In January the Obama administration unveiled new
health care regulations that require organizations run by the Roman
Catholic Church to offer health insurance that covers women’s
reproductive services, including contraception. The U.S. Council of
Catholic Bishops denounced the mandate as a violation of the First
Amendment’s ban on laws “prohibiting the free exercise” of
religion. As the contraception controversy illustrates, writes
Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey, conflicts between church and
state in this country typically arise from the way that benefits
supplied or mandated by the government are distributed. So if
religious institutions want to be left alone, Bailey notes, they
should stop begging alms from the government.