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{"id":245,"date":"2015-01-09T08:46:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-09T08:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2015\/01\/religious-liberty-and-the-2016-presidential-election.html"},"modified":"2015-04-29T19:55:25","modified_gmt":"2015-04-30T00:55:25","slug":"religious-liberty-and-2016-presidential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2015\/01\/religious-liberty-and-2016-presidential.html","title":{"rendered":"Religious Liberty and the 2016 Presidential Election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In fact, the conservative Republicans\u2019 \u201creligious liberty\u201d is not liberty for all. Just for them. So if your faith takes you down different paths\u2014for example, if it requires (1) fair and equal treatment of all regardless of sexual orientation; or (2) sensible and responsible family planning in the best interests of the family and children; or (3) a loving home for all children, regardless of the sexual orientation of the couple; or (4) that the mother\u2019s life and health be preserved in the abortion context\u2014you are out of luck. Conservative Republicans will not be fighting for your rights under cover of their glorious mantle of \u201creligious liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Evidence in the States<\/b><\/p>\n

Where is the evidence for my thesis that \u201creligious liberty\u201d is being used to sanitize a drive to discriminate? Simply look at the fight for state RFRAs<\/a> across the United States last year and already this one, including Arizona (2014), Kansas (withdrawn), Michigan (no action in state senate), Indiana (pending), and Georgia (pending). They were sponsored by Republicans opposed to same-sex marriage, and many of them expanded the existing RFRA formula to include rights for private business owners to refuse business based on their faith. Who, in this era, is agitating to refuse to do business with anyone? Answer: Conservative Christian business owners who do not want to provide products or services for gay marriages, and, in many cases, who simply don\u2019t want to serve the LGBTQ community at any level.<\/p>\n

While the RFRA bills did not explicitly refer to same-sex marriage, it was obvious, in the political climate, what was really going on. Because the civil rights community has mobilized against these threats, the only one that passed was in Mississippi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read the rest here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"