When "Religious Freedom" is Freedom to Discriminate

What is "religious freedom?" In the writings and speeches by people who are more politically conservative and part of the so-called "evangelical (political) right," part of the dying portion of American Christianity, religious freedom has become a new way of discriminating against LGBTQIA+ people. It gives those who clamor for so-called "religious freedom" the legal freedom to openly and blatantly discriminate against LGBTQIA+, because LGBTQIA+ people, by just our very existence, are considered an abomination in their so-called religion. These are the same people who promote, "love the sinner, hate the sin," as if one could be extracted from the other. 

And what religion are we talking about? It isn't Muslim, Jewish, Buddhism, or Hinduism, to name four of the big five major world religions. It is an American Christianity (largely conservative politics with a little bit of Jesus) that imitates not so much the radical politics of Jesus, but the politics of anger, hate, division, and bigotry.

"Religious Freedom" came up twice in the last few days in the media. Autumn Scardina wanted Jack Phillips--the Colorado cake baker who won a partial judgement from the Supreme Court of the US when he refused to make a cake for a same sex wedding--to make a cake in celebrating her transition as a male to female transgender person. It was to be blue on the outside and pink inside. He won't bake the cake because, "The message would be that he agrees that a gender transition is something to be celebrated." For more information, go to: https://religionnews.com/2021/03/23/colorado-baker-sued-again-over-alleged-lgbtq-bias/.

The second case is in Arkansas, in which the Governor, Asa Hutchinson, signed a law granting doctors and medical professionals the right to refuse medically necessary treatment to patients based on moral, ethical or religious grounds. Religion freedom, again, permits doctors the right to refuse medical care for LGBTQIA+ patients in the state of Arkansas if a medical professional is against LGBTQIA+ people based on moral, theological, or ethical grounds. What I'm not clear on is whether or not the Hippocratic oath matters in such cases. You know, "First, do no harm." In this case, medical professionals can harm LGBTQIA+ based on "religious freedom."  For more information on this story go to: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/arkansas-doctors-can-refuse-to-treat-lgbtq-patients-1147864/

Again, this right or freedom to discriminate against LGBTQIA+ based on a skewed understanding of Christianity, which mimics a dying church or social movement called "American Christianity," based upon the 1970s Moral Majority, is not of Jesus. Nor is it of God or the Holy Spirit. Or the church. Not even St. Paul would know what to call it. Let's just call it what it is. Religious freedom is a Trojan Horse that legally permits the ultra-right/conservative people in this nation to openly discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people.

Now, that I call "a sin."

So much for loving God and loving neighbor (Mark 12:30-31).  

And here's the great concern: while these so-called American Christianity "Christians" are aiming at LGBTQIA+ people now, today, it won't take them long to make similar claims of discrimination against people based on a person's race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, ability, gender, or class. 

It is time to call it what "Religious Freedom" what it is: Discrimination.