Election Thoughts 2018: Religious Education (Part 1)

This election is too important to ignore. So, I am writing a series of posts on topics to consider as you think about who to vote for in November. I am specifically staying away from Trump and social topics. This series is about serious issues and the congress members involved with them. That is the focus, congress. Topics include:

1. Religious Education
2. Capitalism
3. The Tax Bill (the part congress played in it)
4. Healthcare
5. SNAP
6. Government Assistance (Other)
7. Where Democrats Stand
8. GOTV and Nancy

I have been collecting these articles throughout the year. The part in green is a direct quote from the article in the link before or after it. I also very specifically stuck to reliable news sources. Actual fact based news sources like Politico, CBS News, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The LA Times and others.


Religious Education:

It's no secret that a lot of religious groups are against same sex marriage. It's also not a secret that in the past year colleges have started banning controversial speakers. So, religious groups fought back. They want to be able to discriminate. Congress listened.

Religious colleges would be able to bar openly same-sex relationships without fear of repercussions. Religious student groups could block people who do not share their faith from becoming members. Controversial speakers would have more leverage when they want to appear at colleges. 
 
A 590-page higher-education bill working its way through Congress is a wish list for a wide range of people, groups and colleges saying that their First Amendment rights — freedom of speech, religion or assembly — are being trampled. Many of them are religious, right-leaning or both, and the Republicans behind the bill have eagerly taken up the cause, correcting what they see as antipathy toward conservative beliefs on American campuses.

“Colleges and universities, both public and private, have long been considered environments that support robust debate and freedom, and Republican members of Congress share that belief and are sending a message to the higher education community that these important issues cannot be ignored,” Michael Woeste, a spokesman for Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the chairwoman of the House education committee, said in a statement.

The bill’s religious elements reflect the continuing national debate over whether the First Amendment covers actions that might otherwise be called discriminatory. That very question is before the Supreme Court in the case of a Colorado baker, Jack Phillips, who said that being forced to make a wedding cake for a gay couple would violate his religious freedom.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/us/first-amendment-education-bill.html

The bill passed the education committee on a party-line vote of 23 to 17 in December, giving it a good chance of passing the full House, though its prospects in the Senate, where it would need some Democratic converts, are unclear. Lobbyists for advocacy groups supporting and opposing the measures said it was possible some would be stricken or watered down to “statements of principle” with less legal force.

There is nothing wrong with having your own religious views. But, there is something wrong with imposing them on others. You might not like seeing a same sex couple on campus. But, they have every right to be as open as you. They SHOULD have that right. Your views aren’t theirs. Their religious views are just as protected as yours. If their religion is cool with them being a couple, then their freedom of religion is being acted out.

Republicans don’t want to hear this. They want to have everyone live by their standards. But, freedom of speech means I can say what I want peacefully whether you like it or not. Freedom of religion might mean wearing a hajib whether you like it or not. Freedom to assemble means we can protest things you support just as much as you can. There will never be an all-white country where everyone owns all the guns they want, there are no gay couples, and everyone is a Christian. We are much better off embracing the diversity of the country.