Freedom of Religion Should Never Mean Freedom to Harm

"Your rights have robbed me of mine."

EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT RIGHTS... WHAT ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY?
Many groups make much ado about their rights. This is also played out in the religious arena. People feel they should have the freedom to believe whatever they choose; religious leaders feel they should be free to teach whatever they choose. "It is our right," they claim and they will scream that their "rights" are being trampled on when outside agencies scrutinize or recommend changes to their policies. While at first blush that may sound reasonable, rights... are relative. They have to be. Why?


Right to Drive But Not the Right to Drive Dangerously
For instance, we may have the right to drive, but we don't have the right to drive dangerously and/or harm others. Laws are in place to protect the masses and if someone, in exercising his right to drive, does so in a dangerous fashion, he faces the consequences. Why? Because he hasn't exercised that right responsibly. If he harms someone, he faces fines, loss of his license, and even a prison sentence. He must face the consequences for endangering others. These laws serve as a series of checks and balances.

That "right to drive but not the right to drive dangerously" should also extend to religious groups and to leaders of those same groups. Those in the "driver's seat," as it were, bear a larger and heavier responsibility. Religious leaders should never be free to teach and enforce doctrines that strip others of their rights and that inflict harm.

Laws Should Protect From Harm Not Provide a Platform to Perpetrate it
Laws should be in place regarding religions that feel it is their right, by means of their doctrine or practices, to impose rulings that subsequently impose suffering/harm on others. While it's a bit more convoluted than that, when you strip away all the rhetoric, all the scriptures used to justify whatever practice, you are left with a scenario that allows for abuse of others. No religious group, in exercising its right to belief and practice, should be free to strip others of their rights, whether members or ex-members. This covers both physical and psychological abuse.

Freedom of Religion Should Not Mean Freedom to Destroy Families
Freedom of religion should never mean carte blanche to teach doctrines that undermine family units and thus destroy important human relationships.

Now, whether or not someone agrees with the shunning doctrine, what most would agree on is that if shunning is perpetrated against a member of any religion, this form of religious discipline should not go outside of religious meetings and  invade homes and family units, tearing these asunder and breaking bonds that should never be broken. Belief and practice are all well and good, but again, they are relative, and this is where responsibility comes into the mix. Those in positions of religious authority have a responsibility to never abuse that authority. When they do, they should be held accountable and penalized.

Rights Not a Free-For-All
In sum, rights are not a free-for-all and freedom of religion should not mean "freedom to harm." Freedom of religion and religious rights should not be used as a platform to rob others of their right to their families, of their right to live out the remainder of their lives free from psychological torment. When this happens, this should be checked by appropriate laws that serve a greater good.