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Originally Posted by Red Mile Style
Okay, so religion can not be used as a trump card to deny people a service - but it can, and that's not me speaking, that's society. The catholic church will not marry gay couples. "Society" sees these homosexuals as doing nothing wrong, yet they can not marry gays because that is there religious beliefs. This is the same thing, but again, I think the reason why people have an easier time allowing the Catholic church to practice their religion but not Muslims is because of the negative stereotypes associated with Muslims in North America.
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This is a good point. However there is an "apples & Oranges" aspect to it.
The institution of marrage is not the same as a business service - religious institutions cannot "jump the que". But the parallel is reasonable - Freedom of religion allows one to deny service to another if one's religion prohibits it.
I do not think that is what is being argued here.
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A reasonable exception in my mind, would be to allow Muslims to stay in line until an appropriate fare comes along, rather than putting them in an uphill battle and making them go to the back of the line risking the same thing repeatedly. To me, this is efficient and that way Muslims do not have to choose between their religion and feeding their families. If a cab driver consistantly has to go to the back of the line and wait for hours, you will be forcing them to go against their religious beliefs - something you are saying you are against.
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This is the crux of the argument - Allowing the Muslim (or Jewish, or Buhdist, etc.) cabbie to stay at the front of the que until that cabbie decides that who is an "appropriate fare". Say this is allowed. That cabbie can sit there at the front of the line while out comes - a person carrying a wine bottle, a blind person with a seeing-eye dog, a woman in a short skirt, a Jew wearing a kippah, a black man who may be going to an udesierable part of town, a person dressed in a military uniform, a clearly gay couple... the list could go on. That cabbie can wait there until a good devout Muslim steps out the door looking of a ride. You could argue that that cabbie will likely take a fare from one of the above examples, but the bottom line is that cabbie can refuse a fare without penalty.
You could say that the loss of a fare, the loss of a sale, the loss of business is society's way of saying "hey, you may want to re-think (your job or religious stance) or you may not eat."
And yes, the concern about a slippery slope is real - what is next? Bus drivers refusing fares? Doctors refusing to treat patients? Restaurants segragating patrons?
You may not think it could happen, but then that is when it usually does.