I am not a constitutional lawyer or even educated on these matters, but it seems that the so called 'attack on religion' is not at all an attack on peoples' religious freedoms...it's only addressing the rights and privileges that religions have had...not the rights of an individual and their choice to practice it. The rights to worship how, when, and where you choose are being protected.

1. The Catholic church was crying foul because their health insurance would be required to cover birth control pills. This was not going to force any individual to live their religion differently...it simply would force the religion to pay more money for employees' benefits.

2. The whole gay marriage debate. Religions are saying that it is an attack on their religious beliefs. I think they are afraid that they will be forced to either perform gay marriage or be called a hate group and lose tax exempt status (which may happen in 100 years). Once again this is not an attack on anyone's religious freedom...simply it would deny special tax status to religions that discriminated against certain groups of people.

3. Prayers not being allowed at graduations is pissing off the people that say that it is their right to pray at graduation ceremonies. It is no more their right to offer a prayer to Heavenly father than it is a right for the local Wiccan or Satanist to offer a prayer to Satan or Mother Earth. Once again...this is not an attack on anyone's religious rights. It's simply making the playing field more level. No religion is being put as the top, number one religion above all other. In this case, people are upset because their religion is not be recognized as the #1 religion.

Any thoughts?

That's what the religionists forget. I am with you on all your points.

... respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

Put another way, the First Amendemnt says religion will be granted no special consideration or denied what others freely enjoy.

It would seem to level the playing field and yet we still have the ten commandments posted in our courtrooms.

Go figure.

Timothy



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2012 03:19PM by Timothy.

What those pushing the so called war on religion don't realize is that their fight to enshrine their beliefs into law, will allow the courts to purge the legal system of religious establishment.

Courts don't take up cases unless someone brings it to them and as the religious rights movement pushes for legislation, the courts will get the cases and rule against them. Thank Reason there are brave people out there who will fight.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2012 03:52PM by jacob.

It may be a chicken and egg kind of thing but the government restrains its liberty to ensure individual liberty. If there were no individual liberty than the government would not need the restraint of the establishment clause.

Oh wow... I have been having this same discussion non stop for a month now in a FB conversation.

It's funny, growing up a Mormon in Tennessee, pretty much every Mormon around me was all gung-ho separation of church and state, because we did not want to put up with Baptist prayers, and Baptist Preaching. This was of course until the middle of the 1990s, when the church threw our needs under the bus, in order to protect Utah TBMs wants. Of course, being good Mormons, we went along with it.

Why, because of the freedom of the First Amendment. Now that it is inconvenient for the LDS church and others like them they want to throw it out.