More courts are telling businesses: stop using religion to discriminate

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/25/more-courts-are-telling-businesses-stop-using-religion-to-discriminate

Louise Melling

Ever since Hobby Lobby, a slew of court rulings are telling companies that their religious rights have limits


When it comes to LGBT and women’s rights, companies want to have their cake and eat it. Photograph: Nigel Roddis/Getty Images

Wednesday 25 February 2015 11.00 GMT Last modified on Wednesday 25 February 2015 13.19 GMT

The US supreme court ruled last summer that the national retail chain Hobby Lobby has the right to impose the religious beliefs of its owners on the company’s employees by refusing to cover contraception, as required by federal law. The court’s ruling rested on the premise that complying with the law violated the business’ religious freedom.

Since then though, in other contexts, lower courts and commissions have been stepping up and ruling against companies that try to use the freedom of religion argument as a pretext for discrimination against LGBT people and women.

Religious freedom is integral to this country. It must - and will – be protected. But what is being increasingly recognized is that religious freedom gives us all a right to our beliefs. This right, though, like all our rights, has limits. Those limits come into play when acting on our beliefs harms others.

Religious liberty can’t be used by businesses to turn away lesbian and gay couples seeking to celebrate a relationship, or by religiously associated nonprofits who treat women employees like second-class citizens by denying contraceptive coverage. The promise of equality is not real or robust if it has exceptions.

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