What Business do Businesses Have with the Free Exercise of Religion?

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Lynn Failer
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
State Law ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Free Exercise ◽  
Private Citizens ◽  
Bed And Breakfast ◽  
Free Exercise Of Religion ◽  
The Right ◽  
Hobby Lobby

AbstractSince Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014), federal and state religious freedom restoration acts now extend the right to free exercise of religion to businesses. But what does it mean for businesses to have such a right? In this paper, I identify three implications of these new rights: they shift the burden for fulfilling the right to private citizens, and they conflict with businesses’ both commercial and democratic obligations. To illustrate how they become problematic, I draw on the case of In re Wathen (2015) where the owners of a bed and breakfast cited their business's religion as their reason for refusing to host a wedding reception for a same-sex couple, even though state law specifically prohibited commercial businesses from discriminating based on sexual orientation.

The First Amendment, Varieties of Neutrality, and Same-Sex Marriage

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-377
Author(s):  
Emily R. Gill
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
First Amendment ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Free Exercise ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Free Exercise Of Religion

AbstractThis article compares the difficulty in achieving a public stance of neutrality toward sexual orientation with the difficulty in achieving neutrality toward religious belief. Strict separation treats religion as a private commitment, with firm limits on government cooperation with religion and strong protection for free exercise. Formal neutrality discounts religion as a basis either for conferring special benefits or for withholding generally available benefits. Positive neutrality attends to the practical effects of public policy, sometimes requiring an abandonment of nonestablishment in favor of policies that allow for greater protection for free exercise of religion. I argue that none of these forms of neutrality establishes impartiality regarding either religious belief or same-sex marriage. First, Michael McConnell's “disestablishment” approach to sexual orientation and same-sex marriage instantiates are neither neutrality nor civic equality. Second, while formal neutrality may render an establishment more inclusive, it may exclude those whose beliefs and practices are not deemed in accordance with public purposes. Third, although positive neutrality may remove burdens from same-sex couples whose conscientious convictions may impel them to marry, it may still favor some kinds of practices over others.

scholarly journals Solemnisation of Same-sex Marriage and Religious Freedom

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rex Ahdar
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
The State ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Free Exercise ◽  
Legal Challenge ◽  
Western Nations ◽  
The Right

Same-sex marriage is legal or likely to be legalised in many Western nations. One important safeguard invariably incorporated in the legislation providing for same-sex marriage has been an exemption for religious ministers who object to solemnising such marriages. Another category of potential objectors consists of marriage registrars, commissioners or celebrants employed or appointed by the state. By contrast, an accommodation grounded in the right of religious freedom and conscience for these governmental celebrants has not been granted. This article examines the introduction of same-sex marriage in three jurisdictions – England and Wales, New Zealand and Canada. It analyses the precise ambit of the exemption for religious celebrants, considers the vulnerability of such exemptions to future legal challenge and questions the validity of denying free exercise accommodation to state-appointed celebrants.

scholarly journals The Right to Discriminate

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Sandberg
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Human Sexuality ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Broadcast Media ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Right

The first decade of the 21st century has witnessed a number of controversies surrounding the interaction between law and religion in the United Kingdom. In particular, tensions have emerged between laws protecting religious freedom and those which prohibit discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. In particular, Parliament has repeatedly examined the scope and ambit of exceptions afforded to religious groups which allow them to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation when specific conditions are met. And these exceptions have reportedly led to tensions within both the Blair and Brown cabinets and rebukes from the Vatican and the European Commission, criticising the exceptions for being too narrow and too broad respectively. The exceptions have also been challenged by way of judicial review, have been applied or commented upon in a number of high-profile cases and have attracted comment in the print and broadcast media. A number of employees have brought claims asserting that new legal requirements promoting equality on grounds of sexual orientation are incompatible with their religious beliefs. This article seeks to explore the legal changes that have occurred in the first decade of the 21st century affecting religion and sexual orientation with particular reference to how courts and tribunals have dealt with clashes between the two. It discusses the extent to which English law allows religious groups and individuals to follow their own beliefs regarding human sexuality.

