The Unfortunate Hobby Lobby Decision

The Unfortunate Hobby Lobby Decision

By: Ryan Taylor

Earlier today the Supreme Court ruled in a partisan 5-4 decision that any company could opt out of providing contraception coverage, which was previously required under the Affordable Care Act. This is yet another example of how high ranking government officials are allowing their own religious agendas to govern.

The founding fathers (many of who weren’t Christians, but rather Deists) founded a country based on religious freedom and the separation of church and state. Unfortunately Conservatives who hold high office still today ignore that fact, and they continue to interpret and pass laws that benefit people who share their religious beliefs. We see this all the time with issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Religion has no place in government, and should not affect the rulings and policies of government officials.

Back to the Hobby Lobby decision. The ruling made by the conservative heavy court granted companies the ability to opt out due to religious freedom of the company. That is simply scary. If a company (which the supreme has deemed are people….i.e. the citizen’s united decision) can opt out of a law because it’s in contrast to their political beliefs, then it open up the opportunity for anyone to claim that any law doesn’t apply to them because of their religious beliefs. Portions of the Old Testament and Quran call for physical violence towards children and spouses who are disobedient. So per say, if a man was to beat his wife he could opt out of the assault charged based on his religious beliefs and his right to religious freedom. That is just scary, and not at all what the founding fathers meant by religious freedom.

Religious freedom allows people to practice their own religion (or lack thereof) without the possibility of being persecuted by the government. If a law is passed that you disagree with because of your religion, you still have to follow it because the United State of America is not a religious state, and should not have to cater to comply with religion. Many Agnostics, Atheists, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, and others elect government officials, who appoint judges, to represent them. These people and their beliefs (or lack thereof) should not be held hostage by a Christian majority in Washington. The United States should return to the values of the founding fathers, and leave religion out of politics.