Freedom of and From Religion

Bill Moyers Essay: Freedom of and From Religion from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

The president did something agile and wise the other day. And something quite important to the health of our politics. He reached up and snuffed out what some folks wanted to make into a cosmic battle between good and evil. No, said the president, we're not going to turn the argument over contraception into Armageddon, this is an honest difference between Americans, and I'll not see it escalated into a holy war. So instead of the government requiring Catholic hospitals and other faith-based institutions to provide employees with health coverage involving contraceptives, the insurance companies will offer that coverage, and offer it free.

The Catholic bishops had cast the president's intended policy as an infringement on their religious freedom; they hold birth control to be a mortal sin, and were incensed that the government might coerce them to treat it otherwise. The president in effect said: No quarrel there; no one's going to force you to violate your doctrine. But Catholics are also Americans, and if an individual Catholic worker wants coverage, she should have access to it -- just like any other American citizen. Under the new plan, she will. She can go directly to the insurer, and the religious institution is off the hook.

When the president announced his new plan, the bishops were caught flat-footed. It was so ... so reasonable. In fact, leaders of several large, Catholic organizations have now said yes to the idea. But the bishops have since regrouped, and are now opposing any mandate to provide contraceptives even if their institutions are not required to pay for them. And for their own reasons, Republican leaders in Congress have weighed in on the bishops' side. They're demanding, and will get, a vote in the Senate.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY, says:

"The fact that the White House thinks this is about contraception is the whole problem. This is about freedom of religion. It's right there in the First Amendment. You can't miss it, right there in the very First Amendment to our Constitution. And the government doesn't get to decide for religious people what their religious beliefs are. They get to decide that."

But here's what Republicans don't get, or won't tell you. And what Obama manifestly does get. First, the war's already lost: 98 percent of Catholic women of child-bearing age have used contraceptives. Second, on many major issues, the bishops are on Obama's side -- not least on extending unemployment benefits, which they call "a moral obligation." Truth to tell, on economic issues, the bishops are often to the left of some leading Democrats, even if both sides are loathe to admit it. Furthermore -- and shhh, don't repeat this, even if the president already has -- the Catholic Church funded Obama's first community organizing, back in Chicago. Ah, politics.

So the battle over contraception no longer seems apocalyptic. No heavenly hosts pitted against the forces of Satan. It's a political brawl, not a crusade of believers or infidels. The president skillfully negotiated the line between respect for the religious sphere and protection of the spiritual dignity and freedom of individuals. If you had listened carefully to the speech Barack Obama made in 2009 at the University of Notre Dame, you could have seen it coming:

The soldier and the lawyer may both love this country with equal passion, and yet reach very different conclusions on the specific steps needed to protect us from harm. The gay activist and the evangelical pastor may both deplore the ravages of HIV/AIDS, but find themselves unable to bridge the cultural divide that might unite their efforts. Those who speak out against stem-cell research may be rooted in an admirable conviction about the sacredness of life, but so are the parents of a child with juvenile diabetes who are convinced that their son's or daughter's hardships might be relieved. The question then is, "How do we work through these conflicts?"

We Americans have wrestled with that question from the beginning. Some of our forebearers feared the church would corrupt the state. Others feared the state would corrupt the church. It's been a real tug-of-war, sometimes quite ugly. Churches and religious zealots did get punitive laws passed against what they said were moral and religious evils: blasphemy, breaking the Sabbath, alcohol, gambling, books, movies, plays ... and yes, contraception. But churches also fought to end slavery, help workers organize and pass progressive laws. Of course, government had its favorites at times, for much of our history, it privileged the Protestant majority. And in my lifetime alone, it's gone back and forth on how to apply the First Amendment to ever- changing circumstances among people so different from each other. The Supreme Court, for example, first denied, then affirmed, the right of the children of Jehovah's Witnesses to refuse, on religious grounds, to salute the flag.

So here we are once again, arguing over how to honor religious liberty without it becoming the liberty to impose on others moral beliefs they don't share. Our practical solution is the one Barack Obama embraced the other day: protect freedom of religion -- and protect freedom from religion. Can't get more American than that.

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Comments

[Joe Goforth]

12:36 AM on 03/23/2012

Obama doesn't get it and Mitch McConnell doesn't get it either. Ron Paul gets it though- The whole issue of birth control is none of the federal governments biz. Once we get passed that we can continue with addressing the larger potential disasters we face as a country. As long as we allow politicians to use these issues to avoid solving the real problems we face as a nation we proceed at our own peril.

[Dennis OMalley]

12:41 PM on 03/13/2012

Medical insurance premiums are the same for a family of two as they are for a family of eight.
For this reason, it doesn't make sense for a medical insurance company not to pay for contraceptives.

