Creative Commons Having been raised Baptist and then Methodist, I understand how important religion, especially Christianity, can be to many people. Furthermore, I have been in the public school system for 14 years, starting in kindergarten and continuing through college. I can absolutely understand why many parents choose to send…
Parkersburg, Freedom from Religion Foundation seek ruling in prayer lawsuit
PARKERSBURG — Attorneys for the City of Parkersburg and the Freedom from Religion Foundation have asked a federal judge to decide a lawsuit over the recitation of the Lord’s prayer by City Council members without a hearing. Both sides submitted a joint stipulation of facts to U.S. District Judge for…
Why The Government Can Shut Down Church Gatherings During Pandemics
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper. This weekend the Kansas Supreme Court ruled with the Governor in upholding her order to close church services over 10 persons. That is particularly notable since, as mentioned in the column, Kansas is a state with enhanced protections for the free exercise…
Kadhi’s court to keep off Christian, Muslim divorces
The man filed for divorce at a Kadhi court in Kibera. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP Kadhi’s courts cannot determine a divorce case between a Muslim and Christian couple, the High Court has ruled while restoring a marriage between a Catholic woman and her Muslim husband. Justice Aggrey…
Navy chaplain accused of violating Constitution for encouraging soldiers to ‘lead like Jesus’
A member of the U.S. Navy reads from a small Bible during an Easter service in Kandahar April 4, 2010. A U.S. Navy chaplain has been accused of violating the U.S. Constitution for teaching an optional 12-week seminar called "Lead Like Jesus" at the Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island.…
Supreme Court to Decide on Scope of Church Immunity in Religious School Employment Cases
The Supreme Court is seen at sunset in Washington, on Jan. 24, 2019. (Scott Applewhite/AP) The Supreme Court has agreed to consider how much protection church schools have from government intervention when it comes to choosing teachers for its religion classes. The top court agreed ( pdf ) on Wednesday…
High school Bible classes are divisive, unnecessary | Commentary
For a second year running, Florida legislators have filed a bill that would make our state the first in the nation to require all public high schools to offer elective courses on the Old and New Testaments. (John Solie/istock) For a second year running, Florida legislators have filed a bill…
MAT backs down in legal case on religious assemblies
A Church of England multi-academy trust has settled out of court after being threatened with High Court action over its assemblies, following claims that they breached human rights and were indoctrinating pupils. The Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust was facing a case brought by parents who said primary pupils were made…
God Made Me Do It: The New Religious Freedom
S ince before Trump, religious conservatives in this country have been developing a doctrine that the Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of religion allows them to refuse to comply with laws that are against their religion. On this basis religious people claim the right to refuse to participate in legal abortions,…
China Escalates Religious Suppression
Falun Gong Adherent meditating in Tieneman Square By ClearWisdom.net While a religiously tolerant Europe slowly slips away from religious belief and observance, the government of China treats religion not as recognition of mankind’s spiritual nature, but as a threat to society, to law and order and to state control. Ironically,…
Supreme Court declines La Plata student’s First Amendment appeal
A petition to review a writ of certiorari filed on behalf of a La Plata High School alumna, who claimed that the Charles County Public Schools system violated her First Amendment rights back in 2014 by allegedly promoting and endorsing assignments about Islam which conflicted with her Christianity, was denied…
Supreme Court Rejects Case of Christian Student Forced to Write Islamic Prayer
Supreme Court Rejects Case of Christian Student Forced to Write Islamic Prayer The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up the case of a Christian high school student who claims her constitutional rights were violated when she was forced to write on a worksheet, “There is no god but…
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Case In Which Students Were Forced To Make Written Profession To Allah
Supreme Court Declines To Hear Case Promoting Islam In Public School The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case of a Christian high school student in Maryland who, despite threats of receiving a failing grade, refused to deny her faith by making a written profession of the Muslim conversion…
Supreme Court rejects case of Christian teen forced to write Islamic conversion prayer
Maryland high schooler Caleigh Wood’s case made it to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that an assignment to write the Islamic Conversion Prayer did not violate the establishment clause of the first amendment. But the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Should the Supreme Court…
Christianity at the Supreme Court: From majority power to minority rights
Login | October 01, 2019 university of Massachusetts Lowell (THE CONVERSATION) A movement for religious rights is transforming the place of religion in American public life. From the 1960s until very recently, liberals successfully argued at the Supreme Court that the tyranny of the majority cannot define the lives and…
Veterans group pushes to dismiss suit over Bible on display
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A battle over a Bible on display at New Hampshire’s veterans hospital was the focus of a federal court hearing Wednesday, with lawyers for the government arguing that a lawsuit demanding its removal should be dismissed because the Air Force veteran who filed it hasn’t shown…
Constitutional shortcomings at CNU
An explanation of our separation of Church and State, or lack thereof “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition…
Veterans group pushes to dismiss suit over Bible on display at Manchester VA Medical Center
CONCORD, N.H. — A battle over a Bible on display at New Hampshire’s veterans hospital was the focus of a federal court hearing Wednesday, with lawyers for the government arguing that a lawsuit demanding its removal should be dismissed because the Air Force veteran who filed it hasn’t shown he…
Christianity at the Supreme Court: From majority power to minority rights
Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content. Morgan Marietta, University of Massachusetts Lowell (THE CONVERSATION) A movement for religious rights is transforming the place of religion in American public life. From the 1960s until very recently, liberals successfully…
Realtor sues real estate board over investigation into Bible verses on webpage
(Photo: Flickr Commons/Joe Gratz) A Christian realtor is suing the Virginia Real Estate Board, saying she felt compelled to resign after being investigated for a fair housing complaint related to sharing her religious beliefs on a business website and email signatures. In the state lawsuit filed in Richmond, Hadassah Hubbard…
Why This Court Got It Right On Religious Imagery
Nicole Russell is a contributor to The Daily Signal. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, National Review, Politico, The Washington Times, The American Spectator, and Parents Magazine. In a win for the First Amendment, a federal appellate court ruled earlier this month that the seal…
Cross in seal of Pa. county ‘plainly constitutional,’ rules appeals court
The flag and seal of Lehigh County, Pa. (Images via court documents) (Religion News Service) — A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a Lehigh County, Pa., seal that contains a cross, citing a recent Supreme Court decision. The unanimous ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of…
Appeals Court: Christian Logo for Lehigh County (PA) Doesn’t Promote Religion
This is disappointing: An Appeals Court has ruled in favor of a Christian logo representing a Pennsylvania county, overturning an earlier ruling that said (fairly obviously) that the symbol was a promotion of religion. The battle began in 2016 when the lawsuit was filed. A judge later declared that the…
Justices Uphold Cross on Public Land and Debate Key Test for School Religion Cases
« Justice Dept. Backs Religious School Choice in Case on Maine Tuition Program | Main | Supreme Court Backs Federal Agencies’ Power to Interpret Their Own Rules » Washington The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 94-year-old cross memorializing a Maryland county’s World War I dead, but stopped short…
The Supreme Court’s Giant Cross Compromise Will Erode the Separation of Church and State
Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images. The separation of church and state survived a close brush with death on Thursday, emerging scathed but alive thanks to a compromise decision that may not hold for long. Seven justices voted to allow a 94-year-old, 40-foot cross to remain on…