Where on society's scale do you place individual religious freedom relative to economics? Many issues regarding individual freedoms and rights are being decided, not on merits of principle, but on the economic implications. The Workplace Religious Freedom Act has been introduced in, but not passed by, the last five or six U.S. congresses. Labor fears religious accommodation will interfere with seniority, and management fears that it will reduce employer discretion.

Matters of religious conscience, such as Sabbath observance, are being treated as issues of social preference rather than conviction. Many employees are unconscionably being forced to choose between fidelity to God and their livelihood.

In 1985, the United States Supreme Court held that a Connecticut statute requiring employers to grant an absolute accommodation of Sabbath observance by their employees to be unconstitutional because of its "unyielding weighting" in favor of Sabbath observers over all other interests. But the pendulum has swung too far the other way! One employer presented as its "reasonable accommodation" of Sabbath observance, the sending of an "official" letter on company letterhead "authorizing" the employee's pastor to grant permission to work on Sabbath. Another employer allowed the employee time off to attend church, but fired her when she did not work after church. If the "accommodation" does not relieve the tension between the employee's entire religious belief and the employer's work rules, there is no accommodation.

A jury foreman in a case recently lost for a Sabbatarian said, "I am a religious man, and if I had to work every Sunday, I'd be looking for a different job. But in the past 15 years, I've only had to miss church seven or eight times because of work. If you want to keep your job, you have to compromise your religion occasionally." Clearly, the religious experience of others is being applied in judging our religious beliefs and standards.

An Adventist nurse advised her employer she could not conscientiously do routine nursing duty on Sabbath, but was willing to provide emergency care. In response, the employer noted that an Adventist hospital in the region provided routine nursing care on Sabbath. I asked the employer, "Would you want her, by working here on Sabbath, to violate her conscience?" I pointed out that a person who violates her conscience in one way may be tempted to do so in other ways as well. The employer ultimately accommodated her convictions, and she was a tremendous witness when she was able to fill in for other employees during a Sabbath snowstorm.

We are in an election year. Be informed! You can expect a lot of religious rhetoric in the upcoming campaigns. Sometimes the more politicians talk about religion, the less religious they really are. We may agree with some of these political positions affecting the exercise of religion, but their negative effects on the separation of government control and religious freedom may be the germination of future problems. Free choice is a fundamental of God's love, and majorities, or vocal minorities, must never be permitted to use the government's authority to compromise our religious freedom.

Vernon L. Alger is director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Lake Union Conference. For assistance or further information, contact Vernon L. Alger at http://luc.adventist.org.