Religious Freedom More Than Just America s Hobby Anymore

Religious Freedom: More Than Just America’s Hobby Anymore Religious freedom in the United States originated in the reason that many pilgrims arrived on North America’s shores. They were leaving so that they could practice their version of their religion unhindered by a government entity. This was later reaffirmed by the Constitution of the United States with the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. The laws of the land continued to be relooked at by the Supreme Court and religious freedom was one of the issues addressed. Decisions were made lessening religious freedom in the Employment Division v. Smith case and then increased with the passing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the Religious Land Use and†¦show more content†¦This stems less from the decision in Hobby Lobby and more from the controversy in sexual orientation and same-sex marriage (Horwitz, â€Å"The Hobby Lobby Moment†). When it comes to religious freedom Americans can set religious accommodation versus gay rights aside as on e of the issues soon to come up. Any curiosity about where the Court may stand on the issue can be found in the precedent of the Hobby Lobby decision. The arguments brought before the Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case represent two opinions on whether the Affordable Care Act had crossed this threshold, â€Å"Government shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability,† unless the burden is â€Å"in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest† and â€Å"is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest† (Quoted in Horwitz, â€Å"The Hobby Lobby Moment†). Author Garrett Epps sums the argument against as: â€Å"Employers pay for an insurance program. That insurance, not the pills themselves, is part of the package the