Religious Liberty

Church, State, Gay, Straight

Okay, it’s time for one of my broken-record rants. In the wake of President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage, we’ve had a predictable–and increasingly tiresome–outpouring of criticisms to the effect that government recognition of such unions violates the “religious liberty” of those who oppose them. No, it doesn’t. Government recognition of civil same-sex marriages is [...]

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Religious War and Peace

Since today marks both Passover and Easter, it seems appropriate to consider the role of religion in American life–or at least, theories addressing that role. So in today’s New York Times, Ross Douthat bemoans the disappearance of what he calls “the religious center”–what many of us who are not Christians experienced as something rather less [...]

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Speaking of “Agendas”

A friend sent me a copy of this year’s American Family Action Pac political questionnaire. Rather than characterize it, I decided to let it speak for itself. (The odd numbering and format are original.) Indiana Family Action PAC  2012 Questionnaire for State Candidates Please circle the response that most accurately reflects your position on the [...]

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Defining “Religious Liberty”

Tomorrow, the South Bend City Council will consider amending its Human Rights Ordinance to include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation. HR Ordinances–while relatively toothless in Indiana–express a municipality’s intent to discourage some people from picking on other people based solely upon their religion, race, gender and other markers that are irrelevant to the [...]

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Rabbinic Wisdom

Rabbi Sandy Sasso has an important column in this morning’s Star. There has been a lot of heat–and considerably less light–generated by the requirement that health insurance companies make contraception available free of charge to employees of Catholic universities and hospitals. Much of that heat has been deliberately stoked–a politically cynical  ploy intended to rile up faithful [...]

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