[ladiesbane]

07:08 PM on 03/13/2012

Agreed, and more so: even though premiums remain the same, the cost to the insurance company climbs as each new child is born. Even if that child is fortunate enough to be in perfect health, delivery costs alone are phenomenal. And complicated deliveries...there is no upper limit on cost. Most preventative care is at no cost to the insured; contraception could easily and cheaply be bundled with it.

[Dennishjr]

10:04 AM on 03/13/2012

Agreed. Great reasoning. Churches get tax breaks, and further involve themselves outside of the realm of the church on a daily basis. But they want to pick and choose what government involvement they deem acceptable. It's "freedom of religion" ... to choose and practice as one sees fit, nothing more, nothing less. I believe that the compromise (if you can even go so far as to call it that) by the White House solves the issue, and does not infringe on freedom of religion. If some Republicans, and some Catholic bishops, want to get to the bottom of the contraception/insurance issue, put it to a vote. With a purported 98% of Catholic women choosing to use contraception, I think we already know the results! The problem with many Republicans and Catholic leaders is that they can't see the government or the church as a democratic body ... it's all about their respective dogma.

[The Platzner Post]

09:37 AM on 03/13/2012

Obama threaded the needle on this issue!!! The Platzner Post Facebook/Twitter

[MosesDidItBest]

08:46 PM on 03/04/2012

Well said Mr. Moyers.

Perhaps now is a good time to mention that when Paul Ryan presented his "plan" that 24 Bishops said that it was morally reprehensible. Let the GOP chew on that morsel. It's like all their other failed plans, morally reprehensible.

There is as I have stated before, no war against religion, but for the Church to pretend there is backed by the GOP is morally and ethically wrong on all counts.

This is a war against women being fought by those who believe it is a mortal sin even though 98% of Catholic women have used contraceptives at one time or another.

As Bill Moyers has stated, this is a war about contraceptives and women, the church and the GOP make no distinction as to women of different faiths and beliefs.

The politician who claims that this is about religious freedom is posturing, knows better and still insists that its a war against religion. This is only an issue now because of the GOP's constant over reach in various states and current obstructionist congress who would rather defeat Obama than do what's best for America.

If it's for the one percent regardless of the harm to the economy, social programs, education, students, teachers, unions, seniors, women, the middleclass the poor, seniors and the indigent, so be it regardless of how much it hampers the country.

Women need to remind the Church and the GOP they will not accept remaining second class citizens.

[Shawn1966]

11:59 AM on 02/21/2012

Congratulations Mr. President! You have provided an even bigger incentive for churches and business that are owned by social conservatives to drop insurance coverage. The fine for not providing insurance is all ready cheaper than the cost of providing insurance and now you are giving them a "moral" excuse" to drop coverage. Has anyone herd of the law of unintended consequences?

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

05:01 AM on 03/03/2012

So? There are plenty of ethical organizations that do offer insurance coverage...if the Neandertals decide not to offer any it will make it harder for them to hire qualified people and easier for companies that do.

[Dennishjr]

10:20 AM on 03/13/2012

Then those churches and business will get the less diverse employee base they have always wanted. Woo Hoo!

[ruths]

11:08 AM on 02/21/2012

Thank you Bill Moyers. Great article. I am proud of our presidents decision. Good job.

[saythisword]

11:03 AM on 02/21/2012

Mr. Moyers, thank goodness you are here to spread your gentle wisdom!

[AnAudLife]

02:27 PM on 02/20/2012

Whether or not 98% of catholic women have used birth control or not...the issue is, you can't obliterate the First Amendment. This may be just a teeny infringement...but that's how it starts...with little nudges...until finally it's all shot to Hell. Obama sucks as a president, the sooner he's outta there the better. He has zero respect for our consitution, zero respect for Christians and zero respect for the people of the United States.

[DakkonA]

07:42 PM on 02/20/2012

The point, which you seemed to have missed, is that the first amendment is about personal beliefs. When you are providing insurance or services to others, you are no longer practicing your own private beliefs, but must obey the secular laws about such things.

[AnAudLife]

09:57 PM on 02/20/2012

How in the name of all that is holy can you say that it's about personal beliefs??? Now THAT'S funny! Just in case you haven't really read it, here it is: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

[Canary503]

11:00 PM on 02/20/2012

You appear to support a policy in which the large majority of Americans lose their freedom to exercise their religious beliefs, because it will be only the employer or sponsor of the insurance coverage whose beliefs need be honored.

