Frequently Asked Questions
A Conscience is the inner voice in a man that moves him to do good under any circumstances and to avoid evil by all means. At the same time, it is the ability to distinguish the one from the other. In the conscience, God speaks to man. Conscience is compared with an inner voice in which God manifests himself in a man. God is the one who becomes apparent in the conscience. When we say, “I cannot reconcile that with my conscience”, this means for a Christian, “I cannot do that in the sight of my Creator!” Many people have gone to jail or been executed because they were true to their conscience.
Q
Can someone be compelled to do something that is against his conscience?
AIt is a moral tenet that no one may be compelled to act against his conscience, provided he acts within the limits of the common good. Anyone who overlooks the conscience of a person, ignores it and uses coercion, violates that person’s dignity. Practically nothing else makes a person more human than the gift of being able personally to distinguish good from evil and to choose between them. This is so even if the decision, seen in an objective light, is wrong. Unless man’s conscience has been incorrectly formed, the inner voice speaks in agreement with what is generally reasonable, just, and good in God’s sight.
Q
Do you only represent Christians?
AWe believe that every person is created in the image of God and has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. We all owe each other this duty of respect. Religious freedom is an inalienable right, and this right must be recognized and protected by the Constitution — and in the courts, if need be — whether you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or adherent to another faith or no faith at all.
Q
What is religious liberty?
AReligious liberty is the freedom to live in accordance with your faith. It is a foundational principle of enduring importance in America, enshrined in our Constitution. As James Madison explained, the free exercise of religion “is in its nature an unalienable right” because the duty owed to one’s Creator “is precedent, both in order of time and in degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil Society.” Religious liberty is not merely a right to personal religious beliefs or even to worship in a sacred place; it also encompasses religious observance and practice. Except in the narrowest circumstances, no one should be forced to choose between living out his or her faith and complying with the law. Thus, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, religious observance and practice should be reasonably accommodated in all government activity.
Q
Do Americans ever have to relinquish their freedom of religion as business owners or members of contemporary society?
AConstitutional protections for religious liberty are not conditioned upon the willingness of a religious person or organization to remain separate from civil society. Although the application of the relevant protections may differ in different contexts, individuals and organizations do not give up their religious-liberty protections by providing or receiving social services, education, or healthcare; by seeking to earn or earning a living; by employing others to do the same; by receiving government grants or contracts; or by otherwise interacting with federal, state, or local governments.
Q
What does religious liberty have to do with same-sex marriage, and why do you challenge SOGI non-discrimination laws?
A The legal protection of marriage as the union of one man and one woman also protected the religious freedom of those who adhere to that vision of marriage. Now that Church and State disagree on what the term “marriage” means since U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in
Obergefell v. Hodges, the State would require people of faith to extend the uniquely favorable treatment reserved to legal “marriages” on relationships that many Christians and Jews cannot approve. This threatens everyone’s religious freedom. Indeed, the government is already threatening the religious freedom of religious institutions and individuals in numerous ways, including:
- Compelled Association: the government is forcing wedding-related businesses to provide services for same-sex “couples.”
- Compelled Provision of Special Benefits: the government is forcing religious institutions to extend any employment or other benefit they afford to marriage to same-sex “marriage” as well.
- Punishment for Speech: The government and pro-LGBT activists attack any actions or conversation reflecting moral opposition to same-sex “marriage” as “harassment,” “discrimination,” or “hate speech.”
- Exclusion from Accreditation and Licensure: The government is excluding those who adhere to traditional marriage from participating in highly regulated professions and quasi-governmental functions, as licenses are revoked and religious institutions lose accredited status.
- Exclusion from Government Funding, Religious Accommodations, and Other Benefits: The government is excluding people of faith from receiving government grants and contracts to provide secular social services, and from various tax exemptions.
We certainly stand against unjust discrimination, but SOGI legislation introduces ambiguously defined terms, bans reasonable rules that acknowledge male and female differences, and targets people of faith whose religious beliefs adhere to traditional marriage.