The liberty principle for this
Freedom Friday concerns the need for us to know our religious rights, freedoms that
are protected by the laws of the land. Freedom of religion is under attack more
than it has been for many years, and many Americans are afraid to even speak of
religion in public settings. It is imperative that all Americans know and understand
our rights of religion in order for us to be prepared to defend them.
I shared some information last week
from an article posted by Maurine Proctor. Her article is titled “You Should Know the Answers to these 35 Questions about Religious Freedom.” She takes her
35 questions from a booklet compiled by the International Center for Law and
Religion Studies of the Brigham Young University Law School. She quotes their
goal as follows: “Our aim is to help everyone understand the scope of religious
freedom guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and to offer suggestions on how to
peacefully reconcile the rights of all.”
Last week I shared the answers to
several questions (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9) that seemed to go together. This week
I will select a few more of the questions and answers to discuss.
Question #2 concerns the public square and what this term
describes. The people and groups who wish to reduce the influence of religion
on our nation seek to restrict our freedom of worship to our homes rather than
being able to practice our beliefs in the public square.
The “public square” refers to all
settings outside private homes and houses of worship. These include public
parks and sidewalks, government buildings and meetings, public schools and
universities, private property that the owner opens to the general public and
many other similar settings. The public square may also include media – books,
newspapers, magazines, the Internet – and, in general, anything that is
accessible and open to the public.
One can readily see why the enemies
of religion would like to eliminate religious practices from the public square.
If this elimination were to be enforced, a great portion of religious influence
in our nation would be abolished also. Question #8 goes along with this
question because it asks if religion has to be a private matter.
No. The Constitution protects religious
liberty both in private and in the public square. The right to religious
freedom does not disappear when a person enters a public setting such as a school
or a government building, when he or she accepts government office or
employment, or when he or she operated a business open to the public. In fact,
the government is obliged to protect religious liberty in all these settings,
with only very limited exceptions.
We learn from the above two answers
that we do not have to restrict our religious practices to our homes and places
of worship, and we do not have to “check our religion” at the door of any
public place. This brings us to Question #10. It asks if people of faith or religious
groups can participate in politics.
Yes. Religious groups and individuals
have the right to take positions and influence public opinion on all public and
political matters. Religious leaders and organizations frequently do so.
Some types of political involvement,
while constitutional, may affect a religious organization’s ability to keep its
federal tax-exempt status.
Religious groups and people of faith
have the right to be involved in politics and to use their faith to influence
public opinion. However, religious organizations may lose their tax-exempt
status by participating in some types of political involvement. Because of the
subject, I jumped down to Question #16 that asks if tax exemptions for
religious organizations violate the Constitution.
No. Religious organizations are
tax-exempt under all state and federal tax codes, Ub fact, the Constitution may
require this, as the Supreme Court has suggested that taxing churches would
cause excessive involvement between church and state.
While some churches may abuse their
tax-exempt status, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is very
strict about maintaining it. There are guidelines about what activities can and
cannot be held in the buildings or as a “church activity.” If a group of women
want to hold an exercise or dance class in the building, it must be free of
charge. There are no paid pre-schools operating in the buildings, although
there are nurseries provided for certain meetings.
Question #11 is my last question in
this group. It asks if religious beliefs may influence public policy. I believe
that this means that a person of faith may use their understanding of principle
of faith to influence public policy.
Yes. All kinds of beliefs influence the
policy preferences of voters and legislators, including religious ones. The
simple fact that a policy coincides with a religious teaching or grows out of
religious values concerning right and wrong does not make it unconstitutional
so long as the policy itself has a secular purpose, does not advance or inhibit
religion, and avoids excessive government involvement with religion. For
example, just because many religious teachings oppose violence does not mean
that laws prohibiting assault are unconstitutional. To take a more
controversial example, some types of laws restricting abortion are
constitutional even though they coincide with certain religious beliefs,
because they have secular justifications, are neutral regarding religion, and
don’t unduly involve the government in religion.
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