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SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/13thogue/Downloads/13thogue.culturecurrentevent.docx 9 February 2012

Catholic Outcry Over Obama Administration's Birth Control Decision Could be a Factor in Presidential Race

**Summary** This article addresses the exploding issue of the government trying to overpower religious freedom. With the new health care act the Obama Administration has been accused of over stepping their bounds by many religious organizations however perhaps the most out spoken is the Catholic Church. The mandate is that all employers must provide coverage for birth control as well as abortions regardless of religious beliefs or backgrounds of the employer or organization. The Catholic Church has been speaking out about this since it came to light and many services and pulpits have been centered on this very topic. While last presidential election 57% of Catholics voted for Obama this mandate may change this statistic drastically, something many say the president cannot afford if he is to stay in office for a second term. The Obama administration stands behind their policy stating that they have carved out allowances for churches and other religious organizations. In rebuttal the this the catholic church has said that even with allowances many catholic run organizations will be forced to provide contraceptive coverage when it goes directly against their beliefs. **Relevance**

I believe that this article greatly relates to the topic of culture. Many times religion is one of the biggest aspects to our country's culture however I do believe it has been out of the spotlight for quite some time. This new mandate definitely affects our countries culture because it greatly affects our religious freedom.

Our religious freedom is one of the foundations that our country was built upon1. This new mandate would most definitely go against this idea of religious freedom. If the government forces everyone to provide coverage for contraceptives regardless of religious beliefs then this shows a definite lack of sensitivity for religious views. If this is to happen it could drastically change Americas culture simply because if they can do this then what is stopping them from further limiting our religious freedoms which our culture is centered around.

This also reflects the recent trend in the culture surrounding presidential elections where the incumbent has the tendency to sway politically and regarding values to secure more votes. This is evident in this situation with the Obama administration trying to cater to the views of the Catholics. This is a bad thing in the eyes of many because it shows that the president’s own policies are not the best when it comes to the views of the nation.

**Evaluation**

I believe that this issue is very important right now and will be increasingly in the spotlight in the coming months. This is a vital aspect to the upcoming election as well as how this president will be remembered. I think that this mandate is greatly overstepping the bounds of the national government however I also think that the entire national health care bill is completely unconstitutional as well, but that’s another paper entirely.

**Questions**
 * 1)  Will Obama change the mandate?
 * 2)  If this stands how much of the catholic vote will Obama lose?
 * 3)  Will the Republican candidates address this issue?
 * 4)  Was religious freedom an issue in previous elections?

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1. "United States Declaration of Independence" Wikipedia.

**Bibliography**

"United States Declaration of Independence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free// //encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. < [] >

"Catholic Outcry Over Obama Administration's Birth Control Decision Could Be Factor In Presidential Race | Fox News." //Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. .