Something I wonder about Indiana Law

[d_r]

I've been wondering this.

The Indiana Law gives businesses and individuals the ability to refuse service to someone because of the business' or individual's religious views.

The Federal Civil Rights Act guarantees all people the right to "full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin."

So, here's my question. What if someone follows a religion that allows for gay marriage? The Presbyterians do, the Episcopals do, the United Church of Christ does, other religions and denominations do. So, say that someone is a member of one of those denominations that does allows gay gay marriage, and someone refuses them service for a gay marriage (the wedding cake), isn't that business that refuses violating the religious beliefs of that customer (that allows for gay marriage) and violating the Civil Rights Act?

[el_bryanto]

1. The power of religious freedom is invested in the business not in the individual

You talk as if a member of these Churchs has religious liberties, but that's an antiquated view of liberty. True liberty is the liberty of corporations or businesses to act as they wish.

In this case, the rights of the individuals, as they conflict with the deeply held religious beliefs of the business, do not enter into it.

Bryant

[jberryhill]

2. Indeed that was the point of the federal RFRA

The federal RFRA was intended as a response to a passel of SCOTUS decisions in which individual claims of religious discrimination - in the individual practice of their religion - were perceived as not having been given enough weight.

The classic one was the federal prisoner who was a member of the Native American Church (or whatever) and who was denied the use of peyote in religious ritual, as indeed the adherents of that faith are otherwise permitted to do.

The point was not - as this recent spate of state laws are intended - to provide license to permit commercial enterprises to hinder the exercise of OTHER people's beliefs by denying them services provided to all on ordinary commercial terms.

The concept has been turned on its head.

[world wide wally]

3. Even members of the same religious organizations will differ in opinion, so how is this "right" being

institutionalized at all?

[MisterP]

4. bringing theology into religion? what are ya, some sorta mainstream church?

next you'll be telling me people go to church for reasons other than to get someone in office or buy 'em a new mansion!

(but also, thinking long-term, the 1910s' Fundamentalist movement was in fact very tightly tied to the KKK's revival, and thence to the Red Scare and even St Wilson's Creel Committee; even the Masons got in on the act, I just learned)