Are the majority of Americans against religious freedom?

By Matt C. Abbott

(A version of the following column originally appeared at the American Thinker blog.)

Sadly, there's yet another indication that pro-life, pro-family conservatives have all but lost the culture war.

From The Hill's political news blog:

A majority of Americans think that business owners should not be allowed to refuse service to a wedding for a gay or lesbian couple if they object to same-sex marriage, a new poll finds.

Fifty-seven percent of people feel that wedding-related businesses should have to serve lesbian and gay couples in the same way they serve straight couples, even if their owners object to same-sex nuptials because of their religion, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. Forty-one percent believe that they should not have to provide services to the wedding.

I realize it's only one poll. However, as much as I hate to admit it, I'd say the CNN/ORC poll is fairly accurate. This is why I cringe whenever I hear a well-intentioned conservative commentator say that a majority of the American people are on the "right" side of the issues.

In some cases, yes, they are. But when it comes to issues pertaining directly to the natural law – namely, abortion and same-sex "marriage" – the left, through pop culture and a sizable segment of academe, has been able to convince a majority of people that moral relativism is the way to go, so to speak.

Still, there is hope that the tide will turn at some point in the future, for while it does indeed appear that the majority reject the natural law, it's not the vast majority. Vast majority as in, say, 95 percent of the American people. If things do get to that point, we're done for.

When asked to comment on the aforementioned poll and its results, Father Peter West, vice president for missions at Human Life International, said in an email:

"A poll doesn't necessarily determine truth. America is the land of religious freedom – an important principle that affirms the right for individuals to refrain from cooperating with acts considered immoral, especially acts that violate the sanctity of life and marriage. No individual should ever be forced or obligated to any action against moral conscience. Providing a service in support of same-sex 'marriage' is a violation of a person's religious liberty, covered under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which includes the right not to cooperate in actions one considers evil. For example, a Jewish person shouldn't be forced or obligated to provide services for a known anti-Semitic organization. An African American shouldn't be forced or obligated to provide services to a known racist organization."

Father West is absolutely correct. Unfortunately, God-fearing, natural law-assenting people are in the midst of an extremely uphill spiritual battle.

In regard to the acceptance of abortion, it's obvious that the majority want the murderous medical procedure to remain legal in at least some circumstances (I strongly disagree with this, of course), but even among those people, many of them won't necessarily agree that abortion should be legal up to the moment of birth for any reason.

That's what the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton SCOTUS rulings gave us, for those who still might be in the dark on this matter.

In regard to the acceptance of same-sex "marriage," the situation is murkier given that sex disconnected from the natural law is the norm in modern-day society, be it for heterosexuals (fornication, adultery, contraception, sodomy) or homosexuals (sodomy).

God help us all.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

© Matt C. Abbott