Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Texas

Re: Freedom of Religion and Divorce

Your freedom of religion is imortant, but it is not important enough to justify forcing your spouse to remain married to you against his/her will. To do so would be to deprive your spouse of his or her rights for religious concerns which your spouse obviously does not share. As I see it, this would be a rather clear violation of both the Establishment Clause (since the state would be officially enforcing religious rules) and the Free Exercise Clause (since your spouse's beliefs clearly allow for divorce) of the First Amendment.

You say you don't want the court to grant the divorce "without Biblical cause", but the Bible is not the law in this country -- even in Texas -- and a court that chose to enforce the Bible when the laws require a different result would be violating the Establishment Clause. Besides, different people interpret the Bible in different ways, and I don't think any of us wants the courts to say which interpretation is correct. I'm sure you wouldn't want such a decision if it was contrary to your interpretation of the Bible, and members of religions which do not adhere to the Bible at all would like it even less.

Assuming that the case otherwise satisfies the requirements of your local divorce statutes, your religious objection will not matter.

Most religions that forbid divorce will not recognize a civil divorce and will consider you and your spouse married even after Texas says you no longer are.

The civil act of granting a divorce does not compel your church to recognize it. Your belief that a divorce imposed upon you will make you a sinner is probably incorrect; you should consult with your clergy about this point.

And I don't agree with your view that your rights are being violated. You have no right to control the life of another adult, which is what you would be doing by forcing your spouse to remain married to you.