This train of thought does not stop anyone from pointing the finger at us, countering that we are unloving, are targeting others, and that our own people do not follow these rules, anyway. We are certainly losing badly on this level.Įven when we defend ourselves, we tend to use arguments that fail to convince, claiming that we are simply following rules that are imposed on us from above (from the bishop or the Vatican).
#FREEDOM OF RELIGION DRAWING HOW TO#
More than a legal fight, she recommends getting our house in order and learning how to more effectively communicate what we believe and why we believe it. Is that enough, however, to preserve religious freedom in the long term? Helen Alvaré’s recent reflection, Religious Freedom after the Sexual Revolution: A Catholic Guide (CUA Press, 2022), offers an astute and elegant primer on how to navigate our next steps. On the other hand, recent rulings, such as Hosanna-Tabor (2012) and Guadalupe (2020) put forward the doctrine of “church autonomy” and a “ministerial exemption” that would allow religious organizations to operate according to their beliefs, including in their hiring and firing, even when in conflict with the rights established in the name of privacy.īased on the latter rulings, Catholics may still have a chance of winning court cases. Casey (1992), as the “right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” Nonetheless, the Supreme Court seems to have enshrined the nation’s belief in the absolute supremacy of freedom, described in majority opinion of Planned Parenthood v. It follows a long line of Supreme Court decisions which created a right to contraception, abortion and homosexual marriage based on a “right to privacy,” which cannot be found explicitly in the Constitution. The Equality Act, which passed the House in both 20, although not the Senate, would extend the Civil Liberties Act to include the categories of sex and gender. We need a more compelling articulation of our message, embodied in a joyfully countercultural witness. Simply standing on the ground of freedom may entail a losing battle. As one freedom among many, it seems that our arguments for why we need to be able to express our own beliefs within our own communities are becoming harder for outsiders to understand. We certainly have a long fight ahead of us to preserve religious freedom. Not only do we still face fallout from the abuse crisis, we also now regularly hear accusations of “hate” for our stances on life and sexual morality. Catholics are not winning any popularity contests.
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