For years the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission warned that the addition of "sexual orientation" to non-discrimination regulations would collide head-on with religious freedom. Those conflicts are no longer theoretical in the United States, as a growing number of business owners are experiencing the brunt of what it can mean for a Christian to confront the culture.

Much of the faith community's attention in 2012 was focused on the HHS mandate that coerces religious non-profits to provide their employees with contraceptives and abortifacients as a part of their health insurance. Those issues continue unresolved with multiple cases filtering through the courts.

However, what hasn't received quite as much attention are a number of ongoing lawsuits involving for-profit businesses owned by people of faith. The following is a brief overview of Americans whose God-given (and First Amendment affirmed) rights are being trampled under the a regressive view of religious freedom.

BED & BREAKFAST, HOSPITALITY

Event venues have become a frontline for battles between same-sex couples and citizens who hold to a traditional definition of marriage. Last August, a family-owned and operated bed & breakfast in Vermont paid $30,000 to settle a suit filed against it, although no evidence of fault was produced. Wildflower Inn owner Jim O'Reilly explained the decision to settle:

"Our beliefs haven't changed.... Small businesses like ours cannot match the limitless resources of the government and the ACLU. Ongoing litigation like this can cripple any small business.... "

Following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Maryland last November, the operator of an Annapolis tour company has discontinued trolley transportation services for all weddings in an effort to avoid conflict altogether, foregoing approximately $50,000 a year in revenue. Also, a Methodist campground meeting association in New Jersey has lost its tax-exempt status because it declined to rent its privately owned facilities for a lesbian civil union ceremony. These cases are not a positive indication of things to come.

PHOTOGRAPHY

In 2006, Elaine Huguenin, a photographer in New Mexico, declined to photograph a lesbian "commitment" ceremony, believing her participation in such an event would affirm same-sex marriage which conflicts with her Christian faith. Elaine & her husband were fined almost $7000 by the New Mexico Human Rights Commission. The lower court decisions have not been encouraging thus far, although the New Mexico Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. As it stands, the New Mexico Court of Appeals essentially made it illegal for photographers to decline photographing events based on conflict with personally held religious beliefs.

MANUFACTURING

Newland v. Sebelius is the case of family-owned Hercules Industries, an HVAC manufacturer in Colorado that is suing the federal government over the mandate. The court decisions so far have been encouraging, but Obama's Department of Justice continues to appeal. They explicitly argue that Americans lose their freedom of religious expression once they engage in for-profit business activities. Autocam, an automotive parts and medical equipment manufacturer in Michigan, finds itself in a similar predicament. Continued...