With the rejection of the “Personhood Amendment” in Mississippi and the rejection of Measure 3 in North Dakota, we see proof that Americans have a profound respect for religious freedom as the founders intended it.
Religious freedom means that the government should not privilege the teachings of one religion over another or deny individual religious freedom. Individuals must have the right to accept or reject the principles of their own faith without legal restrictions.
Wichita’s “pro-life memorial” will also include 60 crosses “symbolizing 60 million abortions” and will be a part of the same memorial as the Jewish Wailing Wall. Radical anti-choice terrorists are increasingly co-opting Jewish symbolism to further their agenda despite the vociferous objections of Jewish leaders.
The university declares that making their insurance cover birth control violates their religious freedom.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, in a March 16th Milwaukee Journal Sentinel opinion column, correctly characterizes the contraceptive insurance coverage debate. He says: “This is first and foremost a matter of religious liberty for all.” But fact is that when it comes to religious freedom, he’s against it.
Last night I had a nightmare and awoke to a realization. The time has come for us to band together to chase the monsters from our nation’s bedrooms for once and for all.
The right of individuals to act on their religious beliefs should trump the right of institutions to enforce theirs on individuals. Introducing financial pressure on women to avoid contraception by refusing to cover birth control should be considered a form of religious discrimination.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has debased itself by turning into a lobbying group of the most aggressive and inappropriate sort.
Stanley Fish applies philosophy to the Provider Conscience Rule debate. He points out that Hobbes’s definition of “conscience” was almost exactly the opposite of the way we think of the word today. Hobbes looked to the word’s etymology—“to know in concert with one another”—to reason that the word could refer to public or common knowledge.
“Expelled,” the anti-Darwinist polemic, and the creationist movement behind it, share goals, tactics and leaders with anti-choicers. It’s a multi-pronged mission to insert fundamentalist religious principles into all areas of public life.
