#religious freedom
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I literally do not care what the Bible says about any political issue. I am not Christian. Christian scripture should have zero effect on my life or my personal freedoms.
#abortion#abortion is a human right#abortion is healthcare#pro choice#pro choice activism#abortion rights#reproductive freedom#reproductive justice#religious freedom#politics#feminism#feminist#queer#queer politics#queer theory#lgbtq#mine
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October 3, 2022 - Protesting Iranian schoolgirls kick their pro-government school director out of their schoolgrounds. Students across Iran have been occupying their schools in protest after the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. [video]
#iran#students#student protest#women's rights#feminism#religious freedom#women#2022#jina mahsa amini#mahsa amini#middle finger#hijab#video
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Banning abortion is a violation of my First Amendment, it’s a violation of my religious freedom. I do not want Christian views imposed on me as a Jew.
#abortion#abortion is health care#first amendment#religious freedom#roe v wade#roe vs. wade#roe vs wade#new#Jewish#Judaism#jew things#twitter#twitter post#Rabbi Daniel Bogard
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The "religious liberty" angle for overturning the overturning of Dobbs
Frank Wilhoit’s definition of “conservativism” remains a classic:
There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.
https://crookedtimber.org/2018/03/21/liberals-against-progressives/#comment-729288
Conservativism is, in other words, the opposite of the rule of law, which is the idea that the law applies equally to all. Many of America’s most predictably weird moments live in the tension between the rule of law and the conservative’s demand to be protected — but not bound — by the law.
Think of the Republican women of Florida whose full-throated support for the perfomatively cruel and bigoted policies of Ron Desantis turned to howls of outrage when the governor signed a law “overhauling alimony” (for “overhauling,” read “eliminating”):
https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/this-is-a-death-sentence-for-me-florida-republican-women-say-they-will-switch-parties-after-desantis-approves-alimony-law-34563230
This is real leopards-eating-people’s-faces-party stuff, and it’s the only source of mirth in an otherwise grim situation.
But out of the culture-war bullshit backfires, none is so sweet and delicious as the religious liberty self-own. You see, under the rule of law, if some special consideration is owed to a group due to religious liberty, that means all religions. Of course, Wilhoit-drunk conservatives imagine that “religious liberty” is a synonym for Christian liberty, and that other groups will never demand the same carve outs.
Remember when Louisiana decided spend tax dollars to fund “religious” schools under a charter school program, only to discover — to their Islamaphobic horror — that this would allow Muslim schools to get public subsidies, too?
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/louisiana_n_1593995
(They could have tried the Quebec gambit, where hijabs and yarmulkes are classed as “religious” and therefore banned for public servants and publicly owned premises, while crosses are treated as “cultural” and therefore exempted — that’s some primo Wilhoitism right there)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-francois-legault-crucifix-religious-symbols-1.4858757
The Satanic Temple has perfected the art of hoisting religious liberty on its own petard. Are you a state lawmaker hoping to put a giant Ten Commandments on the statehouse lawn? Go ahead, have some religious liberty — just don’t be surprised when the Satanic Temple shows up to put a giant statue of Baphomet next to it:
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/17/639726472/satanic-temple-protests-ten-commandments-monument-with-goat-headed-statue
Wanna put a Christmas tree in the state capitol building? Sure, but there’s gonna be a Satanic winter festival display right next to it:
https://katv.com/news/offbeat/satanic-temple-display-installed-at-illinois-capitol-next-to-nativity-scene-menorah-decorations-snake-serpent-satanic-temple-springfield-christmas-tree
And now we come to Dobbs, and the cowardly, illegitimate Supreme Court’s cowardly, illegitimate overturning of Roe v Wade, a move that was immediately followed by “red” states implementing total, or near-total bans on abortion:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/15/paid-medical-disinformation/#crisis-pregnancy-centers
These same states are hotbeds of “religious liberty” nonsense. In about a dozen of these states, Jews, Christians, and Satanists are filing “religious liberty” challenges to the abortion ban. In Indiana, the Hoosier Jews For Choice have joined with other religious groups in a class action, to argue that the “religious freedom” law that Mike Pence signed as governor protects their right to an abortion:
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/21/legal-strategy-that-could-topple-abortion-bans-00102468
Their case builds on precedents from the covid lockdowns, like decisions that said that if secular exceptions to lockdown rules or vaccine mandates existed, then states had to also allow religious exemptions. That opens the door for religious exemptions to abortion bans — if there’s a secular rule that permits abortion in the instance of incest or rape, then faith-based exceptions must be permitted, too.
