We’ve Been Warned

This, from a highly readable monograph, Religious Liberties: Nondiscrimination Rules and Religious Associational Freedom by Gregory S. Baylor & Timothy J. Tracey :

It is difficult to overstate the threat to religious freedom posed by religion and sexual orientation nondiscrimination rules. A key to understanding the magnitude of the threat is realizing that many homosexual rights advocates equate sexual orientation with race. More specifically, they contend that those that take homosexual conduct into account in personnel decisions are as morally repugnant as those who practice invidious discrimination against African-Americans. If they persuade law-makers and judges to embrace this view, the law would treat theologically conservative religious organizations the same way it treats racists. Racist organizations are utterly marginalized by the law: they are subject to liability under police power rules and they are ineligible for a host of valuable government benefits (properly so). Given the involvement of government in virtually every area of life, there are numerous points of contact between private groups and government. Each of these points of a contact is a context in which a nondiscrimination rule might be applied. It is reasonable to believe that at least some homosexual rights supporters desire to create a similar situation for theologically conservative religious organizations that consider a person’s homosexual conduct in making decisions about that person.

It may be even more reasonable to believe that most or all homosexual rights supporters desire to create a situation in which theologically conservative religious organizations are treated like racist institutions. But that is a mere quibble. Compliments to Baylor and Tracey for a fine monograph, and for not allowing us the excuse, “Nobody warned us.”