I’ve often expressed the fervent hope that women take a long look at religion and leave it because it is unhealthy for us and an enemy of our human rights.
So I was gratified and interested in Saturday’s New York Times “Belief” column, by Mark Oppenheimer, which tells the story of a young woman named Sarah Jones who, brought up in strict Christian fundamentalism, decided that she was a feminist and atheist.
I highlighted one segment 0f the story and bolded one particular quote from her, because her description of the Hobby Lobby controversy is succinct and piercing:
Now, at the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, based in Washington, Ms. Jones finds herself spending time with conservative Christians once again. For example, she has researched the external activities of Hobby Lobby’s president, Steve Green, who shaped a Bible curriculum that he hopes will prove constitutional for use in public schools.
“I am concerned about the Green family’s broader agenda,” Ms. Jones said.
As for the Hobby Lobby ruling, she found it a disturbing reminder of the community she had left behind. “The Green family’s definition of religious liberty isn’t drawn from the First Amendment,” she said. “It’s drawn from a belief common to the religious right: that they have a right to control the choices and moralities of other people.”
The Supreme Five should have been paying attention to Ms. Jones.
The whole story of Ms. Jones’s journey out of religion is worth reading carefully, especially by women. Taking on Hobby Lobby After Turning Away From a Religious Past – NYTimes.com.