Blue Laws Burden Other Faiths

The existence of Blue Laws have been defended in America on a number of grounds. Some say that they are simply traditional - and anything that traditional must be constitutional as well. Others argue that they represent an aspect of America's Christian heritage and as such need to be preserved. Whatever the defense, people rarely look at how those laws affect minority religious groups and non-Christians.

The fact of the matter is, those people have to go out of their way to accommodate their beliefs to the majority Christian practices - and that isn't justified in a society where all religions are supposed to be equal:

In the Jewish community, there are all kinds of compromises that merchants and workers have had to make in terms of the Sabbath," [Toni] Young said. ..."Muslims make their peace with American culture in the best way they can," [Najid] Hussain said. "Religious-minded people may need to report to work, but if they can, they'll break free to come to the mosque Friday afternoon.

Courts have usually upheld Blue Laws, but legislatures have slowly been getting rid of them, acknowledging that while they might be traditional, they aren't necessarily fait and appropriate. Not everything that is traditional is also good and worth preserving.

 

Read More:

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