Religious Liberty Should Not Be Violated
There has been a recent draft of a religious freedom executive order from President Donald J. Trump’s administration that was leaked to the media and was quickly met with opposition from the left and liberal organizations.
“It reads like a wish list from some of the most radical anti-equality activists,” Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ equality organization in the United States, told ABC News.
Those who advocate for LGBTQ rights say that religious liberty laws are ‘anti-gay’ and allow for discrimination. “It would be a national license to discriminate, and it would endanger LGBTQ people and their families,” Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, another organization that advocates for LGBTQ rights, told ABC News.
I’m here to tell you that our Christian views and our right to religious liberty protections do not allow for anyone to discriminate.
The legal definition of marriage has changed and public policy is trying to change the definition of what it is to be male or female. But should the government or any liberal organization censor and penalize those who believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, or that you are born male and female?
The answer is no.
Just because someone disagrees with you, it should not justify you nor the government forcing that person to conform to your beliefs. Religious liberty allows us to live our lives based on our morals without the fear of persecution from those that disagree with our beliefs. But what the left and liberal organizations want is to force citizens to accept and celebrate their actions while penalizing anyone who doesn’t conform.
“Liberty consists of individual autonomy, which is the individual’s ability to express one’s viewpoints and perform in a manner without constraint,” says Kendall Campus student Matthew Guerra, 19, who identifies as an Agnostic.
The previous administration had no regard for religious liberty as it issued executive orders driving those of faith out of society and making their beliefs seem as if they were socially unacceptable and criminal.
Religious liberty allows for my voice to be heard without censorship. Religious liberty allows for tolerance and coexistence in a culturally diverse society.
This country was founded on the very notion that the freedom of speech, religion, and association were not to be infringed by the government.
“Religious liberty is synonymous with ownership of oneself,” Guerra said. “Since individuals are their own exclusive owners, they are capable of exercising their right to exclusive ownership by deciding what to believe in. As long as your beliefs do not violate anybody else’s right to life, liberty, and property, there should be no reason as to why a third party entity can claim ownership of your body, and through coercive means, demand you change your beliefs.”
Religious liberty not only protects my faith but it also protects the beliefs of all religious minorities in the United States, including those students who hold different beliefs than my own.
