Interfaith Alliance, an organization that advocates for “healthy boundaries” between religious and government entities, praised the ruling in a press release shared with Truthout.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for the Constitution and for true religious freedom — which requires ensuring that no one religious group is allowed to impose their viewpoint on all Americans,” said the group’s president and CEO Paul Brandeis Raushenbush. “Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is blatant religious coercion that should have absolutely no place in public schools.”
Faith, Freedom, and Reproductive Rights
At the heart of our democracy is the belief that individuals should be free to make decisions guided by their own conscience, values, and beliefs, especially when it comes to their health care. The growing efforts to restrict access to reproductive health care under the guise of religious or political authority is deeply concerning and recent legal challenges across the country threaten not only access to care but also the foundational principle that no single religious tradition should determine public policy for everyone.
Do No Harm: Resisting the Misuse of Religious Exemptions
When does the right to religious freedom become a justification for harm? This question is at the heart of the misuse of religious exemption laws. These laws – protections granted under the First Amendment and utilized for centuries by individuals of all faiths – have been exploited by Christian Nationalists to undermine other fundamental rights, including equality and non-discrimination.