Limits of ‘Religious Liberty

[Lewis]

What Are the Limits of ‘Religious Liberty’?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/magazine/what-are-the-limits-of-religious-liberty.html?_r=0

 

[Mike S]

The the author of the Times article makes a common mistake in referring to the Jim Crow era as if it's applicable to today's same-sex marriage situation: "Refusing to serve customers has an ugly history. A half-century ago, the civil rights movement held lunch-counter sit-ins to protest Jim Crow. No one succeeded then in claiming a God-given right to refuse to serve black customers."

The is no true comparison between the two. Today when a Christian baker decides she doesn't want to make a cake for a same-sex wedding she's making an individual decision in an individual case within a free market environment. When discrimination against blacks occurred during the Jim Crow era it was a universal discrimination imposed by the force of law. In the case today, a free market provides a multitude of alternatives for a same sex couple, whereas, with Jim Crow discrimination the power of the state insured there were no alternatives possible.

The only way these are similar situations is that during Jim Crow the power of the state mandated discrimination against blacks, and today the power of the state mandates discrimination against people with religious convictions.

 

[Lewis]

Good post Mike