News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
If a state pays for a student’s secular education, must it also pay for students’ religious education? That’s the question presented in Carson v. Makin , a case currently being argued at the Supreme Court. Maine, with a large area and small student population, pays for students to attend private,…
Rep. Jack Bergman and 37 House Republicans led by Rep. Mike Johnson, filed an Amicus Brief before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in support of 35 Navy service members seeking religious accommodations for the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The brief states: “The…
Oklahoma Capitol (File Photo) OKLAHOMA CITY — As Christian supporters Monday erected what is believed to be the state’s first nativity scene in recent years inside the state Capitol, one watchdog group warned the state also must allow other displays on the same topic in the future. Alex Hilton, the…
The fact that religious freedom was first shows how important the Founding Fathers considered religious freedom to be. Article Tags Is the US Constitution hostile to religion? Is the US Constitution hostile to private education provided by sectarian i.e. , religious, institutions? Is the US Constitution hostile to parents determining…
Emilee Carpenter is seen in a Fox News Channel screengrab. An Upstate New York wedding photographer has lost her bid to refuse service to same-sex couples after a federal judge dismissed with prejudice her lawsuit against the state. Emilee Carpenter , a photographer and blogger based in the Southern Tier,…
The Framers of the Constitution gave the federal government no authority to restrict peaceful immigration. For the first century or so of US history, most foreigners wishing to move to the United States were legally free to do so. The Constitution delegates many specific powers to the federal government, but…
Three of Notre Dame Law School’s alumni were drawn back to campus at the beginning of the fall 2021 semester by the opportunity to work for the Law School’s new Religious Liberty Initiative . The groundbreaking initiative promotes and defends religious freedom for people of all faiths through scholarship, events,…
Comments by justices of the United State Supreme Court Dec. 8 indicate likely support for parents of Maine high school students who want to use government funding to send their children to sectarian schools. During oral arguments before the court in the case Carson v. Makin , justices in the…
The U.S. Supreme Court has signaled that it could require Maine to expand a public tuition benefit to religious high schools. The justices heard oral arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit that could have nationwide implications for school choice programs. Maine allows students in towns with no public high schools to…
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard a case that’s going to put the Catholic-heavy roster of justices under a spotlight the size of one of those that they used to roll in for the opening of a new used-car lot. At issue was Carson v. Makin, a case out of…
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared ready Wednesday to rule that religious schools can’t be excluded from a Maine program that offers tuition aid for private education. The court’s six conservative justices seemed largely unpersuaded, after nearly two hours in the courtroom, by Maine’s arguments that the state is willing…
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday in a case that could see a major change in the nature of funding for schools that provide religious education across the country. In Carson v. Makin , the nine justices are being asked to decide whether the state of…
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 21: An exterior view of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 21, 2012 in Washington, DC. (CNN)The Supreme Court will return to the issue of religious liberty Wednesday and consider a Maine school tuition assistance program that parents say violates their religious rights under the First…
Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne called the new laws “a serious overreach by the Victorian Government into the rightful freedoms of faith-based organizations.” Melbourne Parliament House in Victoria, Australia. (photo: Jason Benz Benne / Shutterstock) MELBOURNE — Catholic leaders in Australia expressed concern this week about a new set of…
Parliament House for the state of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. | Stock photo via Shutterstock Catholic leaders in Australia expressed concern this week about a new set of laws passed in the state of Victoria which prevent religious groups and schools from making hiring decisions based on protected attributes such…
After imposing a strict church-state separation for decades, the Supreme Court appears poised to allow — and in some cases even require — more government funding of church-run schools. Legal experts say that could open the door to church-sponsored charter schools operating with public funds in many cities. Previously the…
Photo by Joel Muniz via Unsplash Landmark Religious Freedom Case in Maine Reaches Supreme Court By Movieguide® Staff The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear arguments against a Maine law that bars parents from using state student-aid programs if their children attend faith-based schools. Carson v. Makin will take…
DOVER, Del. — Two Delaware pastors are asking a court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting Democratic Gov. John Carney and his successors from exercising emergency powers that would restrict religious gatherings and practices. In separate Chancery Court lawsuits filed Wednesday, the clerics also seek a declaration that Carney’s previous…
Nine Iranian Christians from Rasht facing national security charges. Currently at least 20 Christians are jailed in Iran because their faith was deemed a threat to the Islamic republic’s national security. Of the more than 100 Iranian believers imprisoned since 2012, all have faced similar charges. Read This Issue More…
With all eyes fixated on the United States Supreme Court this week hearing oral arguments in the Mississippi abortion case, scant attention has been paid to another potentially landmark case before the court next week on taxpayer funding for religious education. The case is Carson v. Makin , and it…
A conservative Christian group challenging the City of Boston before the United States Supreme Court has landed support from two unlikely allies — the American Civil Liberties Union and the Biden administration. At issue is a request by a Christian civic group, Camp Constitution, for the City of Boston to…
Photo by Ed Us/Unsplash/Creative Commons (RNS) — The Ninth District Court of Appeals on Sunday (Nov. 28) temporarily blocked San Diego Unified School District’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate from taking effect, one day before students were required to have their first dose. This move comes after a 16-year-old high school student…
My Faith Votes recently sat down with Brad Dacus to discuss his views on the troubles we currently face in America. Brad is the Founder and President of the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), a legal defense organization providing representation in matters involving the exercise of religion and other civil liberties.…
Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Initiative filed an amicus brief this week in Shurtleff v. Boston , a case that asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hold that government officials may not exclude religious expression from the public square. In Boston, a city program allows private groups and citizens…
Throughout the country, parents are concerned that some public schoolboards, administrators, and associations hold them in disdain and fear their input when they raise legitimate questions about the direction of their local schools. Just short of 50 years ago (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that protects…