Freedom of religion vs. "civil rights"?

[tmellin]

We (Catholics and society at large) believe that “racism” is inherently evil. A simple example would be that it’s wrong to believe that there is something wrong with being (genetically) ‘black’. Good Catholics teach their children this, yet good Catholics also teach their children that homosexuality is not good. This is partly because the nature of one’s sexual orientation is substantially different than the nature of one’s race, as this example illustrates:

School-appropriate displays of “African-American Heroes” cannot be opposed on moral grounds, such opposition–in the secular vernacular–would be racist. The case of a “Homosexual Heroes” display, though, is substantially different. “White” children can’t “become (genetically) black” (without a miracle), but children of a heterosexual orientation can become homosexual if they learn about it, are attracted to it or otherwise become involved with it.

In general terms: homosexuality is principally defined by daily behavior, whereas race is principally defined by lifelong, unchangeable genetic code. For example: any adult who begins a homosexual life tomorrow is considered homosexual, and he is no longer considered homosexual if (for example) he stops, marries a woman, conceives a child with her, and never returns to his old behavior (see gaytostraight.org). Regardless of one’s behavior, though, one cannot choose to have a different race.

Since our current administration is steadily promoting civil rights-style legal constructs for those who are of homosexual orientation, will we soon be told that Catholics are guilty of “something-ism”, and deserving of the same penalties and punishments as racists? Will our schools be banned, or perhaps taken over by the federal government as a racially-segregated school might be?

 

[Lynxdk]

Since our current administration is steadily promoting civil rights-style legal constructs for those who are of homosexual orientation, will we soon be told that Catholics are guilty of “something-ism”, and deserving of the same penalties and punishments as racists? Will our schools be banned, or perhaps taken over by the federal government as a racially-segregated school might be?

That would go completely against the ideals of what the US was founded on. To quote George Washington (since I had some quotes open for another thread

It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

 

[royal_archer]

Keep in mind that this transcends two realms moral and secular. The following only applies to the secular aspects.

The question is: “Do we have a secular right to hold and expression opinions, preferences, beliefs, or notions that do not allign with the population at large or which may be offensive to others?” If the answer is yes then we should defend the secular rights of those who disagree with us. If the answer is no, then we must prepare ourselves to be constantly victimized by the whims of society including the eventual day when society says that being Christian is deemed to be “offensive.”