Religious Exemption Quotes

Christianity neither is, nor ever was, part of the common law.

The settled opinion here is, that religion is essentially distinct from civil Government, and exempt from its cognizance; that a connection between them is injurious to both.

Why should an atheist pay more taxes so that a church which he despises should pay no taxes? That's a fair question. How can the apologists for the church exemption answer it?

If the federal government believes free contraception is vital, then surely it can find another way to implement it than by forcing family businesses and religious broadcasters and others to violate their religious beliefs.

Catholic schools in Indonesia routinely accept non-Catholic students, but exempt them from studying religion. Obama's school documents, though, wrongly list him as being Indonesian.

Ministers should share the same protection of the law that other men do, and no more. To proscribe [prohibit] them from seats of legislation, etc., is cruel. To indulge them with an exemption from taxes and bearing arms is a tempting emolument [benefit]. The law should be silent about them; protect them as citizens, not as sacred officers, for the civil law knows no sacred religious officers.

To me there's nothing different in principle with a Catholic adoption agency, or indeed Methodist adoption agency, saying the rules in our community are different and therefore the law shouldn't apply to us. Why not then say sharia can be applied to different parts of the country? It doesn't work.

It's perfectly fair that you can't be a Roman Catholic priest unless you're a man. It seems right that the reach of anti-discriminatory law should stop at the door of the church or mosque.

We maintain therefore that in matters of Religion, no man's right is abridged by the institution of Civil Society, and that Religion is wholly exempt from its cognizance.

This section does not extend to any book, pamphlet, writing, drawing or painting kept or used bona fide for religious purposes …

No person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service.

While religious institutions should be able to pick and choose which unions they bless, civil governments should issue marriage licenses to all couples.

All I'm arguing for really is that we should have a conversation where the best ideas really thrive, where there's no taboo against criticizing bad ideas, and where everyone who shows up, in order to get their ideas entertained, has to meet some obvious burdens of intellectual rigor and self-criticism and honesty-and when people fail to do that, we are free to stop listening to them. What religion has had up until this moment is a different set of rules that apply only to it, which is you have to respect my religious certainty even though I'm telling you I arrived at it irrationally.

Preaching is tax free. Very little to do with God, a lot to do with money

The provisions of the penal code shall not apply to any deed committed in good faith, pursuant to a right determined by virtue of the Sharia [Islamic religious law].

I'm Muslim but not really. My family did not care. And I always managed to skip religion classes when I was living in the Gulf, even when they were obligatory.

Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governour of the Universe: And if a member of Civil Society, do it with a saving of his allegiance to the Universal Sovereign. We maintain therefore that in matters of Religion, no man's right is abridged by the institution of Civil Society and that Religion is wholly exempt from its cognizance.

Business owners should not have to choose between violating their faith and violating the law.

Golf may be played on Sunday, not being a game within the view of the law, but being a form of moral effort.

The Supreme Court has been very clear: when it comes to religious discrimination, you can take intent into consideration.

If the property belongs to God he is able to pay the tax.