The proliferating religious freedom fights these days are really just efforts by people and organizations of faith to impose their values on others. That was the basic message of a December 12 panel organized by the Center for American Progress, “Religious Liberty for Some or Religious Liberty for All?”

Panelists and the background issue paper argued that “religious liberty is not in conflict with marriage equality or with women’s reproductive rights” so that efforts to create religious exemptions have no legitimacy. Apparently employees and customers have a legal right to be treated as they desire, but no business owner should be able to operate her business in accord with her religious convictions, because “religious liberty . . . includes the freedom from having the theological doctrines of your boss or those of business owners in your community being forced [sic] on you.” Congress never intended the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to protect religious exercise by business owners or companies. Laws redefining marriage need not protect persons and organizations with a religiously grounded commitment to the historic definition of marriage, because legitimate religious freedom goes no further than assuring churches and clergy that they do not have to officiate at same-sex weddings, and this protection is already provided by the Constitution. And so on.

Religious freedom can, in fact, be deployed just to protect one’s own interests, and that’s a genuine problem. But this panel did not provide a deep or careful consideration of the real issues and challenges. Just another of the many seminars and conferences and panel discussions held constantly in Washington, DC. But note that John Podesta, the founder and promoter of the Center for American Progress, is headed to the White House as a special advisor to President Obama, tasked with giving the President more muscle to move his agenda forward despite the resistance of Congress. Are these the views on religious freedom that he’ll promote in the administration?

Further reading:

Andrew Harrod, “Liberty for All or License for Some: How the Left Views Religious Freedom,” Juicy Ecumenism, Dec. 21, 2013.

Joel Gehrke, “Liberals discuss the need to end ‘Christian privilege’ in the name of religious freedom,” Washington Examiner, Dec. 13, 2013.