Some of the challenges to abortion rules seek to carve out religious exemptions, but others seek to overturn the abortion rules altogether, because the lawmakers who passed them explicitly justified them in the name of fusing Christian “values” with secular law, a First Amendment no-no.
As Rabbi James Bennett told Politico’s Alice Ollstein: “They’re entitled to their interpretation of when life begins, but they’re not entitled to have the exclusive one.”
In Florida, a group of Jewish, Buddhist, Episcopalian, Universalists and United Church clerics are challenging the “aiding and abetting” law because it restricts the things they can say from the pulpit — a classic religious liberty gambit.
Kentucky’s challenge comes from three Jewish women whose faith holds that life begins “with the first breath.” Lead plaintiff Lisa Sobel described how Kentucky’s law bars her from seeking IVF treatment, because she could face criminal charges for “discarding non-viable embryos” created during the process.
Then there’s the Satanic Temple, in court in Texas, Idaho and Indiana. The Satanists say that abortion is a religious ritual, and argue that the state can’t limit their access to it.
These challenges all rest on state religious liberty laws. What will happen when some or all of these reach the Supreme Court? It’s a risky gambit. This is the court that upheld Trump’s Muslim ban and the right of a Christian baker to refuse to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. It’s a court that loves Wilhoit’s “in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”
It’s a court that’s so Wilhoit-drunk, it’s willing to grant religious liberty to bigots who worry about imaginary same-sex couples:
https://newrepublic.com/article/173987/mysterious-case-fake-gay-marriage-website-real-straight-man-supreme-court
But in the meantime, the bigots and religious maniacs who want to preserve “religious liberty” while banning abortion are walking a fine line. The Becket Fund, which funded the Hobby Lobby case (establishing that religious maniacs can deny health care to their employees if their imaginary friends object), has filed a brief in one case arguing that the religious convictions of people arguing for a right to abortion aren’t really sincere in their beliefs:
https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20230118184008/Individual-Members-v.-Anonymous-Planitiff-Amicus-Brief.pdf
This is quite a line for Becket to have crossed — religious liberty trufans hate it when courts demand that people seeking religious exemptions prove that their beliefs are sincerely held.
Not only is Becket throwing its opposition to “sincerely held belief” tests under the bus, they’re doing so for nothing. Jewish religious texts clearly state that life begins at the first breath, and that the life of a pregnant person takes precedence over the life of the fetus in their uterus.
The kicker in Ollstein’s great article comes in the last paragraph, delivered by Columbia Law’s Elizabeth Reiner Platt, who runs the Law, Rights, and Religion Project:
The idea of reproductive rights as a religious liberty issue is absolutely not something that came from lawyers. It’s how faith communities themselves have been talking about their approach to reproductive rights for literally decades.
The Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop (I’m a grad, instructor and board member) is having its fundraiser auction to help defray tuition. I’ve donated a “Tuckerization” — the right to name a character in a future novel:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/clarion-sf-fantasy-writers-workshop-23-campaign/#/
If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/11/wilhoitism/#hoosier-jews
[Image ID: Moses parting the Red Sea. On the seabed is revealed a Planned Parenthood clinic.]
Image:
Nina Paley (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moses-Splits-Sea_by_Nina_Paley.jpg
CC0 1.0
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
—
Kristina D.C. Hoeppner (modified)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/4nitsirk/40406966752/
CC BY-SA 2.0:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
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This right here.
