The freedom of association with others who have common interests and beliefs has a long history of respect in Anglo-American Law. It takes many forms. There were the Medieval Guilds. The Magna Carta affirmed the right to a trial by a jury of one’s peers. That meant that if you were a commoner you had to be tried by commoners, not nobles. Today that right is contained in the First Amendment, along with religious freedom, and copied or expanded in most state constitutions.
Likewise, freedom of religion protects the right to join any faith community that holds almost any beliefs and practices. Smoking peyote, taking LSD and some satanic practices like child or rape sacrifices are prohibited (I know not all satanists do this). We do allow animal sacrifice by the Santeria, and kosher and halal foods marketed as such. During Prohibition, Catholic sacramental wine was still legal. During the military draft, conscientious objectors were relieved of combat duty obligations.
The freedom of association with others who have common interests and beliefs has a long history of respect in Anglo-American Law. Photo courtesy of Don Sutherland/Creative Commons
Whole groups have been allowed to withdraw from society like the early Mormons, Amish and some Hasidic Jews in Upstate New York. Tom Monaghan, of Domino’s fame, has been building a whole Catholic community around his college in Florida.
We have black student unions, Jewish and black fraternities and sororities on college campuses. There are groups for all purposes. Gay, Latino, alcoholics and addicts, battered women, SNAP.
Knights of Columbus and Aid Association for Lutherans (now Thrivent Financial) were formed, in large part, to provide life insurance to their members. A variety of religious schools – Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish, Muslim and evangelical Christian – are all designed to teach their respective faiths.
As early as the 1830s, Alexis deTocqueville in his monumental work “Democracy in America” noted as a profound element of America, “There are not only commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but others of a thousand different types – religious, moral, serious, futile, very general and very limited, immensely large and very minute.”
Griswold v. Connecticut legalized contraception because marriage was considered an association to be protected. Lawrence v. Texas struck down sodomy laws because private sexual conduct was an association between two consenting adults.
Then it seems like we turned on a dime.
Respect for some private associations involving beliefs of like-minded individuals are under ever-greater pressure to allow folks who don’t share a group’s beliefs.
The left, once champions of tolerance, have become intolerant towards groups with whom they disagree politically. Now these groups aren’t considered just “different” from the left; they’re branded as evil. Now black Muslims are good but evangelical Christians are bad. Gays are good but Phil Robertson is bad. Environmental activists are good but farmers are bad. The disfavored groups are punished in a variety of ways. Condoleezza Rice is barred from giving a commencement speech but Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted cop killer, is welcome.
In many areas, the Catholic Charities organization has been forced out of the adoptions by state regulations. Evangelical business owners are forced to serve in weddings that are contrary to their beliefs. Many municipalities are seeking to use zoning to stop churches. Regretfully, I was involved in litigation to stop such a church planting. Most recently are the attempts to enforce the federal contraceptive mandate against religious organizations. Speech codes and hate crimes laws are used to muzzle those who speak up against the secular world view. Pro-life medical students are forced to learn how to perform abortions
Then, most recently, University of California campuses have required Christian groups to admit those who don’t share their beliefs and even require them to allow these outside agitators to become leaders in their groups.
What’s next? Require kosher delis and halal Markets to sell pork? Will fraternities be outlawed because women aren’t allowed? Will Catholic schools be forced to teach Islam and offer kosher lunches? Will evangelical schools be required to offer condoms? Will the Little Sisters of the Poor be forced to purchase contraceptives for their celibate nuns?
Not long ago I would have thought any of these possibilities were silly. Now, not so much. What do you think?