Freedom of Religion? I think not...

Tuesday, October 20th, 2015

Yesterday I was summoned for Jury Duty as is my duty as a Citizen of the United States of America.

HOWEVER

If I abide by my personal beliefs, I do not believe that I personally have any right to pass a judgment on someone or to condemn someone to a certain fate. Who am I to say that someone is guilty and should go to jail, when Jesus absolved me of all my sins, saving me from an eternity in Hell...

So when I went up to the gentleman that was in charge of the whole case, I told him,

"I called earlier, but they said I would have to speak with you in person. So as is written in Luke 6:37, 'Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven' therefore it is against my belief to judge someone or condemn them, and so I cannot serve as a juror."

He looked at me almost as if I were a child that needed to have a simple explanation of something, and told me that even though that is technically my belief, I will have to serve as a juror no matter what and that belief does not exempt me from being a juror on a case. He then went on to say, "Well you actually are on a criminal case" and I was thinking "How does that make a difference, or make it better in any way? I'm still not allowed to make a judgment, and it's not even that I'm not allowed, it's that I have no right to do so, because I have been absolved of all my sins, so the Christian way to go would be to absolve the person I'm  'judging'".

He told me what would happen would be that I would be picked and then at the actual trial I would have to tell someone that I believe that I cannot judge someone. But then, even though I would tell someone that, I would still be expected to make a decision and a judgment....

I replied, "But that's the problem! I cannot make a judgment! That's the whole issue I have..." and he said (as he was slightly chuckling/smiling/laughing, and made this situation seem like it was kind of absurd.... which I thought was kind of disrespectful) that even though that's my belief, I would still have to make a judgment so I said "Well then I guess I would just say that the person is not guilty because I do not believe that I have any right to condemn someone to years in jail when I was saved from an eternity in Hell."

At that point he said, "Well you can't do that because that's against our law and jury rules" (I can't remember the exact wording he used, but he was also chuckling throughout this). At this point you could tell he was getting kind of frazzled because I was about to say, "Then how is my Freedom of Religion being respected?" but he asked if I worked and I said that I worked part-time and was a full-time student and he immediately let me go from the court because I was a full-time student and wouldn't be able to be there for the week that was needed of the jurors.

Although I got excused from serving in the court, I didn't get excused for the primary reason that I couldn't do it... Today was the first day that I have ever felt like my right as an American citizen was not recognized and that I was not being listened to. I felt like my right and freedom of religion was not assured but rather threatened.

We are told every day that our freedoms and rights are protected as American Citizens, but can someone explain to me how mine is protected if my belief is that I cannot pass a judgment on someone, condemning them to jail or some other form of punishment, and yet I'm told that I have to put that belief aside, follow the rules, and abide by the country's judiciary system?

I understand that there are people that have probably used this excuse to get out of serving their Jury Duty just because they don't want to, however, this is not the case. I don't usually get fired up about things, but when it comes to my family, my friends or my beliefs, I will not let this be quiet. How am I in any way being respected if I'm told "I understand that you believe this way, but it doesn't matter because you have to follow the guidelines we have set up. And although this is your belief, and we respect that, you're going to have to put that belief aside and go against it so that we follow our guidelines."

I was talking about this to my best friend, and she brought up a really good point. She said that our judiciary system always claims that it's secular and that it's separated from religion, however, if that is so, then why do we swear on the Bible when we are in court or take an oath?

So let me get this straight...

My freedom of practising my religion is protected through the Constitution and through my Bill of Rights, however, it doesn't matter what my religion and beliefs are when it comes to the judiciary system because I'm a citizen of the USA and am expected to fulfill my duties; even though these duties go against my beliefs, which should also be protected by the Bill of Rights, because I'm a citizen.... So then what is the point of being a citizen? We are told we are guaranteed our rights, and yet, we're not... We are told that our judiciary system is equal and fair and is secular... and yet we swear on the Bible when we are in the court... Why not swear on the Constitution? Why not swear on the Bill of Rights?

I don't want to start a political uproar or some kind of craze... I'm just putting my opinion out there and letting people know that this happens... yes this kind of persecution (because that is what I will call it) happens in our very own United States of America and I am seriously bothered by it....

I hope you all have a wonderful day and I hope that everyone finds themselves well and in a good place.... May God bless you all in whatever you do and wherever you find yourselves!!!

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**** UPDATE ****

So I spoke with my pastors after church this week and asked their opinion on this subject and this is what they said:

I would not be going against God's commandments if I served on the Jury because I am not the one that's making the ultimate decision. I'm giving my recommendation to the Judge, who also listens to the Lawyers and the other people before he makes his final decision. So the weight of the judgment weighs upon the judge, not myself and not the jurors. Also, if we are making a decision together as a jury, we as Christians can make a choice about what someone did, however, we must follow our beliefs.

For example, although the state might say that the death penalty is ok in that state, we as Christians should just have the person go to jail for life or something else, so that they could still have time to be saved before dying.

Thanks for listening! And as always, I would love hearing things you have to say! Just comment below!

-Suzanochka-