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Description
The decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., suggested to many that the scope of religious liberty was in a principled, logical way expanded to include free expression rights of corporate entities. It is concerning that many champion the decision as a basis for expanding religious exemptions to non-discrimination law as regards public accommodations, especially since the same reasoning that is being used with respect to the contemporary target of discrimination based in religious belief—American citizens who happen to be in a sexual minority—would apply by analogy, as it once did explicitly, to racial minorities. Unfortunately, given the rancor and the indefatigable ardor with which proponents insist on the rightfulness of their cause, we can lose sight of the trickiness that characterizes actual situations and the hurt experienced by individual persons who understand themselves to be uniquely positioned to be discriminated against when exercising their constitutional rights or engaged in ordinary activities in the public space, on the basis of someone else’s private religious beliefs. Looking back, I find the extension of exemptions on the basis of religious belief from neutral laws of general applicability inappropriate and to pose a threat to the equality of citizenship guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
ISBN
978-3-031-93783-5
Publication Date
2025
Publisher
Springer
City
Cham, Switzerland
Disciplines
American Politics | Fourteenth Amendment | Other Legal Studies | Religion Law
Recommended Citation
Babst, G.A. (2025). Religious Liberty, Public Accommodations, and Non-discrimination: A Rapidly Emerging Injustice. In: Babst, G.A., Lee, Wc. (eds) Contemporary Facets of Injustice. AMINTAPHIL: The Philosophical Foundations of Law and Justice, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-93783-5_8
Copyright
Springer
Included in
American Politics Commons, Fourteenth Amendment Commons, Other Legal Studies Commons, Religion Law Commons
Comments
In Gordon Albert Babst and Win-chiat Lee (Eds.), Contemporary Facets of Injustice. AMINTAPHIL: The Philosophical Foundations of Law and Justice, vol 13.