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Texas school district banning *both* Anne Frank and The Bible.
#Libraries#Anne Frank#ww2#books#teachers#religion#religious freedom#the diary of anne frank#democrats#republicans#politics#donald trump#education#The Bible#christianity#usa#maga
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...and, in encouraging news (a nice change of pace), the unanimous answer from the Court appears to be yes!!
#current events#news#us news#good news#supreme court#us supreme court#groff v dejoy#religious freedom#scotus#you know#there are not very many things for which I am grateful to evangelical christians#but I do believe this is one of them#jumblr#shabbat
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I hope all of the Republicans, always blowing smoke up everyone's ass about how it's their "right" to do something, understand that it's a violation of the first amendment to take away reproductive rights.
I am a wiccan, and my reed doesn't tell me I can't have an abortion. Our Supreme Court is filled with a bunch of fucking conservative Catholics (not all but a concerning amount) who are biased and influenced when reviewing the constitution and other such laws. We're going against what our country was built on.
#I don't consent to be governed#not like this#we the people#american politics#important lore#reproductive rights#religious freedom#religious tolerance#us politics#usa news#supreme court#roe v wade
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Quebec's education minister has formalized a promise to ban prayer rooms and other religious practices in the province's public schools.
Bernard Drainville issued a directive late Wednesday saying schools must ensure that none of their spaces are used "in fact and in appearance, for the purposes of religious practices such as open prayers or other similar practices."
"Schools are places or learning and not places of worship," Drainville wrote on his Twitter account, where he published a copy of his order.
No requests for accommodation will be heard, the government added.
Full article
Tagging: @politicsofcanada
To be clear, this isn't just to stop staff from imposing religion on students. This also prevents students and staff from praying and practicing religion as individuals- even privately- on school grounds.
#cdnpoli#canadian politics#canadian news#canadian#canada#québec#quebec#education#religion#public school#public schools#religious freedom#religious discrimination
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September 21, 2022 - A plain-clothes religious “morality” cop slaps a woman in the street in Iran, but quickly finds out he can’t get away with that anymore. [video]
#iran#solidarity#acab#police#feminism#direct action#team work#resistance#gif#2022#religious freedom#police brutality#jina mahsa amini#mahsa amini#plain clothes
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#Torah#mishnah#Talmud#Jew#Jewish#jewblr#jew things#Bible#faith#religion#roe vs wade#roe v wade#abortion#abortion is health care#reproductive rights#Rabbi Mara Nathan#religious freedom
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Thoughts on creationist?
I'm going to assume you mean "Creationism".
Now, this might make some of my colleagues in the anthropology sphere upset......but I literally don't care about the existence of Creationists. If someone believes that the Earth is only 6000 years old, or that evolution isn't real, etc, it's really none of my business what they believe. Every culture is entitled to their origin stories, and as long as they're not hurting anyone with their beliefs, it's not my place to try and suppress them.
I believe that the Earth is far old than 6000 years old and that evolution is real. I believe that the universe started from the collision of hydrogen atoms, and that it took millions and billions of years for the Earth to become what it is today. But I also believe that the entity that started everything, that put this process into action and continues to allow the universe to exist- is G-d. For me, learning about science makes me believe in G-d more.
But...there are those that don't believe in a G-d, or don't believe the universe is as old as science says it is. And that's okay. I'm not going to tell Creationists that they're wrong anymore than I'm not going to go to other cultures and say that their creation stories are wrong. As an anthropologist, I respect all cultures and I exist to study and empower them, not to put them down or try to change them.
Now, just like I don't mock Creationist beliefs, I don't believe Creationists should mock mine. I believe we should be able to coexist without science alienating Creationists and without Creationists demonizing science. Ultimately, Truth is relative, and we should be able to respect other people's Truths and expect for our Truths to be respected in return.
