Tejada 1

Sara Tejada
John Kubler
English 115
4 December 2014
If God Loves Everyone
Imagine this you wake up early one morning and decide to take a bike ride near a local
beach before the sun rises. Its still dark outside and so cold that you can barely feel your own
fingers. Panting as you peddle up the hill, you almost decide to give up. Youre tired and cold,
and just want to be back home sipping a cup of hot coffee. Maybe this bike ride wasnt such a
good idea. Your stubbornness keeps you going until you finally make it to the top of the hill. As
you hang over your bike, trying to reclaim your breath, you glance up and notice the sunrise
emerging over the ocean water. At that moment, you feel peace. The pain and suffering of the
bike ride up the hill was worth it. Pure beauty of that sunrise gave you a feeling of serenity. If
you are someone who believes that all this is the work of a higher power, do you really think that
you are the one capable of understanding and interpreting that higher powers will? The clash
between this shows that in real life some core values conflict. The basic values of religion, and
the freedom America grants every person to express their religion freely, often conflicts with the
freedom people have when it comes to their sexual orientation. In America, you are free to
follow any religion you want or not to follow a religion at all, and that is a beautiful gift. At the
same time, America is supposed to be a country free of discrimination. Love is love no matter
who the people are. Christian teachings do not teach discrimination, so it should not be used in
the name of religion. If God is a God of unconditional and inclusive love then society needs to

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use the teaching of love in religion when it comes to homosexuality and find a balance between
the two.
President George W. Bush announced his own religious belief when he stated I believe
that God has planted in every heart the desire to live in freedom(brainyquote.com). Everyone
would prefer to live in a world that promises freedom, but sometime people take advantage of
the freedom they are granted. This is shown in a popular court case that challenged the freedom
of religion and sexual orientation discrimination, which is widely known as the Elane
Photography case. The New Mexico Human Rights Commission declared Elane Photography
guilty of sexual discrimination. The Christian husband and wife denied a homosexual couple
their services to take photographs of their marriage ceremony. The business owners claimed that
this was due to their faith, and if they agreed to photograph a homosexual couple then they
would be violating their religion. The Court of Appeals decided that since Elane Photography is
considered a public accommodation, they cannot deny services because of sexual orientation
or gender identity, even if it would interfere with their religious beliefs.
Freedom of religion gives everyone the freedom to practice whatever religion they want.
The opposite of freedom of religion is when one religion attempts to force it beliefs on all others.
Therefore, taking photographs of a homosexual wedding is not the same as denying anyone their
right to freely practice their religion. Many people believe that in order to follow their religion
faithfully, they cannot support an act of homosexual marriage. However, this is not the case
when it involves the public. The Elane Photography case concluded that a commercial
photography business that offers its services to the public... is subject to the antidiscrimination
provisions of the NMHRA and must serve same-sex couples on the same basis that it serves
opposite-sex couples(Opinion of the court 3). When Elane Photography denied a homosexual

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couple their services, they violated the NMHRA based on the fact that unjust or prejudicial
treatment of people regarding different types of sexual orientation is still discrimination, even
when it involves religion.
The Arizona Senate Bill 1062 Controversy consisted of a bill that would have allowed
business owners to refuse service to homosexuals for religious reasons. Governor Jan Brewer
arrived at a decision that the Anti-Gay services bill needed to be vetoed, because Religious
liberty is a core American and Arizona value, so is non-discrimination(Arizona Governor
Vetoes 'Religious Freedom' Bill video 1:03). By saying this, Brewer was pointing out the fact
that same-sex couples do not only deserve to be treated the same as opposite-sex couples, but
they also have a right to receive the same service as anyone else in the world. Any devoted
Christian, like myself, can still come to an understanding that treating someone badly when it
comes to their sexuality is morally wrong and unethical. Religion does not give people the power
to discriminate a minority group, because even God himself doesnt teach judgemental bigotry.
Discrimination, in any form, cannot be justified by declaring religious freedom.
In her award winning novel, Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi clearly shows how the Islamic
Republic justifies its cruel actions in the name of religion. The graphic novel displays the
hardships faced by a young girl who discovers her true self, along with a new perspective on life.
The government of Iran controlled their people by instilling fear into their lives, using it to scare
them into dressing a particular way, obeying unjust religious traditions, and taking away the
freedom to interact with anyone of the opposite sex outside of their own family. It's very easy to
take certain freedoms for granted, especially the freedom of religion. Satrapi clearly shows this
when she comments that [People of Iran] didn't really like to wear the veil, especially since
[they] didn't understand why [they] had to (Satrapi 3). Forcing females to dress as Muslim

