June 20 A 40-foot cross erected as a tribute to World War I dead may continue to stand on public land in Maryland, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, rejecting arguments that it represented an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The vote was 7 to 2 for the Bladensburg Peace Cross, which…
Covington County sheriff defends religious posts on Facebook page
Covington County Sheriff Blake Turman defended religious posts he’s made on the “Covington County Sheriffs Department” Facebook page after a national organization called them unconstitutional. (Source: WSFA 12 News) COVINGTON COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) – The Covington County sheriff is responding to a letter that accuses him of unconstitutional religious promotion…
Symposium: Decision does not support new Christian-only monuments
Holly Hollman is general counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, which submitted an amicus brief in support of the respondents in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association . When the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in the Bladensburg cross case , many church-state separationists feared a…
Supreme Court Rules A 40-Foot WWI Memorial Shaped As A Cross Can Stand On Public Land
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: It is June, and that means the U.S. Supreme Court is issuing decisions and winding up its term. Today, the nine justices weighed in on the separation of church and state. By a 7-2 margin, the court ruled that a 40-foot cross, a World War I…
Steven Waldman: Supreme Court’s ‘Peace Cross’ case demonstrates the fine art of pretending religious symbols aren’t religious
The Supreme Court Thursday ruled that a large cross erected as a memorial to the dead may continue to stand on public land in Maryland because it has many secular purposes. In other words, the real verdict on the “Peace Cross” case is: Be careful what you wish for. This…
Court’s ruling lets WWI cross stand
The 40-foot Maryland Peace Cross, erected in 1925 on public land in Bladensburg, Md., as a tribute to 49 World War I veterans, can continue to stand despite being a symbol of Christianity, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 40-foot cross…
Supreme Court says 40-foot Maryland cross can stand as war memorial
Supreme Court says 40-foot Maryland cross can stand as war memorial The Supreme Court said Thursday the Constitution did not require tearing down historic monuments just because they featured religious symbols, such as crosses or the Ten Commandments. In a 7-2 decision, the high court upheld the display of a…
SCOTUS: Cross honoring military can remain on public land
Michael Robinson Chavez/Washington Post The “Peace Cross,” the focus of an intense court case regarding its upkeep and placement on public land, stands at a busy intersection in Bladensburg, Md. By Robert Barnes | Washington Post WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 40-foot cross erected as a…
Atheist Group Will End Legal Fight Over Tax-Free Housing for Religious Leaders
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has decided, wisely, to end its battle over a huge unconstitutional tax break for religious leaders. The perk is known as the “Parsonage Exemption” and it’s the loophole that allows ministers to deduct the cost of rent of their church-owned houses from their taxable income.…
Supreme Court tests wall separating church, state
The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing in on the constitutional question of whether the symbol of Christ’s crucifixion is necessarily religious. The high court agreed Nov. 2 to review a lower court ruling that a 40-foot cross at the center of one of the busiest intersections in Prince George’s County,…
ECHR twisted logic: You can insult Christian but not Muslim religion
Pussy Riot performs in concert during Day For Night festival on December 16, 2017 in Houston, Texas © Getty Images / Gary Miller Two recent rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) demonstrate not only that it’s a political and hypocritical organization. They also show the severe structural…
Time’s up for ‘standing by’ in China, say religious watchdog groups
China (MNN) – China may finally be making the move to re-write the Bible. Bob Fu, founder of China Aid , a persecution watchdog group, raised the alarm this month, in an address to members of the U-S government. According to him, the Three Self Patriotic Movement and the Chinese…
Ravenna nativity display drew lawsuit threats
Hide caption By Diane Smith / Reporter A nativity scene that was added to the Christmas display at the Ravenna Courthouse Lawn last year was the subject of complaints, including a letter from an out-of-state group that advocates for the separation of church and state. Rebecca Markert, legal director of…
Legal battle continues over religious leader housing tax break
The future of the “parsonage allowance exclusion” is in the hands of the courts. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons (RNS) — A federal court heard oral arguments this week on whether a longstanding housing tax break for clergy called a “parsonage allowance exclusion” is constitutional, setting the stage for a…
U.S. Supreme Court to Wade Into Church-State Battle Over Maryland WWI Cross
Taking up a case that may have implications for how its church-state rulings are applied in public schools, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said it would review a lower-court ruling that a 93-year-old cross on public land that memorializes a Maryland county’s World War I dead is unconstitutional. The…
Christians Sentenced to Death Under Sharia Law
In response to the latest abuses against Christians, Amnesty International has initiated an "urgent action" appeal. It has called on the Iranian regime to "quash the convictions and sentences of Victor Bet-Tamraz, Shamiram Isavi, Amin Afshar-Naderi, and Hadi Asgari, as they have been targeted solely for the peaceful exercise of…
China mulls censoring online religious content
The new online rules would only allow members of officially licensed organisations to post certain kinds of religious content (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE) Beijing (AFP) – Chinese authorities have drafted sweeping new regulations that would severely restrict religious content online, including images or even descriptions of religious activities from praying […]…
Explainer: What is the ‘religious freedom’ debate about, and why are we having it?
One of the loudest voices calling for better protection of religious freedoms in recent years has been the Prime Minister Scott Morrison. But what exactly is religious freedom, and why are we having this debate now? Who follows what religion in Australia? Christianity remains the dominant religious group in […]…
China wages war on Jesus
News Modal Trigger BEIJING — China’s government is ratcheting up a crackdown on Christian congregations in Beijing and several provinces, destroying crosses, burning Bibles, shutting churches and ordering followers to sign papers renouncing their faith, according to pastors and a group that monitors religion in China. The campaign corresponds […]…