Alabama Attorney General
Reactions to the Supreme Court’s gay “marriage” decision have ranged from outrage to celebration, but on one thing we should all agree — no one should be forced to violate their religious beliefs because of it. Yet the opinion of five justices of the Supreme Court raises ominous questions about how religious freedom will be protected going forward. As the chief justice warned in his dissent, “People of faith can take no comfort in the treatment they receive from the majority today.”
Obviously churches that hold marriage ceremonies and pastors who conduct them may face pressure to conform to the Supreme Court’s new definition of marriage, but the threat is far more profound than that. The solicitor general of the United States has already indicated that faith-based organizations may lose their tax exempt status if they continue to oppose gay “marriage.” Such an action would force institutions like religious schools or faith-based adoption agencies to choose between their beliefs and the tax-exempt status necessary for them to continue their good work. Then there are the thousands of Americans who work in the marriage industry — doing everything from baking cakes to providing photography services to organizing floral arrangements — that may find themselves forced, upon threat of civil liability, to take part in a ceremony that runs counter to their most deeply held beliefs.
We cannot allow our first freedom to become second class in the eyes of the law. Instead we have to fight back. That fight starts by acknowledging that freedom of religion does not end at the church house door, nor does it apply only on Sundays. The First Amendment protects our right to exercise our religion, not hide it under a bushel. We have the right to proclaim our faith in every aspect of our lives. Yes from the pulpit, but also in any religious school, charity or business — without fear of government reprisal.
This is not a new fight and nothing in the government’s recent treatment of people of faith and religious institutions should assuage our concerns. My office joined with many others to support the owners of Hobby Lobby as they opposed government attempts to force them to pay for contraception, in violation of their deeply held religious beliefs. Despite losing that case, the Obama administration hasn’t backed down. The IRS even threatened to levy millions of dollars of fines against EWTN, a Catholic broadcasting network based in Irondale, for refusing to compromise their faith and comply with the contraception mandate. The State of Alabama joined a lawsuit filed by EWTN and we are working together to end the government’s attempt at religious coercion.
More battles lie ahead. It’s been said that the Supreme Court isn’t final because it’s right; it’s right because it’s final. In this case, I take issue with that bit of conventional wisdom. The Supreme Court was wrong to overturn centuries of religious doctrine, tradition and the will of the people of a majority of States. Just as importantly, the Court’s decision brought little finality. Instead last week’s opinion has opened the door to new questions about what exactly the federal government can force Americans to do, and how far our nation’s laws can go in compelling people to compromise their faith, whether in their churches, in their businesses, or in their everyday lives.
In its decision, the Supreme Court majority promised to respect the First Amendment rights of all people. But their promises offer little comfort and the Court has proven it is willing to upset our most deeply grounded traditions on the basis of little more than the changing winds of majority opinion. It is evident that we can no longer simply rely on the words of the Constitution. If we want to ensure religious freedoms are protected, we must be prepared to fight for them.
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