Religious Liberty and Freedom of Conscience

Return to Ethics

Does religious liberty and the freedom of conscience allow individuals to refuse professional services to citizens whose lifestyles they disagree with as a matter of conscience?

This topic invites you to express an understanding of the rights of conscience and liberty in light of recent public controversies and court cases in which individuals have argued for a right of liberty that includes refusing to provide business services (such as catering or flowers) for gay weddings, conducting government business (such as issuing marriage licenses for gay couples).

Consider:

• news posts on recent cases
• related arguments in which doctors claim a right of conscience to refuse to perform some medical procedures.
• historical examples of businessses which have asserted a right to refuse service.

Some initial leads:

• ACLU site on this issue. [1]
• Last year's refusal by SC to hear a religious liberty case. [2]
• Bloomberg background article. [3]
• This article was published yesterday and states that Mississippi has passed a "religious freedom" law that allows businesses to deny basic services. Opposition to this bill is presented in this article, including a gay rights advocacy group calls this "the nation's worst piece of anti-LGBT legislation." This law enables discrimination in everyday life. The governor who signed this bill also comments on his decision. http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-mississippi-law-service-denial-gays-20160405-story.html -St. Luke