Wendy Kaminer’s got a nice little column in the March 11th American Prospect examining a lingering hypocrisy underlying this country’s ostensible religious pluralism. Kaminer compares the treatment of two families, the Corneau’s (of Attleboro, Massachusetts) and the Twitchell’s (also of Massachusetts). The Corneau’s belong to a Christian fundamentalist group called “The Body,” which — like Christian Science — rejects modern medical care in accordance with its religious beliefs. But unlike Christian Scientists such as the Twitchells, the Corneaus, Kaminer points out, “are being deprived of all rights to raise a family” by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts because, unlike Christian Science, The Body has been labeled a “cult” — and so is not protected as an established church.

Kaminer writes:

Americans who pride themselves on the religiosity of our country and its pluralistic tradition should consider the disparate treatment of the Corneaus and the Twitchells. If our respect for religious pluralism were genuine, members of established churches like Christian Science would not enjoy greater protection than do members of small sects, which are denigrated as “cults.” All parents, of any or no religion, would be prohibited from denying their children medical care and could be prosecuted for homicide if any of their children died because of intentional medical neglect. But no parents would be presumed to be abusive, neglectful, or otherwise unfit and denied the right to raise their children because of their religious beliefs.

Massachusetts “has stopped just short of requiring the Corneaus to be sterilized” — a fundamental violation of personal liberty if ever there was one. So my question is, why am I hearing about this in the squishy American Prospect and not through the normally reliable libertarian collective?

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