EQUALITY DOES NOT THREATEN FREEDOM OF RELIGION
We must continue our fight against discrimination and protect the civil rights of all Americans
Freedom of religion is a fundamental civil right for all Americans. Sadly, this freedom is often used to justify discrimination against historically marginalized groups, such as people of color, interracial couples, women, people of minority faiths, and LGBTQ people. To ensure equality and freedom for current and future generations, we must endorse legislation that provides federal civil rights to all Americans. Pro-equality bills such as the Equality Act will extend necessary protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in daily aspects of life, such as in the workplace and healthcare.
Freedoms for all Americans
Freedom of religion should acknowledge and protect the beliefs of all Americans, not just a select few. Religious pluralism, which asserts that religious belief systems can co-exist in society and should, in turn, be recognized and tolerated, best exemplifies freedom of religion. We should encourage our government to move away from a Christian-centric administration and revert to religious pluralism, which accurately reflects the diverse beliefs in our country.
Religious freedom should never be used to discriminate against marginalized communities. Such discrimination was apparent in the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case, which ruled in favor of a baker who refused to design a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple based on the owner's Christian beliefs. Instead, religious freedom should safeguard the right to practice religion in whichever way citizens see fit.
Likewise, all Americans deserve a non-discriminatory workplace. The Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County of 2020, for one, validated the significance of workplace protections, with even conservative judges Neil M. Gorsuch and John Roberts ruling against workplace LGBTQ discrimination in this momentous case. Evidently, there is a consensus that workplace discrimination should never be excused under the guise of religious freedom.
Nevertheless, workplace protections are being threatened by dubious legislatures. For example, the Supreme Court recently announced they would hear the Groff v. DeJoy case, which could allow religious conservatives to reject certain workplace rules. Naturally, the implications of such a case are distressing, considering it would give employers the power to impose their religious beliefs on employees of minority faiths and discriminate against historically marginalized groups. As conscientious citizens, it is our ethical duty to protect the right of all Americans in the workplace by supporting freedom for all.