Religious Freedom Isn't Hateful

By Nadra Enzi —— Bio and Archives March 30, 2015

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The flap over Indiana's recently inked Religious Freedom Restoration Act raises a valuable question: is religion discriminatory?

Broadly, most Eastern and Western systems treat murderers, thieves, adulterers, etc., differently from believers who don't commit these sins. The Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, along with their spin offs, have doctrinal prohibitions against homosexuality. Western secular society has departed from this position but this departure isn't shared by most traditional Abrahamic faith adherents. Obviously, I'm not endorsing the targeted assassination of homosexuals by Islamists, who also call this genocidal policy traditional in nature. In the West, traditionalist Abrahamic faith adherents support scripturally defined marriage and question whether homosexuality is a legitimate civil rights category without sinking to lynching and mob violence. This all-important distinction makes politically motivated hysteria and boycott threats targeting Indiana ring hollow in skeptical ears- especially since 20 other states and the federal government with the same legislation, have been spared manufactured outcry. Recognizing religious freedom isn't an invitation to open season on homosexuals, unless open season means a preemptive strike on the authorizing official, Indiana's governor Mike Pence, who just happens to be a possible 2016 vice-presidential or presidential candidate. Regardless of current outcry, recognizing religious freedom isn't hateful.