Pseudo-Voltaire and Religious Freedom

My long journey toward becoming a francophile started with a lie. In some quote book in our house growing up, there was a quote by Voltaire, "I may not agree with what you believe, but I will defend to the death your right to believe it." He didn't say that. That being said, I thought, and still think it's a good mantra to keep in the back of your mind.

It's good because it is a very basic template for respecting other people. It's also good because in France, not being Catholic could get you killed, or at least lose everything. Just ask the Huguenots in La Rochelle, how they would've liked a little bit of religious tolerance.

Religious tolerance was one of the noble reasons why Europeans started migrating en masse to the Americas. Pilgrims hopped around until they finally landed at Plymouth Rock. Freedom to choose an practice one's own religion was also the first rights given to in the Constitution, it's some pretty awesome stuff.

Speaking of awesome stuff, I like cake. Give me a slice of cake instead of a cupcake any day (or better yet, give me both, even more awesome). But the problem with cake is that gay people like it too, and surprisingly they like it at their weddings. Bakers who disagree with same-sex marriage have refused to accommodate these couples, lawsuits have followed, and the bakers lose. The question being, where does one person's rights start, and the other's end? I'm not a constitutional law scholar, nor do I play one on TV, but this is how I see it.

Once upon a time, there were places that Blacks could not go, or if they went, there were certain places they had to be, which was often sub-par in comparison to where Whites were. Blacks and Whites couldn't marry. Blacks, once they could vote, often had to pass impossible tests in order to register. Like the same-sex question, religion was one of the arguments for these practice, as it was for slavery. Eventually, we figured out that this was a bad idea, and what subsequently happened was that the privileged, and un-privileged were slowly brought to a level playing field.

I do believe that if you open your doors for business, you open them for everyone. Putting a sign on your door restricting access is the same as it was during Segregation. It is wrong and it is dehumanizing. I strongly believe that we are created equal, and that we are due the respect that being a Child of God should bring regardless of background. Again, the socially privileged are starting to have to give up that status so that others can be brought up to the same level as them.

In the end that loss of privilege, is what is hurting so bad. God is no respecter of persons, and government should be no respecter of religions in the same way.

This brings me to what has been bothering me over the past day or so. Several church leaders held a press conference in support of LGBT rights in cases like housing, the workplace, and public transit. Fantastic!! What a perfectly good stance to have! Then they started talking about freedom of religion. Possibly some clear protections should be put in place. I don't believe that clergy should be forced to perform a marriage they disagree with, nor should they be forced to rent out their chapels for the same. Religious organizations should be able to practice according to their own conscience, even if that involves discrimination. However, it didn't feel like this was what they were talking about.

The examples given seemed more about protecting private enterprise or individuals from having to treat others equally. If that is allowed, it's not a stretch to imagine gays not being able sit at certain tables in a restaurant. To avoid too much of a slippery slope, I do think that there should be protections from having to post messages that go against a business owner's beliefs. Make the gay wedding cake, but not have to write, "Gay sex is the best sex!" Or in another, actual case make a cake that says, "God hates gays." (Full disclosure, I read about this compromise here.)

As I wrap up, I do want to say that I support the church leadership, and I won't hesitate to raise my hand to confirm them. It just feels like this Church announcement was brought to us by Fox News. And like Fox News, the Voltaire quote above might be fake (zing!), so, I've decided to adjust it to better reflect how I feel about the rights of others: I may not yet know how everything fits together, but I will defend to the death your right to be who you are, and your right to be treated fairly.