News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback speaks to reporters as he unveils the annual U.S. assessment of religious freedom around the world, at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, May 29, 2018. Washington • The U. S. ambassador for religious freedom called for renewed activism…
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…
The U.S. supreme Court’s M starting its 2018-19 term this month. Although we don’t know yet the range of issues the high court will confront, many observers believe the question of whether religious freedom confers a right to discriminate may surface. The court last term dodged this issue. In its…
Image: Miracle Hill Ministries/Facebook As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services faces harsh criticism for its proposed policy to redefine “sex,” another memo sits on the desk of HHS Secretary Alex Azar, one that would allow South Carolina child welfare agency Miracle Hill Ministries to affirmatively discriminate on…
A map of the Archdiocese of Anchorage in Alaska. Map courtesy of Creative Commons (RNS) — The Archdiocese of Anchorage is launching an independent commission on sexual abuse to review all personnel files of those who have served in the region since 1966 and plans to release names of any…
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…
Twenty-five years after President Bill Clinton signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, most Americans don’t know about current aggressive efforts to amend RFRA into oblivion. In the last two months before the election, 50 House Democrats became new cosponsors on a bill gutting the 25-year-old Religious Freedom Restoration Act. That…
Bulgarian evangelicals have asked for prayer in the face of a new religion bill that threatens a draconian clampdown on minority faiths. The bill has passed its first reading through parliament and they have warned its impact on all faith communities will be serious if it becomes law. The Bulgarian…
Much of the English-language journalism in global news services is generated in increasingly secular societies, and in newsrooms, places that lean towards scepticism and irreverence. But the world is not so secular. Faith and its teachings and rituals play central roles in many lives. A readers’ editor sees how offence…
Last July the Israeli parliament adopted a basic law defining Israel as “the nation state of the Jewish people,” with more rights for Jews than other groups: including that Arabic was no longer an official language, that “Jewish settlement” was a national value, and that the right of “national self-determination”…
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…
(Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) After two conservative Christian groups filed lawsuits against the city of Austin over the past week challenging an ordinance that protects LGBTQ individuals from discrimination, Texas LGBTQ advocates said Wednesday they do not think the lawsuits will hold up in court. The first lawsuit , filed…
Row over Australia plan to let faith schools reject gay students GAY students and teachers could be rejected by religious schools under changes to anti-discrimination laws being recommended by a federal review into religious freedom. ‘We will protect religious freedom, and get the balance right. In the federal sphere, senator…
A billboard sponsored by the Freedom from Religion Foundation in Harrisburg, Pa. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons (RNS) — An atheist relief organization has sued the Internal Revenue Service, claiming its tax-exempt status was unfairly revoked. IRS officials say the group failed to file required annual information to the agency…
Ashers Bakery owners Amy and Daniel McArthur outside the Supreme Court in London, on Oct. 10, 2018. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP) LONDON (RNS) — On both sides of the Atlantic, a drama set in a bakery has pitted freedom of religion against LGBT civil rights and Exhibit A has been…
Ambassador Sam Brownback delivers a speech about religious freedown during the 25th annual International Law and Religion Symposium at in Salt Lake City on Monday, Oct. 8, 2018. Qiling Wang, Deseret News (courtesy) It shouldn’t sound as difficult as it does. During his recent visit to Provo, Utah to speak…
Fairfax Media’s exclusive report on Wednesday detailing sections of the religious freedom review commissioned by the Coalition government has triggered a political furore. The report by former attorney-general Philip Ruddock, which was ordered by Malcolm Turnbull in the wake of last year’s same-sex marriage victory, was delivered to the government…
PROVO — Sam Brownback is a diplomat, chosen by the Trump administration to travel the world promoting religious freedom. But he sometimes describes himself as a salesman, and he thinks he’s got a great deal for global leaders. If they’ll agree to strengthen religious freedom protections in their countries, to…
In October 2008, the Victorian Parliament passed legislation to remove abortion from the Crimes Act after roughly 40 years of campaigning from militant radical feminists. Reflecting on that legislation, DLP MP Peter Kavanagh remarked: “It’s hard to imagine a worse bill and a worse model, and indeed that’s partly why…
Scott Morrison is just starting to tell Australians about who he is and what he stands for. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen Prime Minister Scott Morrison does not hesitate when asked if Australia needs new laws to protect religious freedom . “Yes,” he says. He is yet to set out exactly […]…
SPRINGFIELD — Imagine a classroom full of bright, inquisitive college students who have no idea who Pontius Pilate was or never heard the story of Noah’s Ark. That’s what Gwen Jordan, an associate professor of legal studies at the University of Illinois-Springfield, has experienced. More than 10 years ago, […]…
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act could provide a shield for liberal businesses seeking to support undocumented immigrants, much the same way the law has allowed conservative companies to challenge enforcement of health care and anti-discrimination laws, a researcher from Oregon State University suggests in a new paper. “We’re seeing […]…
The prime minister has revived the religious freedom issue months after a review was handed to his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given his clearest indication yet that his government would change anti-discrimination laws so that religious beliefs were protected – just as race, gender or […]…
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 […]…
Noted columnist and commentator E.J. Dionne, Jr. (left) will present a public lecture Sept. 27 on American religion, inequality and populism, the culmination of a day of events honoring Candler emeritus professor Jon P. Gunnemann (right). Noted columnist and commentator E.J. Dionne, Jr. will give a public lecture titled, […]…