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CJ Seese

Mrs. DeBock

English IV Honors

9 March, 2017

Why are Religious Freedom Laws Necessary?

Religious freedom is a serious topic of interest in the United States. Religious freedom is

granted to americans through the First amendment in the U.S. Constitution. It allows us to

choose any religion or no religion at all without being interrupted by the government. The

government later passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) on November 16, 1993.

The act was passed by the U.S. government to ensure that the interests in religious freedom are

protected. Some people believe these religious freedom laws are necessary in order to protect

their religious freedom. Others think the opposite and believe these religious freedom laws are

unnecessary and are discriminatory. People need to stop believing religious freedom laws are

discriminatory because the real purpose of the laws are for people to express the religion they

worship.

People believe religious freedom laws are necessary due to it being part of american

history. Freedom of religion is part of our U.S. Constitution and was part of our founding

father's daily lives. According to Chaput, At the heart of the american model of public life is an

essentially religious vision of man, government, and God. Religion became part of the public

american life because we were raised on it. The made people to live their lives differently and in

the long run live better lives. Chaput also makes the point of religious freedom being far more

than just freedom of worship. Religious freedom must be expressed in real faith through the

public eye, if not it just means nothing. The Founders themself put religion first in the public eye
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and put it on the top of their priority list throughout their public life (Chaput). However, back

then and even now religious liberty causes hostility. It is mainly due to the different beliefs that

coincide with public issues throughout different religions. For example, the Roman Catholic has

different moral convictions about abortion than the general public has. Our founding fathers

took a grand stand on this topic but our leaders here in the present do not stress about the topic as

much as it was stressed in the past (Chaput). In the end, the U.S. along with the american people

were founded on religious freedom.

On the other side, others believe that religious freedom does not strengthen america. This

is due to how politicians mainly use religion in order to give voters relief on issues in America.

(Chernus) An example Chernus uses is Mitt Romney and his Iowa speech on faith. She stated

that Romney used phrases such as, We believe that every single human being is a child of

god...liberty is a gift of God. Romney basically used this statement as a saving grace in order to

assure the public. Religion has no point being in politics except for it being used by candidates

in order for them to win votes. The last reason why religious freedom does not strengthen

america is because politicians advertise faith and religion as it being vital throughout the election

process. Chernus, states the it is not the issues politicians have to link religious faith to but they

must link it to certitude itself. Religious freedom will never strengthen america if politicians

keep using religion in politics the way they are using it now.

To other people religious freedom laws are unnecessary and discriminatory. People

believe that we are already protected due to religious freedom being in the U.S. Constitution.

These people believe the problem is the RFRA or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Their

reason for thinking this is because the RFRA would give certain religions special preferences.

The RFRA would give these special rights to religious believers and it would not be available to
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other Americans. (Institute for Humanist Studies) The Institute of Humanist Studies standpoint

on RFRA is that state governments should focus on educating the public more on protections for

and restrictions of the free exercise of religion that exist now. (Institute for Humanist Studies)

RFRA could also reverse certain supreme court cases that dealt with religious freedom. The case

examples shown in the article range from the year 1990 to 1992. The cases that could be

reversed include: Health Services Division v. Temple Baptist Church (1991), Lukaszewski v.

Nazareth Hospital (1991), Miller v. Drennon (1992), Montgomery v. County of Clinton (1990),

Munn v. Algee (1991), People v. DeJonge (1991), Ryan v. United States (1991), St.

Bartholomews Church v. City of New York and Landmarks Preservation Commission (1990),

and Welsh v. Boy Scouts of America (1990). (Institute for Humanist Studies) These cases could

be reversed due to the case that created the RFRA in the first place, Employment Division v.

Smith. The question in the case was: Can a state deny unemployment benefits to a worker fired

for using illegal drugs for religious purposes? In response to the supreme court ruling, which

was yes, the RFRA was passed in 1993.

