Atheists & Agnostics
Related: About this forum8 Reasons Conservative Christians Are Concerned About Their Own Religious Freedom in the Obama Era
While conservative Christians have long fought for the religious freedom of religious minorities, they have become increasingly concerned about their own religious freedom in recent years. Here are 8 reasons that is happening.
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4. Reactions to RFRA
The notion that those with religious objections to SSM should not be given religious freedom can also be seen in last week's reactions to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
RFRA was strongly supported by both liberals and conservatives in the 1990's when it was first passed at the federal level in reaction to members of the Native American Church who were punished after they used peyote, an hallucinogenic drug, as part of a religious worship service. After realizing that RFRA also protects conservative Christians, not just religious minorities, liberals have begun opposing it.
Most of the media coverage last week about RFRA has failed to inform the public of why the law is important. Worse still, the media has misinformed about what the law actually does.
One of the arguments liberal news sites used in announcing its opposition was that certain conservative Christians supported the law. If conservative Christians are for it, it must be a bad law, appears to be the reasoning.
"While conservative Christians have long fought for the religious freedom of religious minorities"
And the cartoon, priceless!
Cartoonist
(7,531 posts)That's what they call homophobic bigotry. No one has yet pointed to a quote by Jesus supporting their position.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)I wonder how long it takes to come up with that kind of spin?
Warpy
(113,130 posts)"Republican leaders cannot be relied upon to defend the religious freedom of conservative Christians because, as last week's events show, they become wimps whenever the issue of homosexuality enters the mix."
Yeah, that must be why they keep passing and signing these shit bills and only backtracking when the majority of folks who have gay family members, friends and coworkers call them on their extreme bigotry and trying to limit basic civil rights because they find gay people "icky."
It's also why they backtrack when somebody reminds them about constitutional protections for all citizens. And boy, do they hate being reminded that this country has a constitution, not an official bible!
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)They're criticizing their politicians for not being homophobic enough?
FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)I don't subscribe to the theory that christians police themselves, their bigotry is almost always called out by secular and minority groups first.
nil desperandum
(654 posts)the Westboro Baptist Church people sure blame soldier's deaths on the acceptance of gay citizens as equals....
Their signs are quite horrendous and their hatred quite open....the image below was at a funeral for a service member killed in the Middle East...
If this is what religion brings to the table I think I'd rather starve thank you very much.
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)nil desperandum
(654 posts)the truth about Indiana's RFRA is that it wasn't even needed to discriminate against gays under the public accommodations laws as there is no provision of the Indiana public accommodation statute that identifies gays as a protected class.
People in Indiana were free to refuse service to gays last week, last year, and are still free to do so today.
Apparently this part of their religion escapes these people....
No other commandment greater than these...love your god and love your neighbor...I didn't see that part where there is a subheading for "unless your neighbor is gay then hate him and refuse him service"
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Some people claim that christians need god's laws to stop them from raping and murdering women and children.
I shudder to think what these people would do if they lost their faith.
Imo, any doctrine that can be used to promote hatred as well as love cancels itself out.
Haven't seen you around these here parts before, stranger.
Howdy!
nil desperandum
(654 posts)I've been lurking and reading for a long time, just don't post much...
I'm paraphrasing but: sometimes it's best to be thought the fool than to post online and remove all doubt...