Showing posts with label Bethany Blankley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bethany Blankley. Show all posts

Friday, October 2, 2015

Religious Freedom Report 10.02.15 #religiousfreedom #christianlivesmatter

 A consistent theme amongst the people who oppose religious freedom is that they generally go after a person in his job or vocation. This is most notable if you are government employee, as was the case of Kim Davis and the numerous attacks by the "gay mafia" on the issue of religious conviction vs gay marriage.  The message seems to be this: You can have religious freedom, you just can't be employed at the same time. 


Bethany Blankley, Senior Editor for Constitution.com, writes:
 
The Bible is most often used when courts require oaths of office for U.S. Presidents and elected officials. The Judeo-Christian God is mentioned in all 50 state constitutions. The Supreme Court opens each session verbally declaring, “God save the United States of America.” The founders did not seek to create a theocracy understanding Biblical Christianity to be non-coercive. They understood that only through Biblical principles freedom and liberty exist (Gal. 5:1). As Dostoevsky and others from atheist countries assert, “if there is no God, everything is permitted.” 
The founders knew that in every human spirit lies an innate desire to be free. That spirit of freedom became the personification of American character. As Ronald Reagan said in 1952, “America is less of a place than an idea, and if it is an idea, and I believe that to be true, it is an idea that has been deep in the souls of Man.” As the soul informs the mind, heart, and body, it also informs every area of life in which people live—including politics The founders knew that in every human spirit lies an innate desire to be free. That spirit of freedom became the personification of American character. As Ronald Reagan said in 1952, “America is less of a place than an idea, and if it is an idea, and I believe that to be true, it is an idea that has been deep in the souls of Man.” As the soul informs the mind, heart, and body, it also informs every area of life in which people live—including politics


Mikey Weinstein continues his attacks on religious freedom and the military.  Chris D'Angelo Associate Editor, HuffPost Hawaii wrote:

A large sign was erected on a Hawaii military base in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with the message, "God bless the military, their families and the civilians who work with them."
Now, 14 years later, a nonprofit religious rights group is demanding it be removed, claiming it violates the Constitution.
In a Sept. 24 message to Col. Sean C. Killeen, commanding officer of Marine Corps Base Hawaii on Oahu, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation said the sign is a "brazen violation" of the Constitution's Establishment Clause and "sends the clear message that your installation gives preference to those who hold religious beliefs over those who do not, and those who prefer a monotheistic, intervening god over other deities or theologies."

Ron Crews, executive director of Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty issues the following statement:
 "Only someone with a great misunderstanding of the First Amendment or an axe to grind against religion would claim that such a slogan poses a threat or is in any way unconstitutional. The real threat is posed by those who want to whitewash any reference to God from public discourse -- even ones as innocuous and uplifting as this one."

 From the Alaska Dispatch News:
 Twenty-one states have enacted legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of one’s sexuality, and Alaska has been grappling with the same question since 2008 when similar legislation failed.
On Tuesday night, the Anchorage Assembly expanded anti­discrimination protections in the city.
A broad social question exists about how to balance equality with religious freedom. Should we allow individuals or businesses the right to refuse services to members of the LGBT community on the grounds of religious freedom?
A public debate on just that issue took place at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub in Anchorage Wednesday evening, co-sponsored by the UAA Seawolf Debate Team and Alaska Dispatch News.   Video of that debate is HERE

 Bill Piatt, professor at the St. Mary’s University School of Law and president of the Catholic Lawyers’ Guild of San Antonio, wrote in a recent Op/ed:

Our constitutional system recognizes the delicate balance between the First Amendment’s requirements that we neither establish a religion nor interfere with the free exercise of religion. We have long recognized, for example, the right of conscientious objectors to refrain from combat. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized a religious right to refrain from saying the Pledge of Allegiance or saluting the flag. Parents have been allowed a religious exemption from sending their children to public schools.
Similarly, employers may refrain from providing birth control to employees when they otherwise would be required to do so under the Affordable Care Act. Inmates have been allowed to exercise dietary and grooming choices in the name of religion. Employers have been required to accommodate the religious holidays of their employees.

These accommodations are sometimes controversial because of the conflicting values at issue. However, they represent a better approach than having the government attempt to force compliance in the face of a freedom of religion objection. Such coercion is counterproductive; it inflames resistance while, at the same time, it denies basic constitutional rights. Accommodating Kim Davis’ religious beliefs by allowing her to refrain from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, with her deputies acting in her stead, strikes a balance.
As other matters arise involving free exercise of religion issues, we should strive for accommodation, not compulsion.


 Adventist review:

More than 17,000 people rallied at a Seventh-day Adventist-organized event in Madagascar to pledge their support for religious liberty.
The daylong “Festival of Religious Freedom,” held in a sports arena in the capital, Antananarivo, was the first such event to be held in the Indian Ocean island nation.
The festival drew community and national leaders, including Interior and Decentralization Minister Olivier Mahafaly.
The event was jointly sponsored by the Adventist Church’s Southern Indian Ocean Union and the Adventist-affiliated International Religious Liberty Association, or IRLA.
Its purpose, said organizers, was to focus national attention on an often-overlooked yet fundamental human right and to express gratitude to the government for continuing to protect the ability of all Malagasy citizens to worship in peace and security.
“It’s a civil liberty that, too often, we take for granted,” said IRLA secretary-general Ganoune Diop.
“Yet recent reports show that more than two-thirds of the world’s population lives in countries where religious freedom restrictions are rated ‘high’ or ‘very high,’” Diop said. “If we cherish religious freedom, it’s good to express our gratitude, as well as call attention to the challenges others face in places where freedom is restricted by laws or by social hostility.