(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . A funny thing happened on our way to theocracy: Courts called upon to judge religion, abortion – Daily Montanan [1] ['More From Author', 'October', 'Darrell Ehrlick'] Date: 2022-10-20 A funny thing recently happened on our way to a theocracy: Religion, it appears, is fighting back. Several states that have taken the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on abortion and responded with something akin to, “Hold my beer,” are being stopped by (wait for it) … other religious groups. The religious call to end abortion may be stymied by religion itself. And that may be the clearest, best reminder that for all the goofy pictures of George Washington praying or Ronald Reagan riding a bald eagle, we are – and hopefully will remain – a profoundly secular republic. The roots of this battle are sunk a little deeper than the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health. Think back to the good old days, around 2015, when many state legislatures, reeling from the what they perceived as godless attacks from liberals like President Barack Obama, sensed that Democrats were going to retain power with Hillary Clinton. In an effort to score points with conservative evangelicals who would see themselves as martyrs rather than bullies, they convinced lawmakers, including those in Montana, to pass redundant laws to emphasize the protection of deeply held personal religious convictions. Nevermind that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and virtually all of the state constitutions also pledge religious freedoms. Many of these state laws codified that an individual’s religious conviction couldn’t be regulated without a compelling state interest. Many of the laws also required no proof of those beliefs, for example, a church membership or even a doctrinal explanation. Your word, when it comes to religion, is good enough for state lawmakers. You may also recall that those religious freedom acts were employed on a large scale when COVID-19 hit and some politicians and religious groups fought against the vaccine in the name of deeply held (but often never publicly expressed) religious convictions. Remember, not even the government’s most compelling reason to get vaccinated – in order to save lives – was enough to overcome many conservative religious leaders’ concerns about requiring vaccination. That was especially true in Montana, where not just COVID vaccines were off the table, but even vaccines for measles, mumps and diphtheria. In other words, states and the feds couldn’t stop members from an early rendezvous with Jesus. Yet, ironically, religious groups including those of the Jewish, Muslim and yes, even the Satanic faiths, have filed suit from Indiana to Idaho claiming those state abortion bans violate their religious faith, and invoking the same laws that were designed to protect conservative Christians from a variety of societal ills, including history, sex ed and vaccinations. A close reading of these various court filings show these aren’t trifling lawsuits. In many, religious scholars discuss their own faith traditions’ views, which include an Islamic view that souls are not “enrobed” in the womb until later in the pregnancy. Some Jewish traditions hold that life begins at the moment of birth, not conception. And the Satanists believe that their own conscience and bodily autonomy is inviolable, and therefore an abortion ban is an extreme interference with their religious beliefs. Not bad arguments. In this very real example, we will test the true genius of the First Amendment, and really, our entire system. As much as we want to recast and revision our leaders as divinely inspired, led-by-God Christians, those same leaders who had deep, passionate and sometimes religious beliefs understood the danger and temptation that we are facing today. Right now, the states, and maybe even the Supreme Court, will have to navigate these tricky waters. In this fight, the government is drawing perilously close to having to decide which religious beliefs get the blessing of the state – is it the conservative Christian belief that life begins at the moment the sperm meets the egg, or is it the Jewish belief that life begins at the moment of birth? How state and federal courts will wriggle out of this self-inflicted mess is going to take some skillful maneuvering. Having studied theology and being a member of a Christian denomination, I don’t want nor do I believe the government is qualified to interpret religious texts or weigh the sincerity of my beliefs. The problem seems to be one of constitutional creep – the government, usually through conservative state legislatures, has engaged in an exercise to codify rather than protect religious freedom. But in order to do that, it requires borrowing the lexicon of religion, including nebulous things like faith, belief and conviction. Meanwhile, the secular government and the courts should be concerned with facts and proof, things often lacking in religious traditions. The fact and the proof is that a procedure like abortion remains medically safe and effective when performed by trained medical staff. This seems to be a case where we have gotten into this mess because politicians have mistaken themselves for theologians, and judges have become confessors, judging the religious convictions of whomever walks through courtroom doors. I’m content to leaving the government to humans as long as we leave the religion to God. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/10/20/a-funny-thing-happened-on-our-way-to-theocracy-courts-called-upon-to-judge-religion-abortion/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/