”In two blows to church-state separation, Justices Breyer and Kagan joined the conservative majority on the Supreme Court in granting even more preferential treatment to religious bodies. In one case, the court gave the green light to religious employers to apply the “ministerial exemption” to pretty much any employee; a teacher is a coach is a priest, and none can seek legal redress if they feel they’ve been discriminated against on the job. In the other case, employers who think it’s wicked for women not to want a baby every time they have sex can get out of covering birth control in their health insurance policies.

“It is a clear win for the First Amendment and religious liberty when the highest court affirms the right of religious institutions to be free of government interference and meddling,” said Grazie Christie, a radiologist and policy advisor for The Catholic Association.

“The AP reports that the US Roman Catholic Church has recently “used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups.” They go on to say the haul may have been twice that much—reaching or even exceeding $3.5 billion. Guess this is the kind of meddling that’s A-okay with the church.

“In short, SCOTUS says let the churches do whatever they please, and the Trump administration gives them buckets of money to do it with.

“This isn’t religious liberty—it’s religious exceptionalism and bigotry. Religion should never be an excuse to discriminate, and our government should never put church before state.”.   (Jennifer Bardi,  Senior Editor, The Humanist 11 June 2020).

My comment:  I don’t want our tax dollars directed to re-filling the coffers of a church which has cast a blind eye on sexual predation, and mis-handled the whole issue.  I think it appalling that  “religious employers” should be allowed to decide whether or not an employee should or should not have a baby and exclude her from company health policy at will.  This whole issue is being dictated by a small minority of religious extremists who should get out of the bedroom and concentrate on helping to suppress Covid-19, which they have uncaringly ( and, I would argue, greedily) allowed to roar back.

There is absolutely nothing Epicurus would have in common with these cruel and intrusive people.