It would be hard to read the Catholic press these days and not notice the press toward conscience protection for Catholic organizations. I realize that much of the pressure is political, not philosophical. Nonetheless, I am still puzzling about the underlying philosophical justifications for conscience protections--and how they operate. In particular, for example, I am not sure what the difference between "conscience' and "discrimination" is. Consider two cases.1. A Catholic adoption agency does not want to place children with same sex or unmarried couples because of its underlying belief that such living situations will harm children by communicating the mistaken moral judgment that same sex relations or unmarried sexual relations are not always immoral. It asks for conscience protection--the freedom to place children in accordance with its conscientious moral judgments about sexual morality.2. A secular humanist adoption agency does not want to place children with conservative Catholic couples because of its underlying belief that such living situations will harm children by communicating the mistaken moral judgment that same sex relations or unmarried sexual relations ARE always immoral. It asks for conscience protection--the freedom to place children in accordance with its conscientious moral judgment.In each case, those who disagree with the agency's underlying policy are going to charge "discrimination." Secular humanists are going to say that the Catholic agency in case 1 is discriminating against those with more liberal sexual morality, while Catholics are going to say that the secular humanists in case 2 are discriminating against Catholics.Is there any way to differentiate between "conscience protection" and "discrimination" without taking a stand on the underlying substantive moral issue? And if not, how will the secular law be able to protect one rather than the other?

Cathleen Kaveny is the Darald and Juliet Libby Professor in the Theology Department and Law School at Boston College.

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