Reasons Why For Profit Business and Corporations Can Exercise Religion

One of the big issues with the HHS Contraception mandate cases that will have to be resolved is does business and in particular profit making business in some form of corporate form even have the ability to exercise First Amendment rights. In particular does a business in the corporate form have even standing to have their  dayin court on the matter !!

The Obama administration's position has been a pretty flat no as we have observed their arguments in various courts around the county.

I have always find the reasoning that supports such a position that is being advocated by the government as rather flimsy. Some say corporations are not people so too bad. However that argument seems to make little sense in other claims. For instance under that a view a corporation does not have " race " and minority owners of corporations would have no standing to sue for discrimination as to say government contracts.

Mark L. Rienzi  who is an Associate Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law has an good article up at Public Discourse called God and the Profits: Religious Liberty for Money-Makers . He makes the case that yes indeed for profit business can and does exercise religion. Thus they should have standing to get their day in court.

This is condensed and very reader friendly version of the Law Review article he just wrote on the topic. A good read.