Public Accommodations

2022 ◽  
pp. 13-33
Author(s):  
Karla L. Drenner
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Historical Approach

The chapter examines potential issues posed by the wide variety of state public accommodation statutes in the context of sexual orientation and religious freedom. The historical approach to antidiscrimination will briefly be examined. A review of recent cases of discrimination due to the legalization of same-sex marriage are analyzed in the context of the arguments regarding freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

The Right to Religious Freedom, with Particular Reference to Same-Sex Marriage

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-179
Author(s):  
Michael J. Perry
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Civil Marriage ◽  
The Right

In this essay, I elaborate and defend the internationally recognized human right to religious freedom. I then pursue the implications of the right for government’s exclusion of same-sex couples from of civil marriage.

Murray, J., concurring.

2020 ◽  
pp. 202-220
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Fourteenth Amendment ◽  
Equal Protection ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Equal Protection Clause ◽  
The Right

Today, a majority of the Court strikes down laws banning the performance and recognition of same-sex marriages on the ground that such laws constitute caste or class legislation in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In so doing, the Court reiterates that the right to marry is a fundamental right and denominates sexual orientation a quasi-suspect classification subject to heightened scrutiny....

scholarly journals Objeción de conciencia empresarial y “guerra de religión” en los Estados Unidos. Reflexiones a partir de Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

2018 ◽  
pp. 85-118
Author(s):  
Víctor Javier Vázquez Alonso
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Free Exercise ◽  
Free Exercise Clause ◽  
Hobby Lobby

En este trabajo se analiza el debate actual existente en la doctrina norteamericana sobre la objeción de conciencia empresarial. Para ello, después de resumir la evolución de la doctrina judicial de la Free Exercise Clause en relación a la objeción al cumplimiento de obligaciones legales, nos centraremos en la última jurisprudencia de la Corte Suprema, en el caso Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., donde, sobre la base de la Religious Freedom Restauration Act federal, la mayoría del Tribunal reconoce el derecho de las empresas a eximirse de costear, dentro del seguro de sus trabajadoras, aquellos tratamientos anticonceptivos contrarios a su ideario religioso. Después de llevar a cabo una lectura crítica de esta jurisprudencia, en este trabajo se intentará valorar cuál puede ser la influencia de Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. en el debate más general y actual sobre si el derecho a la libertad religiosa de los empresarios puede ser un título legítimo para discriminar en el ámbito de prestación de sus servicios dentro del mercado.

Public Accommodations

2019 ◽  
pp. 77-105
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Historical Approach

The chapter examines potential issues posed by the wide variety of state public accommodation statutes in the context of sexual orientation and religious freedom. The historical approach to antidiscrimination will briefly be examined. A review of recent cases of discrimination due to the legalization of same-sex marriage are analyzed in the context of the arguments regarding freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Religious Sincerity and the Reasons for Religious Freedom

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 866-877
Author(s):  
David Golemboski
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Religious Liberty ◽  
Free Exercise ◽  
Potential Component ◽  
Sufficient Degree ◽  
Free Exercise Of Religion ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Fundamental Values ◽  
Number Of Authors

Embedded in U.S. legal frameworks governing the free exercise of religion is a criterion that has received surprisingly little theoretical attention: sincerity. Only those professions of belief that are sincere warrant legal accommodation. Nearly all of the existing literature on sincerity focuses on judicial “tests,” or evidentiary frameworks, for judging sincerity. This paper, in contrast, interrogates the notion of sincerity itself, developing a conception of what properly constitutes a sincere profession of belief. That conception includes three elements: genuineness, nonopportunism, and intelligibility. I then consider a fourth potential component of sincerity, vigilance, which concerns a believer’s consistency in living in accordance with their belief. A number of authors have recently proposed judicial tests requiring some sufficient degree of vigilance, but I argue that a vigilance criterion is incompatible with the fundamental values and objectives that underwrite the commitment to religious liberty in liberal political orders.

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