Christofascist religious law and its republican enablers are systematically transforming religious freedom into a hideous unconstitutional weapon against Americans who disobey the extremist evangelical line.
When the founding fathers and. The drafters of the constitution created the religious clauses in the sacred first amendment. They did not intend to use them to replace the laws of the country or to use “freedom of religion” as a beating against the constitutional rights of other Americans. Republicans and their extremist evangelical base believe otherwise and are working together to undermine the constitution in their crusade to a Christofascist-ruled nation.
Last week, another Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, signed a law authorizing so-called co-religionists to challenge any government regulation they claim undermines their religious beliefs. The new Montana law “arms” the fanatical evangelical religion against the LGBTQ community, women and every inhabitant of Montana against whom the fundamentalist Christians take action.
The core of the legislation, Senate Bill 215, allows any so-called “religious person” to question the validity of a law if they claim that it violates their constitutionally protected religious freedom. And to make matters worse, the new law requires the government to provide a compelling reason why a law or regulation can replace that person’s religious freedom, to impose their will on another person and deny them their constitutional equality .
The director of equality and economic justice for the Montana Human Rights Network, Shawn Reagor, said the new law “effectively arms religion to attack others”. Reagor added:
“These [law] enables individuals to turn the shield of religious freedom we all love into a weapon to attack LGBTQ and indigenous Montans. It contradicts the values we live as a state, recent court rulings, and the ordinances of five cities and counties in Montana. “
A statement from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) said the new law is “the fourth anti-LGBTQ law and the second law to restore religious freedom (RFRA), which was sent to a governor’s desk at this session.”
HRC President Alphonso David went on to say that the new law will “have a significant impact on vulnerable communities in Montana – including those of faith, women and LGBTQ people. Let me be clear: religious freedom and equality are not mutually exclusive, and the Montaner will not stand by as Governor Gianforte, and fearful lawmakers are trying to actively discriminate against the LGBTQ population. “
It is noteworthy that the religion clauses of the First Amendment do not contain a term remotely similar to the words “freedom of religion” or “freedom of religion”. Of course there are the words “free exercise” of religion, but according to Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the religious clauses simply mean that the government cannot establish a religion or interfere with a person’s right to worship as they please without government intervention.
Jefferson wrote so much to Danbury Baptists, where he used the three words evangelicals and catholics more than any other in relation to the true intent of the religious clauses in the First Amendment – “Wall of Separation”.
These three words mean that no more government can establish or interfere with religion than any religion can interfere with the workings of the United States government or disregard the laws of the country. Evangelicals and their Republican mediators cannot understand this simple premise because indulging in that base means losing power to dominate other Americans who the “believers” dislike.
It is evident that the founders did not intend to use the religious clauses as a justification for disregarding any law or constitution, any more than they had included it in the first amendment to be used as a weapon. But that is exactly what the impact of the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRA), implemented in Republican-controlled states, does. It is especially egregious because they claim to “restore” a kind of religious freedom that never existed in America or in the law of the country, the United States Constitution.
These RFRA statutes or Christofascist laws are not only aimed exclusively at the LGBTQ community, which evangelicals claim to impair their ability to practice their religion freely. They affect anyone whose loyal claims violate their religious freedom. For example, a couple living together without being married, a single pregnant woman, a woman looking for birth control, a gay couple looking to buy or rent a house, or a gay person looking for emergency medical care. Under this new law on religious freedom, anyone can openly be denied support on the basis of religious freedom.
If a religious person disagrees with a state or federal law, he or she may question the validity of the law on religious grounds and the government must provide a compelling reason for the person’s religious freedom being impaired.
This recent abomination to religious freedom follows a Supreme Court ruling giving those entitled to religious freedom exemptions from any law or regulation issued by an official or organization.
None of these alleged “religious freedom” laws have anything to do with protecting an American citizen’s right to worship as he sees fit. It’s about creating a theocracy for the dominionist takeover of religious rights, removing the constitutional protections from people who refuse to succumb to a heinous group of religious rights wrongs, as well as from Republicans and religious conservatives at the Supreme Court and the Doing dirty work.
It is an atrocity that the founding fathers tried to prevent this type of Christofascist takeover from ever taking place. It is especially unfortunate that the majority of Americans have no taste for a religion that dominates their lives or disregards the country’s laws under a twisted interpretation of religious freedom – a term that is not included in the U.S. Constitution.
Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Posted a comment that supports the secular humanist cause and exposes the oppression of women, poor and minorities. An advocate of religious freedom and especially freedom without religion.
Born in the South, raised in the Midwest and California for a comprehensive overview of America. it does not look good
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen Buddhist.
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