The rest of the people in the United States believe that Religious freedom laws are

definitely necessary. The necessity of these religious freedom laws are because of the supreme

court case City of Boerne v. Flores. In this case the supreme court ruled the Religious Freedom

Restoration Act (RFRA) unconstitutional in 1997. (Klicka) This move by the supreme court

took away the highest level of protection of the people's religious liberty. In response to the

actions of the supreme court's decision the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)

made a campaign to get the federal RFRA enacted. This failed due to the RFRA being struck

down so the HSLDA are trying to get all 50 states to pass their own Religious Freedom Act.

(Klicka) Religious freedom allows free exercise of whatever religion we choose and it forbids
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the federal government to establish a national religion. According to Klicka, The American

Founders frequently stated that virtue and religion are essential to maintaining a free society

because they preserve the moral conditions of freedom. Religious freedom is also a model for

the whole world to admire. Religious freedom is a birthright to all people and the United States

Constitution protects this amazing american value. (Marshall) Americans constantly continue to

attach the values of religious freedom to their daily lives through marriage, family, and raising

children. (Klicka) Religious Freedom laws also have a great impact on protecting the people's

strongly held religious beliefs. These laws allow people to live their faith and without

government influence either, because the people have no freedom at all if they keep their beliefs

to themselves (Point: Religious Freedom Laws Protect Strongly Held Religious Beliefs And

Convictions). This also means that religious freedom laws allow discriminating against religious

americans from the government to be prevented. Religious freedom laws are necessary in order

for people to have their beliefs protected, so american values can prosper, and to provide extra

protection of the people's religious liberty.

In order for people to express the religion they worship, people need to stop believing

religious freedom laws are discriminatory and unnecessary. Religious freedom laws are

necessary because it is a part of american history. Religious liberty is granted to the people

through the 1st amendment in the U.S. Constitution and will always be there. Nevertheless,

others believe religious freedom laws does not strengthen america at all. These people believe

this because politicians use religion for one and one reason only is to gain voters and supporters.

Again however, to along with those people believe that religious freedom does not strengthen

america, other people in today's society believe religious freedom laws are unnecessary. This is

due to religious liberty already being in the U.S. Constitution and the RFRA would give special
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preferences to religious believers. Finally, the rest of society concludes religious freedom laws

are necessary. They allow people to live their faith, let their american values flourish, and give

their religious liberty an extra layer of protection.

Works Cited

Chaput, Charles J. "The United States Was Founded on Religious Liberty." Religious

Liberty, edited by Carol Ullmann and Lynn M. Zott, Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing

Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Accessed 19 Feb. 2017. Originally

published as "Our First Right: Religious Liberty," Crisis Magazine, 11 Apr. 2013.
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Chernus, Ira. "Religious Freedom Does Not Strengthen America." American Values,

edited by David M. Haugen, Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context, Accessed 19 Feb. 2017. Originally published as "Is Religion a

Threat to Democracy? Faith Talk on the Campaign Trail," www.TomDispatch.com, 13

Jan. 2008.

Institute for Humanist Studies. "Religious Freedom Laws Are Discriminatory and

Unnecessary." Atheism, edited by Beth Rosenthal, Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing

Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Accessed 21 Feb. 2017. Originally

published as "Why Does the IHS Oppose RFRA in New York State?", 2007.

Klicka, Christopher J. "Religious Freedom Laws Are Necessary." Atheism, edited by Beth

Rosenthal, Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, Accessed 21 Feb. 2017. Originally published as "Religious Freedom Is

Endangered: How We Can Fight Back," Practical Homeschooling, vol. 67, Nov.-Dec.

2005, p. 16.

Marshall, Jennifer A. "Religious Freedom Is Necessary for American Values to Flourish."

American Values, edited by David M. Haugen, et al., Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing

Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Accessed 21 Feb. 2017. Originally

published as "Why Does Religious Freedom Matter?" Heritage, 10 Dec. 2010.

"Point: Religious Freedom Laws Protect Strongly Held Religious Beliefs And

Convictions." Points Of View: Religious Freedom Laws (2016): 7. Points of View

Reference Center. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.

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