been getting updates on proposed laws in the Ohio legislature that could be at odds with the separation of church and state. House Bills 303 and 304 were referred to committee in October and if passed by the Republican controlled state house, each would give students in public schools cover for religiously based bigotry not normally allowed.

House Bill 303 “Ohio Student Religious Liberties Act of 2013” is a way to give “religious freedom” cover to religious bigotry in public schools. That way Timmy and Susie Q Public can be anti-choice, anti-gay, and against any religion not Christianity in their school activities and the school can’t really do anything about it.

September 17, 2013
image of classic birth control pill pack

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled today in the case Autocam Corporation v. Kathleen Sebelius, that since for profit corporations can’t exercise religion like individuals, they can’t deny insurance coverage for contraceptives for their employees just because the owners are religious.

The owners of Autocam Corporation filed a lawsuit against the coming government mandate that insurance plans cover contraceptives. The company, located in Michigan, is owned and controlled by members of the Kennedy family, all of whom are practicing Roman Catholics.

September 3, 2013
photo of a Pledge of Allegiance poster in a school

On Wednesday, September 4th, oral arguments begin in the Massachusetts Supreme Court in the case of Doe v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District. The case is being brought on behalf of three Massachusetts public school students and their parents by the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center. The plaintiffs are members of the AHA. The suit seeks to stop the use of the Pledge of Allegiance that uses the phrase “Under God”, added in 1954, using the equal protection clause of the Massachusetts constitution.

March 14, 2013
created image showing Seperation of Church and State

Most of the posts on this blog talk about agents of the government NOT doing enough to support or ignoring the principle of the separation of church and state. Some religionists, in an effort to refute the principle, bring up examples of the overzealous application of the principle. Their intention is clear. They think that if the government goes too far in separation that it hurts the rights of believers but such overreaches are few and far between and don’t refute the principle that separation of church and state is needed.

You may have heard this or similar stories making the rounds on chain e-mails or posted to Facebook by religious friends:

December 31, 2012
clipart showing scales of justice to represent a court of law

Citizens United was a US Supreme Court decision in 2010 that said corporations had free speech rights like individuals. On Friday, 12/28, judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that corporations, citing Citizens United, could have religious freedom rights like an individual. If the ruling stands or in the future the US Supreme Court agrees, then a Pandora’s box will be opened where businesses could be allowed to discriminate based on religious beliefs.