Following a complaint lodged by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Mebane council members will start their meetings with a moment of silence instead of a prayer. This is according to Mebane Mayor Ed Hooks, who during the Dec. 6 regular session said the city would transition from prayers to a…
The case that’s testing the Supreme Court’s boundaries on church and state
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,…
Creche erected in state Capitol legal
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 Curious Case of Establishment of Religion Meets Education
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…
Federal Judge Dismisses Case of Christian Photographer Who Refuses to Take Pictures of Same-Sex Weddings
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,…
Restore the original immigration policy: an open door
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 ND Law alumni join Religious Liberty Initiative team
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,…
Conservatives hoping for a 6-3 ruling in favor of taxpayer funding for sectarian schools
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…
U.S. Supreme Court seems to favor extending Maine public tuition payments to religious high schools
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 Is Dead-Set on Recasting Religious Neutrality as Religious Discrimination
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…
Supreme Court Ruling on Religious Schools Could Imperil Separation of Church and State
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…
Supreme Court hears appeal of Maine parents seeking to have state pay for religious schools
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…
Victoria Anti-Discrimination Bill ‘Unfairly Targets’ Religious Organizations, Archbishop Says
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…
Victoria anti-discrimination bill ‘unfairly targets’ religious organizations, archbishop says
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…
Supreme Court Poised to Further Open the Door for Taxpayer Funding of Religious Schools
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…
Pastors seek to limit governor’s emergency powers
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…
Iran’s House Churches Are Not Illegal, Says Supreme Court Justice
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…
There’s another big religious liberty case coming to the Supreme Court next week
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…
Court temporarily blocks San Diego schools’ vaccine mandate after suit filed by 16-year-old
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…
We are experiencing ‘the greatest assault on religious freedom’
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.…
Parental educational rights and religious liberty
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…
Biden Shot-or-Test Mandate Collides with Faith-Based Objections
Visitors sit on pews in the Great Upper Church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the campus of Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Religious employers assert ‘church autonomy’ in lawsuits OSHA mandate said to force institutions to violate beliefs Christian schools, churches, and seminaries…
Prayers for ‘Where the Church Suffers the Most’ in Europe
An icon of Christ damaged by shellfire at St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) Church in Donetsk, Ukraine, in 2017. To mark the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church [this month], the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) calls upon evangelicals to unite in praying for the area of Europe where the church…
OPINION: Parental educational rights and religious liberty: the Yoder case revisited
Dr. John A. Sparks 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…
Parental educational rights and religious liberty: Yoder case revisited
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…