News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
The jury box in the Loudoun County Courthouse. [Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now] Four religious ministries are suing the state over two new Virginia laws they claim infringe upon their rights to assert their religious beliefs—and to hire, fire and provide health insurance for their employees based on those convictions. On Sept.…
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a Virginia federal court’s ruling in Young v. Newton that Virginia’s Riverside Regional Jail’s Christians-only area of the facility — known as a "God Pod" — had…
A sign outside of the church encourages people to stop by for a “drive-by” mass at St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church on March 15, 2020 in Aurora. Colorado’s COVID-19 public health orders that limit the number of people who can attend indoor religious services and require worshippers to…
0 Colorado’s COVID-19 public health orders that limit the number of people who can attend indoor religious services and require worshippers to wear masks at all times are unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Domenico ruled last week that state officials cannot enforce mask-wearing mandates or…
On July 1, the state of Virginia enacted the “Virginia Values Act,” which bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. A companion law requires employers to include coverage for sex reassignment and “gender affirming” surgeries in their health plans. According to the Alliance Defending Freedom ,…
United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recently signaled that he would favor a broad exception to anti-discrimination laws, writes columnist Erwin Chemerinsky. [Scott Bryant/savannahnow.com] Scott Bryant Hide caption This column was written by Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. The Constitution protects religious beliefs. It…
In the pandemic’s early days, the American judiciary largely gave governors wide leeway in issuing unprecedented business-closure and stay-at-home orders in order to dampen the spread of the disease. More recently, some judges, concerned by the scope and duration of those orders, have taken steps to enforce constitutional limits on…
United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recently signaled that he would favor a broad exception to anti-discrimination laws, writes columnist Erwin Chemerinsky. [Scott Bryant/savannahnow.com] Scott Bryant Hide caption This column was written by Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. The Constitution protects religious beliefs. It…
Hide caption United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recently signaled that he would favor a broad exception to anti-discrimination laws, writes columnist Erwin Chemerinsky. [Scott Bryant/savannahnow.com] Scott Bryant This column was written by Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. The Constitution protects religious beliefs. It…
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett indicated in her confirmation hearing that she would fit in comfortably with the conservative majority on the high court that has ruled in recent years for an expansive view of religious liberty. During her last day of questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee…
Special to The Times The cesspool of our American culture is not the result of too much God, faith, or religion, but too little. With the pending confirmation hearing of nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, it is appropriate to review what our Constitution says about religion.…
The nine justices of the United States Supreme Court were photographed Nov. 30, 2018. Seated from left to right: Stephen G. Breyer, Clarence Thomas, John G. Roberts, Jr., Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Samuel A. Alito. Standing from left to right: Neil M. Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Brett M.…
Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. | Wikimedia Commons/Farragutful A federal judge quoted Hebrews 10:25 as he ruled against Mayor Muriel Bowser’s restriction on outdoor church services of more than 100 people, allowing Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., to resume in-person outdoor services. “It is for the…
After months of attempting to persuade D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (shown) to grant them an exception to her draconian virus-inspired restrictions on in-person meetings by churches, the Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC) filed suit in September . The church said, “Meeting in-person as one congregation is a deeply-held conviction for…
Meghan Clark, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, St. John’s University Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, Villanova University David Gibson, Director, Center for Religion and Culture, Fordham University Damon Silvers, Director of Policy and Special Counsel, AFL-CIO Convener: Mark Massa, S.J., Director, The Boisi Center for Religion…
Caption Shaw Media file photos Shaw Media file photos Caption Despite significant legal precedents and a widespread acceptance by historians, educators, public officials and civilians, congressional candidate Rick Laib doesn’t believe there’s a constitutional separation of church and state. The subject arose in a discussion with the Daily Herald after…
Opinion Summary: But if the hearings do go forward, senators should press Barrett on her views of precedent as they relate not only to Roe v. Wade and abortion but also to Obergefell and marriage equality. She also should be asked about the other issue in the Kim Davis case:…
Moderated by Attorney & OLLI Instructor Doug Mishkin Wednesday, October 7 at 6pm Eastern Free & online via Zoom: registration required Within 12 days this past summer, the U.S. Supreme Court decided three cases involving the relationship between government and religion: May a state forbid tax-supported scholarships to religious private…
Los Angeles Times If and when the Senate Judiciary Committee questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, senators are expected to ask her about whether she accepts Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling legalizing abortion, as “settled law.” Two current members of the court have teed up another question that…
A supporter of same-sex marriage waves a flag outside the U.S. Supreme Court. The Constitution protects religious beliefs. It does not protect a person’s right to discriminate based on religious belief. But on Monday, two Supreme Court justices — Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — indicated they see things quite…
Justice Clarence Thomas at a Library of Congress event in 2018. Although I don’t always agree with them — how dull if I did! — I think the nation is generally well-served by Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. Thomas is a candid and original thinker…
Justice Thomas and Justice Alito added that the Obergefell ruling “enables courts and governments” to label believers in traditional marriage “as bigots, making their religious liberty concerns that much easier to dismiss.” United States Supreme Court (photo: Rena Schild / Shutterstock) WASHINGTON — Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on…
lawsuit filed in federal court is challenging language on Alabama’s voter registration form, saying that the phrase “so help me God” amounts to a mandatory religious oath prohibited by the Constitution. Alabama is the only state that requires voters to swear the truthfulness of their voter registration information by signing…
After adding seven new cases to their docket on Friday, the Supreme Court issued more orders on Monday morning from last week’s “long” conference. The justices called for the views of the federal government in three new cases and set the latest chapter of a long-running water dispute between Florida…
Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. | Wikimedia Commons/Farragutful The Department of Justice is backing Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., in its lawsuit against Mayor Murriel Bowser for unfairly applying a ban on outdoor church services of more than 100 people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The department…