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fundamentalists by covering their body from head-to-toe and wearing a veil is unjust. The regime
of Iran saw this act as reasonable because they believed it was part of their religion. Marjane
believes in God and has strong faith, but she does not agree with every custom that surrounds
religion.
When religion is forced upon an individual, then it becomes everything religion isnt. By
saying this, I am trying to prove that when someone who claims to be religious and tries to force
their own beliefs upon a homosexual couple by asserting that their sexual orientation is wrong in
the eyes of God, is in reality acting as if they are the one who is capable of understanding and
interpreting God's will. This action doesnt obey any religious teaching that is in the Bible.
Judging others is not acceptable in the eyes of the Christian teachings, as it states in the Bible,
do not judge, or you too will be judged(ERV Bible, Matthew 7:1). Discriminating against
someone because of their sexual orientation is not only completely wrong, but even the teachings
of religious values look down upon discrimination and judging others. Just like in the novel,
Persepolis, a government who forces religion upon others does not have the intention to protect
their people. Having faith in God does not depend on following certain trends that others try to
justify in the name of religion. Freedom of religion is a wonderful thing, but so is a life that is
free of discrimination.
Persepolis displays the danger of letting the thoughts and beliefs of a single government
decide the daily lives of the public people. Many people who lived in Iran during the Islamic
Revolution were not very happy with their living situation because all of their freedoms, from
playing cards and throwing parties to wearing make-up and dressing up for a date, were stripped
away from them in the blink of an eye. This kind of life is not satisfying to many people, yet the
people of Iran were forced to live this way because of the fundamentalist religious regime.

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Religion can be interpreted in many ways, and even though the little girl in the novel, Marji,
wasnt religious in the way that Iran tried to make her, she took comfort and support in her
personal faith. God was there for Marji when she needed him, and she once stated after a
difficult day that The only place [she] felt safe was in the arms of [her] friend (53). Freedom is
necessary to feel this type of solace. Religious freedom gives people a genuine feeling of hope
and no one should have to fight for the freedom to practice their religion, but that does not mean
that people can use religion as a way to discriminate a minority group.
Homosexuals have been denied their basic rights as human beings and their freedom has
been taken away in so many ways just because of their sexual orientation. The way to balance
these conflicting values is to come to the understanding that people should be entitled to do
whatever they like within the privacy of their own homes. The only liberty on which the idea of
equal rights infringes is the liberty to interfere in other people's private lives. The freedom to
worship does not mean anyone has the right to impose their religious beliefs on anyone else.
Liberty promises that people are free to do as they choose. There should not be any freedom to
discriminate against minorities. People are free to think whatever they want, but are not free to
discriminate.
Madeleine Albright, a widely known American politician and diplomat who strongly
believes that people of faith should be involved in the government, invokes the idea that religion
can be used to resolve several issues that need attention. Religion will always remain in everyday
human lives, and there is no way to separate religion from world politics(Albright 39). This
means that all people in the government and public businesses, including people who are
religious and people who classify themselves as homosexual, need to find a balance between
freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination. Religion will always affect the way people

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live, but that does not mean that people can use their religion to justify hate. If a company is
receiving federal funds for a business, they are still required to behave as all the other businesses
do and treat all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, with equal rights. Discrimination
has nothing to do with freedom. Giving someone else equal rights does not violate or take away
rights from anyone else. Religious freedom does not mean anyone has the right to put their rules
into laws that affect everyone else.
Anyone who glorifies a higher power in the name of religion should be aware of the fact
that they are not capable of understanding and interpreting that higher powers will. Religious
freedom and homosexuality are two values that clash, but public businesses need to use the
teaching of love in religion when it comes to homosexuality and find a way to treat people with a
different sexual orientation the same as everyone else, without discrimination.

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Works Cited

Albright, Madeleine Korbel., and William Woodward. The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections
on America, God, and World Affairs. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. 34-42. Print.

"Arizona Governor Vetoes 'Religious Freedom' Bill." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 21 Sept.

2014.

"Bible Gateway Passage: Matthew 7 - Easy-to-Read Version." Bible Gateway. Web. 22 Sept.
2014.

Burwell V. Hobby Lobby Stores, INC. Supreme Court of the United States. 30 July 2014.

Web.

Elane Photography V. Vanessa Willock. Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico. 22 Aug.
2013. Web.