RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OR:YOU’RE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST ME BY TAKING AWAY MY RIGHT TO DISCRIMINATE!

By Brad Becker
 
There’s been a lot of talk lately about “religious freedom”, which its proponents describe as not forcing them to do something that is against their religious beliefs.
 
Sounds reasonable.  But it’s anything but.
 
So first let’s be clear what I am not talking about.  I am NOT talking about a person’s right to hold whatever belief they have, religious or otherwise.  If you want to think that being gay is an abomination that God will punish, well, that’s sad, but you have every right to hold that belief.  I am NOT talking about going to your place of worship and hearing and agreeing with your religion’s attitudes towards sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.
 
But here’s what I am talking about.  Someone taking those personal religious beliefs and using them to circumvent legally passed laws.  So let’s say you own an apartment building, or even a lot of them, and your religion says that gay people are the work of the devil.  You can believe that, but if there’s a law in your town that says you can’t discriminate against LGBTQ people in housing, you shouldn’t get a “get out of jail free card” and be exempt from those laws, and get to ban all gay people from all of your apartment buildings.
 
And here’s how this idea descends into societal chaos really easily.  Let’s say someone holds the opinion that Christians are the work of the devil, so he won’t rent any apartments to people of the Christian faith.  Should that person be allowed to do that, and will the same people who champion religious freedom laws allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people be championing the right of the person who wants to bar Christians too?
 
Or let’s say that my religion says that the color red is the work of the devil.  It’s Satan’s color.  So when I come to a red light, I’m not going to stop, because my religion says that it would be like stopping for Satan.  So I get to go through red lights.
 
Sounds absurd.  But who gets to decide which religious beliefs apply for exemption?  And which religions?  Is there an official list?  Who wrote it?
 
Society only functions when we all agree to abide by our laws.  Don’t like the law, try to change it.  But saying you have a religious belief doesn’t give you any more rights than someone who holds no religious beliefs.  Sorta what this country is founded on.
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The views expressed by blog writers do not necessarily reflect the views of the LGBT National Help Center.  We welcome submissions of opposite viewpoints, and submissions on topics relevant to the LGBTQ community.
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