Since Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of religious freedom task force, members of the political Left have been voicing concerns that this is an attempt to impose certain religious beliefs on the nation. For example, an editorial in the Houston Chronicle stated:
Make no mistake. The Religious Liberty Task Force — a name that would fit neatly in the Republic of Gilead, the dystopian theonomy in Margaret Atwood’s “Handmaid’s Tale” — is simply another way to discriminate against the LGBTQ community, another way to limit reproductive rights for women, another way to elevate the rights of Evangelicals over those of religious minorities.
The editorial goes on to state that Sessions’ job is to protect the rights of all Americans, not just those who share his religious beliefs. This is true. But the Left is not interested in protecting the rights of all Americans.
As an example, the Left wants to force Christians to serve LGBTQ people, thereby denying Christians the freedom to use and trade their property as they choose. Property rights protect our freedom to creature, use, keep, trade, and dispose of material values. If Christians are forced to serve individuals, regardless of their own desires, then their right to property has been denied.
This is just another example of the inevitable conflicts that arise when rights are applied to groups rather than individuals. The dispute is portrayed as a clash between “gay rights” and “religious rights.” In truth, there are no such things. There are only individual rights, and they apply to all individuals–gay or straight, Christian or atheist–equally.
Each individual has a moral right to act on his own judgment, so long as he respects the freedom of others to do the same. This includes the freedom to associate with or ostracize others; it includes the freedom to do business with others or refuse to do so.
Certainly, individuals often make make irrational choices. They may judge others unfairly. But if we want the freedom to live as we choose, then we must respect the freedom of others to do the same, especially when we disagree with their choices. We must live and let live.