The Politics of Religion (NYT Editorial)

[cbayer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/opinion/the-politics-of-religion.html

Published: May 27, 2012

Thirteen Roman Catholic dioceses and some Catholic-related groups scattered lawsuits across a dozen federal courts last week claiming that President Obama was violating their religious freedom by including contraceptives in basic health care coverage for female employees. It was a dramatic stunt, full of indignation but built on air.

Mr. Obama’s contraception-coverage mandate specifically exempts houses of worship. If he had ordered all other organizations affiliated with a religion to pay for their employees’ contraception coverage, that policy could probably be justified under Supreme Court precedent, including a 1990 opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia.

But that argument does not have to be made in court, because Mr. Obama very publicly backed down from his original position and gave those groups a way around the contraception-coverage requirement.

Under the Constitution, churches and other religious organizations have total freedom to preach that contraception is sinful and rail against Mr. Obama for making it more readily available. But the First Amendment is not a license for religious entities to impose their dogma on society through the law. The vast majority of Americans do not agree with the Roman Catholic Church’s anti-contraception stance, including most American Catholic women.


more at link

[longship]

1. Their conclusion: "This is a clear partisan play."

That might jeopardize tax exempt status, if it were enforced.

R&K

[cbayer]

2. They have to be careful here. If they start showing any support for Romney,

they could indeed jeopardize their status. However, they can advocate for issues as much as they want.

Of course, their lawyers are very aware of where the line is.

[longship]

3. AFAIK, mention of a candidate crosses the line

Apparently, that's where the line is drawn.

Unfortunately, the IRS has little budget to enforce these cases. And I think only a foolish candidate would advocate for it. It's not a good campaign strategy to openly advocate for the taxation of the Catholic church.

[cbayer]

4. I believe you are correct about where the line is drawn.

There have been a few cases. The one I saw that got the most publicity was about a progressive christian church in Pasadena.