Question by C.S.: Should a person be allowed to break the law in the name of freedom of religion?
For example, Native Americans are allowed to possess eagle feathers in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
This is a should question, not an ‘are’ question: so give me your ideal answers about whether freedom of religion should trump the law. (particularly when that law has no human victims).
On the Native American thing, they won a court ruling saying they could violate ESA. It wasn’t provided for in law, but was an exception made legally.
Best answer:
Answer by bdouglasharris
Yes, unless your religious beliefs entail violating the rights of others (i.e. keeping same-sex couples from getting married).
Add your own answer in the comments!
FYI
December 7, 2011 at 6:06 am
If they are getting the feathers from a nest or someplace where they fell out and not killing the birds to get them then OK.!~!
Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli.
December 7, 2011 at 6:11 am
That’s nothing, flash back to the catholic priest boy rape scandal in 2002. Law enforcement sat on its hands and deferred to the incoherent pope in Rome for some sort of “ruling”. One of the darkest days in American law enforcement, but the sheer number of catholics prevented it from becoming an issue that got the attention it deserved
Philip
December 7, 2011 at 6:43 am
No. What should and shouldn’t be allowed should be determined by law. If exceptions are to be made, they should be made in the law. That’s the only way to remain objective.
So if the people believes something should happen because of freedom of religion (or any reason), it should be made legal by changing the laws. Whether you want to change the laws depends on what the issue is.
But never should a freedom outweigh a law. (except if there’s a revolution)
Lexie
December 7, 2011 at 7:14 am
Are Native Americans allowed to “break” the law, or does the law make an exception for Native Americans who possess the feathers for the purpose of religious ceremonies?
No, people should not be permitted to break the law for religious reasons. It is acceptable for legislatures to carve out exceptions for religious practices, but not for someone to simply violate the law because it doesn’t conform with his or her individual beliefs. To work, the law has to apply equally to everyone.
star
December 7, 2011 at 8:10 am
No, definitely not. What if some nutcase “prophet” decided that an initiation ritual should be to have sex with a sheep in front of at least 3 passers by on the street…religion in its entirety is ludicrous for example muslims slaughtering animals in their bathtub and clogging the drains with blood in Switzerland for example.
Law comes first in other words.
Jason G
December 7, 2011 at 8:45 am
only if you allow me to shoot the bastard for “religious beliefs,” as in the belief that i can defend my house from dumb@$ $ es.
chatty
December 7, 2011 at 9:02 am
Only if they are on the reservation. They might not be aware that there are Federally designated areas for the tribe. For example the boundaries of Bosnia were supposed to contain a certain type of predator that collected red shirts. They had no idea there were boundaries and continued to bring red shirts to the “red room”…..
Kanien:kaha'ka
December 7, 2011 at 9:19 am
first of all….natives were not the ones who hunted eagles to near extinction. the eagle was and still is considered sacred and the use of its feathers in ceremony goes back long before any white man stepped foot on this continent. i’m not changing thousands of years of tradition because the invaders killed this bird so much they nearly killed all of them or they poisoned them with their pesticides and other pollutants.
secondly, there are no “designated areas” for tribes. we aren’t some zoo exhibit, thank you very much.
and lastly, the laws for us possessing eagle feathers is strict. a person MUST be enrolled in a federally recognized tribe and also have the proper permits to have the feathers.
comparing our use of feathers in ceremony to someone having sex with animals is pretty insulting. what’s wrong with some people?
dowhanawi
December 7, 2011 at 9:38 am
Clearly you don’t know what your talking about! The Eagle population never had problems until non-Natives came here. We don’t kill our most sacred animals, we are also not leagally allowed to. In the US Native people (enrolled with cards only) are allowed to posses Eagle feathers BUT they must either be inheritated or obtained through the proper chanels from a government regulated source who get the feathers from zoos and sanctuary’s and birds that have passed on. There is much paperwork and you better have it or the feathers can be confiscated. In canada they can be obtained through zoos and sanctuary’s or off the ground. Yes Eagles get murdered and their parts sold, but generally by non-natives and sold to wannabes who cannot get them leagally. Any Native who murdered an Eagle would be held in great disregard by their community! Try reading the laws for real instead of passing on hateful propaganda.