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Take a stand for liberty

To the editor:

On May 16, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned lower court rulings on the Zubick vs. Burwell case, which is an encouraging victory for the Little Sisters of the Poor. The Little Sisters are an order of nuns that operates more than two dozen homes for low-income elderly men and women. The HHS mandate resulting from the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) required the Little Sisters to provide insurance plans that covered “health” products including contraceptives and abortifacient drugs to employees. The Little Sisters is a Catholic group and refused to comply as it would violate the religious beliefs that respect all human life.

While this court victory for the Little Sisters is a bright spot, it is still a warning to all of us of the dangers of substituting freedom of worship for freedom of religion. Freedom of worship is the liberty to pray or even not pray to God how you want within the walls of your own home or church building. This is good, but is so limited compared to freedom of religion. Religious freedom means that you have the right not only to pray in your church, but that you can run a soup kitchen, care for the elderly, start a business, or simply have a conversation without being forced or pressured by the government to violate your conscience. A government’s defense of freedom of religion means that it recognizes the reality that religion, while personal, is never private. What you believe affects how you live and treat others, and one can only truly be free when they are free to obey their conscience in doing so.

Even though the Constitution specifically uses the word “religion” when limiting the powers of the federal government in the First Amendment, the present administration has placed a focus on defending “freedom of worship,” instead of “freedom of religion.” This is a dangerous direction, and we must move away from it. It is our responsibility to our communities, children and the good people like the Little Sisters of the Poor to make sure we do not allow freedom of religion to be hacked down to mere freedom of worship. America is a nation where we respect the natural, inherent right of men and women to obey their consciences. This includes how they live out their faith both within the church and out in the street, workplace, etc. This is one of the most beautiful and essential foundations of America’s ordered liberty. If we lose it, we lose who we are as a free people. Instead, let us defend the recognition of this right so that people like the Little Sisters can serve God and others freely and without fear of violating their conscience. Call or e-mail U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, or Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, to let them know that you care about religious freedom, and take a stand for the liberty of all Americans today.

Michael Schmiesing

Steubenville

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