Hobby Lobby will not lead us down a slippery slope of religious exemptions

Quit your hand-wringing, liberals

Hobby Lobby decision
(Image credit: (Scott Olson/Getty Images))

Don't panic, liberals. We are not about to tumble down the slippery slope of businesses claiming religious exemptions from every law they don't like. Far from it.

Inspiring the panic is this: The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that ObamaCare's employer health insurance mandate violated the religious liberty of Hobby Lobby's owners because it forced the craft store to offer employees insurance covering contraception that Hobby Lobby's owners had religious objections to. Officially, the ruling only exempts "closely-held" companies from the contraception requirement, though that describes the majority of companies in this country.

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Matt Bruenig writes about poverty, inequality, and economic justice at Demos, Salon, The Atlantic, The American Prospect, and The Week. He is a Texas native and graduate of the University of Oklahoma.