Religious Liberty or I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means
With the US Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday, June 26th, 2015 that LGBTQ individuals share in the fundamental right to marriage in the United States, the Religious Right has gone all-in with their “this is an assault on our religious liberty” screed. And quite frankly, it’s completely bogus. It’s nothing more than an attempt to continue discriminating against fellow human beings based on the cherry-picked verses from the Christian Bible, and it disgusts me. It’s absolutely, completely, and totally intellectually dishonest and is a deliberate attempt to twist and distort the words of our Founding Fathers as written in the US Constitution.
First of all, let’s get the obvious out of the way: I’m an agnostic atheist. That means that I admit the possibility of a Supreme Being, but I quite frankly don’t believe in one (or any) because I don’t see any good evidence. I grew up Roman Catholic Christian but abandoned all religious beliefs in my early 30’s, but make no mistake – I have probably forgotten far more about the history and tenets of Christianity than most Christians learn in their entire lives. I can argue theology and the Bible just fine, thank you. And it’s BECAUSE I know the Bible and the history of Christianity that this whole “religious liberty” thing about LGBTQ marriage just irritates the heck out of me.
The Bible and Jesus are NOT in the Constitution
Plain and simple, neither are them are mentioned even 1 single time in the most important founding document of the United States of America. If our Founding Fathers had really intended Christianity to be the guiding force for our country, give how smart those guys were, I am pretty sure they’d have put something in there. But nope. So PLEASE stop with the utter nonsense that our country was “founded as a Christian nation.” No. No it wasn’t.
That Whole “Separation of Church and State” Thing
So not only are the Bible and Jesus not mentioned in the Constitution, we actually have the “separation of church and state” very SPECIFICALLY INCLUDED in the Constitution. You know, the part that doesn’t allow either the Federal or State governments to either explicitly or implicitly promote any religion? Yup, that means that neither our State nor Federal Governments can specifically uphold “Christian values or beliefs” any more than it can Muslim, Satanic, Wiccan, Buddhist, or any other religious beliefs. Which means that the whole idea of “God defined marriage as one man and one woman” is utterly irrelevant when it comes to the Constitution and the laws of our country. It doesn’t matter what your religious beliefs are – they aren’t in the Constitution, and that’s the only document that matters.
Priests will NOT Be Sent to Jail
SMDH – no, priests and ministers can not be prosecuted for refusing to marry gay couples. The SCOTUS decision does not suddenly mean that religious freedom is gone. In fact, that would be impossible; again, you know that whole “freedom of religion” thing? Well, the government can not actually regulate religious bodies, so they can not force religious ministers to marry anyone they don’t want to marry.
What this DOES mean is that, if a state or federal government is in the business of issuing marriage licenses, they can not discriminate – they must issue marriage licenses to EVERYONE, regardless of sexual preference, orientation, or whatever. And if the state or federal government is in the business of providing any benefits to any married couple, they can not discriminate. All benefits must be provided equally to ALL married couples – PERIOD.
If Your Religious Beliefs are in Conflict with Doing Your Job as a State or Federal Employee – Go Work Somewhere Else
Let me put it this way: at my office, we have a Policy Manual for our employees. Those employees do NOT get a say in what’s in it. When they get hired, they know that their job description is in that manual, and they don’t have a choice in that job description. They knowingly accept that job description in order to take the job. If they don’t adhere to it, they can either quit or be fired. Period. My business, my rules (as long as they’re in compliance with state and federal laws, of course). I don’t care what my employees believe – when they’re working for me, they do the job that they are supposed to do.
Same thing if you work for the government. When you accept the job, you accept the job description. If you don’t like it – LEAVE. Your religious beliefs have absolutely ZERO relevance. You are not allowed to change the job description because you don’t like it. You are not allowed to disobey the law of the land because you don’t like it, your religious beliefs be damned. If you don’t like the job requirements, too damn bad. Do your job or go home.
So no…your “religious liberty” is not at risk. Stop arguing a lie. Stop distorting and warping and misusing the Constitution.
#religiousliberty #lovewins #itsjustmarriage #scotus