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Revision as of 15:16, 3 October 2004 by Christofurio (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)freedom of worship is the right as, postulated by the liberal tradition of political philosophy, for any individual to worship any God, or gods, or no God, as that person sees fit.
That is easy to state, but what this ideal entails is more difficult to implement. Consider the issue of a sabbath and the workplace. If a private employer discharges an employee for failure to report to work on what the employee considers a holy day or a day of rest, does this act violate freedom of worship?
One school of thought restricts one's rights in general to rights against a sovereign and its agents. Does it follow that a public agency must make hiring and decisions regardless of a potential employee's availability on given days, but a private employer can take them into account?
If a government provides unemployment insurance, and the availability of that insurance is tied to the reason for an individual's discharge from his most recent place of employment, then the question of freedom of worship, and choice of a sabbath, acquires a new context.