An atheist group called American Atheists released a statement to the press today in opposition to tomorrow’s religious freedom rally.
Among the arguments made in the statement was the notion that religious liberty is only guaranteed to the individual, not to organizations like churches. Well, that logic is faulty. Here’s why:
Religious freedom is a constitutional right, just like freedom of speech and freedom of the press. We do not apply this sort of logic to any other freedom. We do not argue that freedom of the press only belongs to individual reporters; we understand that it belongs to the newspaper and TV station as well. If we did, there would be nothing to stop the government from shutting down news bureaus. Instead, we very rightly give news organizations the same freedom of the press we give individual reporters.
The same is true with freedom of speech. When the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers won their lawsuit to put an atheist display on the Capitol lawn alongside a nativity scene, they invoked a right to free speech. It wasn’t an individual who invoked that right; it was an organization (The Arkansas Society of Freethinkers v. Daniels).
The idea that churches do not have religious freedom represents a major shift in the understanding of liberty in this country. Religious organizations are composed of religious individuals. You cannot separate the two.
Vaughn