In which the Lil Resident learns the difference between Religious Freedom and Freedom of Worship…
The Lil Resident was asking Dr. J. this morning about what was going on on the news on the radio, as Cardinal Dolan’s visit to ‘The No Spin Zone‘ She was asking what was going on that he was talking about. Rather than get into the nuances of contraception with her, as she is too young for that discussion, Dr. J. explained that Obama’s healthcare law which in addition to being bad for patients and doctors has put into place rules that religious people, including Catholics, have to pay for things against their religion.
She asked why the government would do that, considering that we are supposed to be free?
Dr. J. asked her, “Are you supposed to be a Catholic only at mass and Sunday School?”
She replied, “No, I’m supposed to be a Catholic in everything I do.”
“Correct!”
Dr. J. went on to say that The Constitution is supposed to protect our religious beliefs and practice. He also went on to say that there are many in the Obama Administration, including, Dr. J. believes, the President himself that feel that you can be a Catholic, or a Christian, or whatever religion you practice, from 10-12 on Sundays (or whatever), but you leave that at the door when you show up for work or school.
What they believe in is ‘Freedom of Worship’ which is very different than Freedom of Religion because while the principal focus of our worship, as Catholics, is Sunday Mass, we strive to model Godly behavior in everything we do.
One of the reasons the Lil Resident and Lil Medstudent attend the Jedi Academy is because we want them to be in an environment where they are free to be Catholics and Christians in everything they do, and not for it to be checked at the door.
Indeed, the Tennessee State House passed legislation this week that protects student religious speech in the public schools. It remains to be seen if this legislation will become law.
The reality is that we have a significant number of politicians in office who have lost their way and confuse Freedom of Religion, one of our first freedoms, with Freedom of Worship or even worse, Freedom from Religion. It is high time we kick these bozos out of office because when a small child can tell that her freedoms are eroding it is clear that something is seriously wrong.
