The Importance Of Religious Freedom In The United States

Freedom of religion is a principle upon which America was founded; the reason the Pilgrims decided to leave England was to be able to practice their own beliefs instead of the beliefs of the English church. Other groups, such as the Puritans, did the same; rather than give up their own beliefs and be forced into the life that was being forced upon them, they decided to journey to the New World, where they would be able to live as they wanted to. This is in essence part of the American Dream; for one to escape the chains of their past living and live freely in America. These beliefs were eventually added as a part of the Bill of Rights, which was added to the Constitution in order to ensure that these rights would not be infringed upon by the government. However, recently this religious freedom has been under attack. The government has required people to comply with things that they morally believe is wrong; an infringement of this freedom. Religious freedom should be protected to continue upholding America’s founding rights and to protect the lifestyles of

religious people all throughout America.

During the Obama administration’s time in office, several laws were passed that infringed on the religious freedom rights provided by the first amendment.

The most prominent of these was the passing of ObamaCare, the Obama administration’s health care plan. This plan included a mandate to provide free contraception to women, regardless of religious affiliation. Catholics believe that the use of contraception is morally wrong; this is a direct infringement of the right to worship as you choose, the religious freedoms provided in the first amendment. Politicians against the laws spoke out and called for their dismissal, while a large number of Catholic organizations filed lawsuits, citing that not only did it violate the 1st Amendment, but it also violates the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which protects the free exercise of religion from discrimination by federal laws. (“Point:

Mandated...”)

Another major law that was passed that would affect religious freedom is the legalization of same-sex marriage. After same-sex marriage was legalized, people were forced to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples, regardless of their religious beliefs. This is yet again a breach of the first amendment; a person of faith should not have to acknowledge something that they object to on moral grounds. Opponents to the law argue that the Supreme Court had no right to amend with this law on the grounds that marriage is never mentioned in the Constitution; therefore, the rights to make laws on it should be passed to the states as stated in the 10th Amendment. (“Counterpoint: The Legalization...”)

Opponents of laws protecting religious freedom claim that the laws are simply being made for use as a cover so that people may freely discriminate LGBT people in public without legal consequence. However, one must consider the side of the religious people as well as the LGBT people. A point is made that “if being excluded from a bakery’s wedding service causes emotional harm to gay individuals... then so does asking a Catholic nun to violate her religious principles by being involved, however indirectly, in the distribution of contraception.”