[David Williams III]

01:35 PM on 02/20/2012

Is is just me, or have some of you also recently observed a dramatic transformation in Bill Moyers, from rather bland commentary for decades, to one of the most articulate voices of truth, logic, right and wrong, for the 99%, in articles like this & on his TV show? If so, perhaps it's because in recent years so much greed, corruption, dishonesty, hypocrisy etc. has spread like cancer from the 1% & religious fanatics into government, even the supreme court, creating a stark contrast between good & evil, science & superstition, truth & "spin" that's made millions of the previously silent majority like me read & write about it, but few with the concise wise words of Moyers.

[sydneymoon]

04:49 PM on 02/20/2012

He's always appeared to me as a patient, astute observer as well as articulate.

[JJ889]

09:47 PM on 02/20/2012

Or perhaps BM got his, and now feels guilty?

Nah, probably not. I'm betting he's always felt guilty...

[ColleenHarper]

12:38 AM on 03/14/2012

Guilty for what, other than the ability to have interviewed so many articulate men and women for decades? When he interviewed Joseph Campbell, I came away with wonder that he could ask such astute questions to draw out such insights as Campbell had to offer.

Please, I hope he has always felt honored, not guilty, of all the good things he has done.

[Tim The Enchanter]

12:23 PM on 02/20/2012

Funny how "liberals" run to the Constitution to whip out the First Amendment when they please, while simultaneously defending the government's abuse of the Constitution in mandating business and religions behavior.

"Jail the church, unleash the government".

[anon004]

01:30 PM on 02/21/2012

The Church's "position" on birth control was fabricated out of whole cloth by a paranoid pope in the nineteenth century for political reasons, and makes no sense from a public policy standpoint in a secular country in the 21st century. Religions have all kinds of nutty practices and beliefs (in fact, by definition, religion is irrational), and people are free to believe all that craziness, provided it doesn't interfere with legitimate, rational public polices.

[Tim The Enchanter]

01:33 PM on 02/21/2012

How is murder "legitimate and rational"?

[Tim The Enchanter]

11:42 AM on 02/20/2012

Government has no constitutional power to force insurance companies what services they must or must not offer.

Abuse of power.

[SueZbell]

06:26 PM on 02/20/2012

Neither should gov't be able to force people to buy a product from a private owned for mega-profit industry just for the privilege of breathing---i.e. Obamacare is and should be declared unconstitutional

[Bobisyouruncle]

08:44 AM on 02/26/2012

I would think then that you would agree that the government shouldn't be able to force hospitals to treat patients that cannot pay them for their services. This would setup a very "fair" system where only the wealthy get medical care and everyone else just died from common everyday medical problems easily cured otherwise. That's how it works in America isn't it. The rich rule and everyone else is there just to keep the bathroom clean.

[DakkonA]

07:48 PM on 02/20/2012

Sure it does. Civil rights, ADA, OSHA, FDA... Now if you want to argue that all those things need to go away too, you can. But good luck living in that country without discrimination, god help you of you lose the ability to walk, be forced to work in dangerous conditions, or eat contaminated, lead-filled food.

[Tim The Enchanter]

08:58 PM on 02/20/2012

Show them to me in the Constitution. Can't find them? Okay, now read the 10th Amendment. What does that say?

[Weirdo]

09:33 AM on 02/20/2012

The Republicans want it to be 1953 so bad, I think they've deluded themselves into thinking it really is. Sending up muddle-headed, backward candidates and fighting over contraception. I hope Obama doesn't get complacent, looking over these easy pickings.

[cminca]

09:26 AM on 02/21/2012

Let's take the tax laws back to 1953 if they love it so badly. I think the top tax bracket during the Eisenhower administration was 91%

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

05:06 AM on 03/03/2012

Works for me. :-)

[ZC1968]

01:05 AM on 02/20/2012

Obama is Lukewarm, and the Catholic Church will not stop until they control world.

[Tim The Enchanter]

11:43 AM on 02/20/2012

You misspelled "Federal Government".

[ZC1968]

01:14 PM on 02/20/2012

see if you can make the corrections. thanks for the supports, lol

[ColleenHarper]

12:52 AM on 03/14/2012

LoL. Pathetic. It's spelled "Roman Catholic Church."

[nixthetrix]

10:55 PM on 02/19/2012

One might think that the Catholic leadership will not be happy until they can INSTRUCT their employees to refrain from contraception .

[flyovermark]

12:03 AM on 02/20/2012

They can't do that now? What, was that in another dictate from HHS?

[Mikel Moore]

11:47 AM on 02/20/2012

No, a papal see, a dictate from a foreign nation on citizens of the U.S.

[Canary503]

11:06 PM on 02/20/2012

The irony is that Glenn Beck has started a little campaign "We are all Catholics now," ostensibly as a slur on the President's policy.

It seems to me, however, it is more descriptive of what religious practices everyone willl be following, if the Bishops succeed in their power play.