News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
The Catholic organization doesn’t want to pay the Wisconsin unemployment insurance tax, which is usually mandatory for private employers. (CN) — A Catholic nonprofit umbrella organization and its subordinate businesses went before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday, arguing the groups ought to be exempt from paying the state’s unemployment…
Connecticut Supreme Court, Hartford, Conn. May 2022. The state Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to enforce a premarital agreement signed by a couple as part of their Jewish wedding ceremony, saying that attempts to interpret and enforce disputes over religious doctrine would violate the constitutional prohibition against government interference in…
Nearly 200 religious liberty leaders, scholars, and advocates from around the world met for the ninth World Congress of the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA) in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, from August 21–23, 2023. The international event invited attendees to discuss “a holistic understanding of freedom of religion or…
Image of NC Symphony is public domain via NC DNCR. Three former members of the North Carolina Symphony are suing their past employer to reinstate their jobs after being fired for refusing to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate because of their religious beliefs. Chris Caudill, Rachel Niketopoulos, and David…
BREMERTON — Moments after the Bremerton High School football team shook hands following its season-opening football win Friday night at Memorial Stadium, assistant coach Joe Kennedy walked to the 50-yard line and prayed. By himself, he knelt at the center of the 50-yard line for a quick prayer, that was…
FILE – Tennessee Sen. Paul Rose, R-Tipton, speaks on his bill allowing faith-based adoption agencies to decline to place children with same-sex couples because of their religious belief during a legislative session, Jan. 14, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. On Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, appellate judges revived a couple’s lawsuit that…
A father has failed in his claim that his daughter suffered discrimination from her school’s failure to allow her to participate in alternative classes after she opted out of religion classes. The man alleged the school had breached the Equal Status Act on grounds of religion. In a case at…
Appellate Judges Revive Jewish Couple’s Lawsuit Alleging Adoption Bias Under Tennessee Law August 25th, 20PM August 25th, 20PM NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Appellate judges have revived a couple’s lawsuitthat alleges a state-sponsored Christian adoption agency wouldn’t help them because they are Jewish and argues that a Tennessee law protecting such…
Tennessee state Sen. Paul Rose, R-Tipton, speaks on his bill allowing faith-based adoption agencies to decline to place children with same-sex couples because of their religious belief during a legislative session in 2020. On Thursday, appellate judges revived a couple’s lawsuit that alleges a state-sponsored Christian adoption agency wouldn’t help…
Appellate Judges Revive Jewish Couple’s Lawsuit Alleging Adoption Bias Under Tennessee Law August 25th, 22PM August 25th, 22PM NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Appellate judges have revived a couple’s lawsuitthat alleges a state-sponsored Christian adoption agency wouldn’t help them because they are Jewish and argues that a Tennessee law protecting such…
A pride flag flies in front of the US supreme court, in Washington. The extreme religious right’s mission to roll back civil rights from abortion to public accommodations is being fueled by false facts and false history. Recent articles in the New Republic have documented the shaky factual foundation behind…
Tennessee Sen. Paul Rose, R-Tipton, speaks on his bill allowing faith-based adoption agencies to decline to place children with same-sex couples because of their religious belief during a legislative session, Jan. 14, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. On Thursday, Aug. 24, … Tennessee’s Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the state’s…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Appellate judges have revived a couple’s lawsuit that alleges a state-sponsored Christian adoption agency wouldn’t help them because they are Jewish and argues that a Tennessee law protecting such denials is unconstitutional. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals ruled that Elizabeth…
This is the logo of Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ overseas relief and development agency, which is based in Baltimore. In case involving CRS employee, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled Aug. 14, 2023, that job protections based on sex or gender identity do not extend to sexual orientation; gay…
FILE: Students at Sacred Heart Academy in Grand Rapids on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. (Cory Morse | MLive.com) Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act is not violating the rights of a Catholic church and school in the state, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. St. Joseph Catholic Church in St. Johns and…
FILE: Students at Sacred Heart Academy in Grand Rapids on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. (Cory Morse | MLive.com) Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act is not violating the rights of a Catholic church and school in the state, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. St. Joseph Catholic Church in St. Johns and…
A Christian conservative legal group is encouraging a South Carolina school board to continue allowing members to open meetings with prayer after a secular legal organization demanded that the tradition be halted earlier this month. The First Liberty Institute, a legal nonprofit that has successfully argued First Amendment cases before…
Even as a youngster, I could see the difference, and it went beyond the white shirt, blue slacks and plaid tie that was my uniform. From the morning prayers to religious instruction to the nuns who taught me, it was an education steeped in Catholicism — subsidized by the tuition…
"Religious liberty protects one of the most fundamental and universal elements of the human experience — our desire to know our Creator," Deborah A. O’Malley Deborah A. O’Malley Guest Columnist Parma native Deborah A. O’Malley is associate director of the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government at the University of…
This is the logo of Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ overseas relief and development agency, which is based in Baltimore. In case involving CRS employee, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled Aug. 14, 2023, that job protections based on sex or gender identity do not extend to sexual orientation; gay…
Metroplex Atheists put up a billboard to advertise an upcoming seminar after the group’s application to hang banners in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, about the event was denied. Photo courtesy of American Atheists Aug. 18 (UPI) — Members of Metroplex Atheists, a north Texas organization, plan to march Saturday in…
Lois McLatchie Miller Slovakia might be a distant land, and Covid a distant memory. But a significant case brought to the European Court of Human Rights could bring closure to some of the legal questions posed during the pandemic – much-needed closure that many European nations have not yet received,…
Machine learning (ML) models are a cornerstone of modern technology, allowing models to learn from and make predictions based on vast amounts of data. These models have become integral to various industries in an era of rapid technological innovation, driving unprecedented advancements in automation, decision-making, and predictive analysis. The reliance…
The Maryland Supreme Court ruled Aug. 14 that the religious exemption in the state’s Fair Employment Practices Act "bars claims (of) religious, sexual orientation, and gender identity discrimination against religious organizations by employees who perform duties that directly further the core mission(s) of the religious entity." In its 4-3 decision,…
Website of Aurora Pro Services. Screen grab (RNS) — A North Carolina home repair company that advertises as “Grandmother Approved” has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by two employees who were fired for refusing to participate in daily Christian prayers. The lawsuit , brought by the…