Assignment:
The Supreme Court of the United States recently decided a case involving a for-profit corporation (Hobby Lobby, a nationwide chain of craft stores), whose CEO objected, on religious grounds, to funding certain types of contraception under the Affordable Care Act. Concurrently, several state legislatures attempted to pass bills which allowed for-profit business entities to exercise “religious beliefs,” in order to be exempt from following laws each business owner doesn’t like, based on their individual religions; these bills were motivated, in part, by a refusal of some business owners to serve customers requiring services (photography, floral services, bakeries) for same-sex weddings.
Do you agree with a former presidential candidate that “corporations are people, too,” and thus able to claim “freedom of religion” under the First Amendment? After all, the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United recently asserted that corporations have a First Amendment “freedom of speech,” giving for-profit corporations unlimited opportunities to enter the political arena. Or do you think that for-profit business entities should not have the capacity to exercise religious beliefs if they operate in the public marketplace and serve the general public? What are the consequences---pro and con?
Your mission (should you decide to accept it) is to read the attached article (published before the Supreme Court’s decision last June), and then to research and read several recently published articles on this subject. At that point (and after you read the chapter on “Corporations” in the textbook), you will be ready to debate this highly controversial topic.