Religious Freedom

I’m on a roll! 😄

Here’s an article suggesting an action that I think many of my readers will endorse. 

It’s Time To Fix An Important Religious Freedom Law

(As far as I can tell, the article is not behind a paywall.)

The writer is referencing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that was signed into law by President Clinton in 1993, and points out that …

The law was never meant to confer second-class status on anyone or allow religion to be used as a license to discriminate.

However, over time the law has gone far off course and been interpreted (and acted upon) in ways that many of the original backers would never have supported.

To counteract this, the Do No Harm bill is now pending in Congress and is intended to “preserve protections for religious freedom while making it clear that RFRA can’t be used to trump laws that protect us.”

Although I know many of my readers are atheists/non-believers, laws that address religious matters (unfortunately) do affect all of us. Perhaps someday in the far-off future, laws and matters pertaining to “religion” will be relics of the past. Regrettably, most of us won’t be around to enjoy their passing.

Christian Prayers in Public Places

I just came across yet another incident where Christians are upset because they aren’t being allowed to offer prayers at certain public events. This time it was at high school football games in Desoto County, MS.

Apparently pre-game prayer has been regularly offered over the loudspeakers before the games. The practice was recently discontinued because the school system “bowed to pressure” from a Wisconsin anti-religious group.

Of course, this angered and upset hundreds of the faithful and several parents have now put a movement in place to fight the action. They think Christians in the stands should be allowed to recite the “Lord’s Prayer” immediately after the Star Spangled Banner is played/sung. The spokesman for the group says Christians don’t want to “compromise their beliefs” and feels it is their “right” to be able to pray in public.

The question that continues to come to my mind whenever I read about these ‘protests’ is this: What about the Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, Jews, atheists, etc.? What about their beliefs (or non-beliefs) and rights? To many of them, praying to the “Christian God” is an offense.

I can’t help but wonder what Christians think they are accomplishing by wanting to make prayer a public activity. Do they actually think they are going to ‘convert’ non-believers just because they hear the “Lord’s Prayer” (or some other prayer) being recited?

Not only that, Jesus told his followers, “when you pray, enter into your closet.” Yet again and again, Christians blatantly ignore this directive.