Will the Owners of Hobby Lobby Have to Check Their Faith at Their Own Door?

by Joseph E. Kurtz
FaithStreet
 

Faith inspires not only charitable work, but charity in all work. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the pleas of two families whose faith has long inspired and shaped the way they do business. They seek only the freedom to continue living out their vocations through their businesses without fear of punishment by the government.

It is easy to see faith inspiring charity in the many homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and other charitable endeavors started by people of faith in our country. Studies show that people of faith donate more to charities — whether or not the charities have a religious affiliation. Americans in particular have been deemed the “most generous” people in the world.

But if we look more carefully, we can also see how faith can inspire generosity in other workplaces. Many businesses run by people of faith choose to pay employees more, commit to preserving the environment, establish college funds, or donate significant amounts to nonprofit causes.

People of faith do all of these things because they believe that religion should inspire the decisions they make outside of the four walls of their chosen house of worship. Indeed, Pope Francis has observed that “religion [cannot] be relegated to the inner sanctum of personal life, without influence on societal and national life.” Faith moves us to show concern and responsibility for promoting the common good for the entire human family — including our employees, our neighbors, and those depressed by poverty or hurting from illness.
The Catholic Church has a firm conviction that every Christian is called to practice charity in a manner corresponding to his or her vocation. Some Catholics, like the Little Sisters of the Poor who run nursing homes for the elderly poor, devote their entire lives to helping others and embrace a vow of poverty themselves.

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  Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. is the archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). As president, Archbishop Kurtz serves on the executive and administrative committees of the USCCB. Archbishop Kurtz also served as vice president of the USCCB from 2010-2013. He served as bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1999-2007 before being appointed to Louisville. Kurtz earned bachelor and master of divinity degrees from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and a master’s degree in social work from the Marywood School of Social Work in Scranton. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown (Pennsylvania) in 1972. Follow him on Twitter @ArchbishopKurtz.