Can U.S. laws protect.....?

Question

Can you be protected under the U.S. laws from discrimination due to religous beliefs..i.e..gender race..?

What I mean is can you discriminate against a person and be protected under the U.S. laws citing religous beliefs say you refuse to hire a women because your religion won't allow contact with the opposite sex that is not your wife.

Answer 1

Yes, typically race, gender, religion, marital status, physical handicap.

PS Freedom of religion is generally a freedom of BELIEF, but not necessarily of practices. As an extreme example, one couldn't insist on performing human sacrifices as part of one's religion.

With respect to other issues, like certain Native American tribes using peyote, courts basically apply a balancing test.

Generally, one could NOT refuse to hire someone due to one's religious beliefs. Again, there is a difference between freedom of assembly - a private organization picking its members - and paid employment.

I don't have all the details, but that's a start.

"Sexual orientation" is not a protected classification in most of the country. It is in several states, but not federally.

In the UK there is a controversy over Catholic charities refusing to place children with same-sex adoptive couples.

This is a difficult problem and may be coming to the US too.

Hope this is helpful.

Answer 2

Yes you can, as long as you don't expect to receive any kind of federal funding. Freedom of religion allows a church for example to refuse to hire an atheist or gay. However, if the person is a member of a protected class, then the law would not allow you to discriminate.

Answer 3

Good question. The answer is that when two freedoms conflict with each other they will be balanced against each other. Here, the woman's right to be free from discrimination based on gender outweighs the employer's right to practice his religion. In essence, practicing a religion does not give you the freedom to discriminate against others.

Answer 4

Negative. We have anti-discrimination laws that protect people from such a thing. You cannot be turned down for work or living situation based on race, sex, color, or creed. Of course they can always come up with another reason why one might not be qualified or another more qualified and not hire you for that, but their documented reason cannot be based on the before-mentioned reasons. Thanks and have a nice day.

Answer 5

Only if you are Not white!