Kristin Hughs, right, announces to supporters the Supreme Court's decision on the Hobby Lobby case in Washington, Monday, June 30, 2014.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Associated Press

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SALT LAKE CITY The Obama administration has issued a new regulation (on Aug. 22) offering some relief to family businesses and nonprofit organizations that have objected, on the grounds of religious conscience, to the requirement that they offer abortion-inducing contraceptives.

It is the eighth time in three years the government has retreated from its original, hard-line stance that only houses of worship that hire and serve fellow believers deserve religious freedom, said Lori Windham, senior counsel to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which successfully fought the contraceptive mandate both on behalf of businesses, like the retail craft chain Hobby Lobby, as well as nonprofit religious orders like the Little Sisters of the Poor.

The Supreme Courts 5-4 decision in favor of Hobby Lobby, decided on June 30, was an important step in affirming religious freedom laws in this country.

But consider the task faced by defenders of religious freedom: They must confront the attitude, pervasive within the Obama administration, that religion takes place only within the walls of a church or synagogue.

Archbishop Williams Lori of Baltimore put his finger on the problem when he told the Catholic News Agency earlier this month: "It's easy to see that the threats to religious liberty in the West are starting to constrict religion more and more. [Religion is seen] as reducible simply and solely to freedom of worship, the sentiment that as long as you're in church, do what you want, but don't think about bringing religious values into public, into your place of work, into the political discussion.

Consider the difference between the freedom of worship, which is not seriously contested in the Western world, versus the free exercise of religion.

Its commonly said that the First Amendment itemizes five freedoms: religion, speech, a free press, peaceably assembly and the right to petition. The advocates of the minimalist freedom of worship think of the Obama administration view religious rights as if they were akin to tweeting against Boko Haram, or assembling for an awards ceremony.

See original here:

Drew Clark: Religious freedom is more than a right to speak and assemble