http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/290199/fallout-ichristian-legal-societyi-robert-shibley#
The long and short of it is that organizations must admit members and even leaders without regard to their belief. So organizations which are founded on a belief, cannot exclude someone from leadership if that person holds beliefs diametrically opposed to that organization. It makes utterly no sense. The fallout is that religious organizations are not able to affiliate themselves with Vanderbilt anymore, hence the domain name change.
But what I found absolutely shocking in that article is the transcript on the second page. The vice-chancellor says:
I’m Catholic. What if my faith beliefs guided all of the decisions I make from day to day?
[At this point, the crowd applauds the idea that people should live according to their faith.]
No they shouldn’t! No they shouldn’t! No they shouldn’t! No they shouldn’t! [Disagreement from crowd.] Well, I know you do, but I’m telling you that as a Catholic I am very comfortable using my best judgment as a person to make decisions.
If your faith beliefs shouldn't guide your decision making what is the point of said faith beliefs? I guess maybe they are just there to give you some good feelings about the afterlife? But that is not what really hit me after reading the article.
This is a great example of the privatization of religion, mostly Christianity, that has been going on. Keep your religion private, so private it has no bearing, even on your own personal life. It seems to be an unfair imposition, and certainly it is, but at the same time, it appears to me that we've buttered our bread and now it's time to eat it.
We profess belief in Christ, who said in no uncertain terms to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, let the children come to me.... But when was the last time you did that? When was the last time you stood outside an abortion clinic and offered the women going in help so they don't feel the need to have their inconvenient baby put down? When was the last time you physically helped a homeless person? When was the last time you visited someone in prison? Granted we can't do everything, and most of the time our immediate surroundings provide us outlets to feed the hungry, but when have you gone above and beyond, stepped out of your comfort zone, out of your neighborhood and did that?
Rodney Stark offers a compelling theory of how Christianity spread in his book, The Rise of Christianity. It is truly inspiring to read how heroic virtue allowed Christianity to conquer Rome. But in America, the State is conquering Christianity. Why? Because we've kept our religion private. We've voted and lobbied to have someone else care for the poor and dispose of the unwanted. We've abandoned the poor and outcast to the world and in doing so abandoned Christ. And now the world is demanding we keep our religion private and we don't like it.
What is the solution? Lawsuits, protests for religious freedom, political activism. For short-term gains, perhaps, but the victory cannot be won by worldly means. Ultimately the real solution must be a renewal and a living out of our Faith in public the way it was meant to be.
