The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is recasting its political agenda as a campaign for "religious liberty," which makes sense for some of its issues but not for others. In the first category: The bishops complain that New York's law recognizing gay marriages does not include a strong enough exemption for religious groups.
While the government should treat heterosexual and homosexual couples equally, it has no business imposing that requirement on private individuals and groups, whether their objections to gay marriage are religious or secular. Likewise, the bishops are right when they object to ObamaCare's requirement that insurers cover contraception, which means that Catholic organizations have to provide such coverage to their employees. But the bishops cannot reasonably claim that respect for religious liberty requires legal restrictions on abortion or upholding the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal recognition of gay marriage. Religious liberty does not entail a right to have your religious beliefs enshrined in law.
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Complete article at Reason : http://bit.ly/uka46z
