The so-called “Religious Freedom Restoration Acts” (RFRA) have become law in 19 states and are in process in several more, including my own Indiana. Proponents argue that they are necessary to protect conservative Christians from being forced to serve LGBT people. Sure, there are better-sounding, well-polished explanations/obfuscations, but let’s be real: it’s about making sure discrimination against LGBT people is legal. And supporters of these laws are using Christianity to justify it.
Hatred has always been (and will always be) among us, and, despite those who endeavor otherwise, hatred has always been part and parcel of organized religion. It’s the old “If you ain’t got [insert name of preferred deity here], you ain’t s—t” conundrum- religion is about love and tolerance, but how can you feel superior to others if you can’t use your religious beliefs to hold yourself above them?
That those on the Far Right are trying to codify discrimination and oppression based on their expedient definition of “religious freedom” isn’t surprising. What is surprising is how successful these efforts have been, particularly in red states where the Christian values of love and tolerance are held to be primarily for losers and Liberals. That RFRAs are now law in 19 states is a pretty sad commentary on the cafeteria Christianity so popular in America today. The truth is that Conservative Christians may believe that they’re protecting the religious freedom of those who believe as they do. The problem is that the Lord and Savior they profess to revere never preached against The Gay…and he never conflated love and tolerance with hatred and discrimination.
I often wonder why so few good and decent Christians remain silent in the face of those whose cafeteria Christianity tarnishes the religion of those who actually endeavor to lead Christ-like lives. I was gratified to read “An open letter to supporters of RFRA,” in which Rev. Brent Wright appeals to Christians to knock it off. The Reverend’s prescription is simple- so simple that I find myself wondering why so few have spoken out against hatred and discrimination masquerading as “religious faith.”
[S]top using Christianity to justify your fear, judgment, mistreatment, and abuse of LGBT people.
You beliefs may allow for some thing, but Rev. Wright says that religion used to justify discrimination is not based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Hatred, discrimination, and exclusion aren’t Christian values…though they are values evidently held by many who consider themselves Christian. Not surprisingly, “These were core values of the Pharisees, the purity-obsessed group that fought Jesus at every opportunity.”
Today’s Pharisees still hate the same sorts of people their forebears did when Jesus walked the Earth. Some things never change, eh?
Any use of Christianity to justify discrimination is evidence of a misunderstanding about who Jesus was and what the good news Jesus lived means for humanity.
Not having the right to take away the rights of those whose lifestyle and sexuality you find abhorrent is not ipso facto proof of your own persecution and victimhood. Your highly selective cafeteria Christianity is not a reflection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but of your own hatred, fear, and prejudice. Jesus never preached against homosexuality. The license you claim to discriminate against and exclude the LGBT community has nothing to do with religious freedom…unless you define that freedom as allowing you to hate and marginalize the humanity of those you fear.
[I]f you wonder why we Christians have such a reputation as hypocrites, RFRA is only one example in a long, long list. We talk about love and grace, sin and forgiveness, and then we push for a law that allows us to behave like racists in 1940. Really?
Today’s homophobic cafeteria Christianity is more reminiscent of the Pharisees than of the actual teachings of Jesus Christ. The idea that “religious freedom” should be taken to mean having the legal ability to define those who may be LGBT as “less than” should be abhorrent to anyone who truly aims to lead a Christ-like life.
Rev. Wright should be applauded for having the courage to do the right thing in speaking out against those who would bastardize the religion he reveres. Would that more honest, committed Christians could see their way clear to doing the same thing.
