Ruth Institute Blog

I like religious liberty just fine, thank you very much. But I must say, I am tired of hearing the pro-family movement making religious liberty their primary argument against the Sexual Revolution. Too many of us have done this with the HHS Mandate (which amounts to creating a Contraceptive State) and Gay Marriage (which amounts to creating Genderless Marriage.)

I realize that we are poised for the US Supreme Court’s decision on the Hobby Lobby case on Monday. Still, I want to share my

I want YOU to take your FREE contraceptive pills!

objections to this rhetorical strategy:

First, religious liberty arguments do not address the underlying issue we are fighting about. We can make good rational, natural law arguments for our position, arguments that should be comprehensible to intelligent people of good will.

If we do not make such arguments, we sound as if we are dodging that issue. Some people on our side would rather talk about bakers and wedding photographers, than the real issue of why
marriage is the social institution that links the generations to each other, and that children have genuine rights that adult society ought to strive to respect.  Some people frame the HHS Mandate issue in terms of the harm to Christian employers and institutions, when the real question is HOW THE HECK DID THE STATE EVER GET IN THE CONTRACEPTION BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE??!?!?!?!

Second, religious liberty is a losing argument. The Sandra Flukes and Dan Savages of the Read more…

from Helen Alvare

The Supreme Court is expected to release their decision in the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods cases THIS WEEK or EARLY NEXT! SO here are some instructions and requests for this week. Read more…

from Kristina Arriaga, Executive Director, The Becket Fund for Religious Freedom

We are expecting the Hobby Lobby decision any day now. . . I think it is inherently unjust that the government has forced the Green family, the devout owners of Hobby Lobby, to face a two-year battle in court.

As you know, the Greens grew their family business out of their garage. They now own stores in 41 states employing more than 16,000 full time employees. They have always operated their business according to their faith. In fact, the Greens pay salaries that start at twice the minimum wage and offer excellent benefits, as well as a healthcare package which includes almost all of the contraceptives now mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Their only objection is to 4 drugs and devices which, the government itself concedes, can terminate an embryo. Read more…

By MICHAEL PAULSON

BRUNSWICK, Me. — For 40 years, evangelicals at Bowdoin College have gathered periodically to study the Bible together, to pray and to worship. They are a tiny minority on the liberal arts college campus, but they have been a part of the school’s community, gathering in the chapel, the dining center, the dorms. Read more…

by Helen Alvare

We expect the Supreme Court to rule upon the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood cases in a few weeks. You already know how important the ruling is for the future of the law of religious freedom under the First Amendment of our Constitution. Read more…

Oklahoma City, Okla., Jun 5, 2014 / 04:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A federal court has ruled that the Catholic Benefits Association and its hundreds of employer members are exempt from a federal mandate requiring coverage of contraceptives and abortifacient drugs. Read more…

Martyrdom is alive and well.

Why haven’t feminist media stars taken up the case of this young mother?

by Michael Cook

The oppression of women living in Islamic states has been exposed this month in the Western media. Nearly every major paper has reported the exhilaration of Iranian women who are posting chador-less selfies on the Facebook page My Stealthy Freedom. Read more…

from Kristina Arriaga, Executive Director, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

There is no such thing as an anti-religion heckler’s veto. That’s what last week’s landmark ruling from the Supreme Court meant. The Court said that just because you are offended by someone else’s faith does not give you the right to silence them or dictate how they profess their views. Read more…

from Helen Alvare

Sorry to distract you from the joys of Winter turning into Spring beauty! But I found a few articles relevant to our work on the meaning of women’s freedom and the role of birth control, and I wanted to share them with you. Read more…