Religious Liberty?

[Neo-Scholastic]

Liberty is meaningless if confined to what people may or may not believe in the privacy of their minds. People’s consciences are essential parts of their being that go with them wherever they go. A free society does not ask people of integrity to ignore their consciences when interacting with others. When in the course of their public life, someone openly expresses and practices (like praying and inviting others to do so) their beliefs it exposes others to those beliefs and practices without forcing them to accept, endorse, or engage in them. Legal restrictions that prevent people from living their lives in accordance with their beliefs and mandates that compel them to violate their convictions generally have no place in a free society. The qualifier here applies to instances in which the State has a “compelling interest” to enact and enforce generally applicable laws promoting the universal welfare, protecting the public at large, and preserving civil order, such as prohibitions on polygamy and persecution of human sacrifice. As a matter of public policy, determining what constitutes a “compelling interest” requires discernment; but, I believe, as I hope most Americans do, that judgments should strongly favor the consciences of individuals over State goals as in cases like the sacramental use of peyote and the military conscription of pacifists.