Religion and Law, 2nd Round

The other on-going story related to religion and law is the news from Texas. This story seems to be much more at the forefront of the news coverage, perhaps with good reason. It has all of the elements to hold our attention - hundreds of children and women have been taken away from the compound, charges of child abuse have been made, and the overwhelming silence on the part of those who were forced to leave adds to the mystery.

A fundamentalist off-shoot of the Latter Day Saints that believes polygamous marriage is God-ordained had purchased and inhabited a sprawling ranch compound on the outskirts of El Dorado Texas. This Texas group, is reported to have ties with Warren Jeffs, the convicted leader of another such group in Arizona. According to officials in the area, someone from the compound, believed to be a minor female, called local law enforcement and indicated that she had been forced into a 'marital relationship' against her will.

It is important for me to underscore that the official Latter Day Saints, think Salt Lake City and probably a group down the street from you, condemns such polygamous churches. While it is true that Joseph Smith proclaimed that God had revealed the principle of a man having more than one wife and that Brigham Young had many, many wives, the official teaching of the LDS church now condemns the practice and will excommunicate anyone who practices it.

In fact, it was this condemnation of polygamy by the LDS church that many of these groups cite as their justification to continue the practice. These groups say that God ordained it, and no human law could, or should, take precedence over divine fiat.

And that is the issue. When devoutly religious people believe that God has commanded something - the end to abortions, the teaching of the 'true story' of the beginnings of the universe, the inclusion of Bible readings (from Christian scriptures) and prayers (from a Christian perspective) in public schools, the posting of the 10 Commandments in courtrooms and schoolrooms, the use of hallucinogenic drugs in worship services, the sacrifice of live animals in church, having more than one wife, depending on prayer alone for physical healing, or whatever the issue is - they want to know what right any governmental authority has in thwarting their desires.

How would you answer them? How do we, as a nation, decide what religious principles are accommodated and what are prohibited?