Conservative Christians Can Expect More Businesses to Refuse Service
Christians aren’t the only people with beliefs and values
Caren White questioned whether a restaurant in Virginia should have canceled a reservation for donors to a conservative Christian group that actively campaigns against LGBTQ rights and abortion access.
The restaurant explained that many of its staff are LGBTQ and women, and they were uncomfortable serving conservative Christians who donate money “to deprive women and LGBTQ+ persons of their basic human rights in Virginia.”
Caren White has a point: political differences with restaurant staff ought to be irrelevant when people go out for dinner. A server and patron aren’t likely to discuss their experiences with, or positions on, abortion and LGBTQ rights. The server won’t likely introduce him or herself as LGBTQ.
But there’s another point to be made.
Conservative Christians have forced political, religious, and ideological differences into relevance when people eat out, buy a wedding cake, or request a custom website for their wedding.
By advocating their right to refuse service to people with whom they disagree, Conservative Christians have created the conditions for people who disagree with them to refuse…