I don't seek to make everyone in the world believe in the same things I do, and I hope to live in a world where that is the norm, not the exception.
Judaism's rule against proselytizing for me extends to proselytizing about Western science. I don't do it.
#jumblr#i guess#religion#belief#science#anthropology#evolution#creationism#religion and science can coexist#religious freedom
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#us politics#political cartoons#art#drawings#repost#@lainey.molnar#freedom of religion#religious freedom#religions#organized religion
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A second judge has blocked Indiana’s abortion ban from being enforced following a lawsuit from a religious organization and five individuals who say the law violates their religious beliefs.
Marion County Superior Court Judge Heather Welch issued a preliminary injunction Friday against the state’s law banning abortion except in cases of rape or incest before the 10th week of pregnancy, to protect the life or physical health of the mother, or if the fetus has a lethal anomaly.
Indiana became the first state to pass a law banning abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. The law went into effect on Sept. 15, but another judge blocked it through an injunction a week later.
The Indiana Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on that Judge’s ruling next month to determine whether the law violates the state constitution.
In the more recent injunction, Welch found the Jewish group Hoosier Jews for Choice and five anonymous plaintiffs “substantially likely” to succeed on the merits of their arguments, according to the ruling, obtained by the Indianapolis-based NBC affiliate WTHR.
The plaintiffs argue that their exercise of religion has been substantially burdened by the abortion ban, in violation of Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. That law states that a government entity cannot substantially burden someone’s religious exercise unless the entity demonstrates that it is furthering a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive means of doing so.
Hoosier Jews for Choice is made up of members who believe that Jewish law states that life does not begin at conception, and a fetus is considered part of a woman’s body until the moment of birth. Three of the anonymous plaintiffs are Jewish, one is Muslim, and one does not belong to a religious denomination but has “personal religious and spiritual beliefs.”
Welch’s ruling states that a fetus attains the status of a living person only after birth under Jewish law. It further states that Judaism recognizes certain situations when abortion should be allowed.
Welch wrote that the procedure is required under Jewish law when the pregnancy might cause serious consequences to a woman’s physical or mental health, even if there is not a physical health risk likely to cause substantial and irreversible impairments of a major bodily function.
She states that Islamic schools have different beliefs on the issue, but some Muslim scholars state that a fetus does not possess a soul until 120 days after conception. She said Muslim scholars state that obtaining an abortion for any reason within 40 days of conception is proper and appropriate.
Welch found the plaintiffs could suffer irreparable harm if an injunction is not put in place. She said the ban substantially burdens their religious exercise and is not the least restrictive measure to achieve a governmental interest.
#us politics#news#the hill#2022#abortions#abortion bans#indiana#Judge Heather Welch#us supreme court#scotus#Hoosier Jews for Choice#WTHR#Religious Freedom Restoration Act#judaism#islam#religious freedom#reproductive health#reproductive rights#reproductive rights are human rights
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reminder that it is codified in jewish law that abortion is required if a pregnancy puts the mother’s life in danger.
where’s your plea for religious freedom now?
#jewish#judaism#abortion#abortion rights#roe vs wade#reproductive rights#roe v wade#religion#religious freedom#the torah#torah
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https://quranx.com/hadith/Bukhari/DarusSalam/Hadith-6922/
Narrated `Ikrima:
Some Zanadiqa (atheists) were brought to `Ali and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn `Abbas who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade it, saying, 'Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire).' I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), 'Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'"
https://quranx.com/Hadith/AbuDawud/DarusSalam/Hadith-2670
Narrated Samurah ibn Jundub:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Kill the old men who are polytheists, but spare their children.
https://quranx.com/4.89
They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper.
December is Ex-Muslim Awareness Month.
#islam#ex muslims#ex Muslim#Ex Muslim Awareness Month#apostasy#apostates#death threats#Ex Muslim Month#leaving religion#religious freedom#freedom from religion#freedom of religion#religion#criticism of islam#religion is a mental illness
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