Teachers, coaches, and school administrators are representatives of the state, and they are properly prohibited from encouraging or discouraging religious activity when acting in those capacities, writes Holly Hollman, general counsel and associate executive director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. She examines the potential impact of the U.S.…
Should Americans look to faith for help making business decisions?
Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colo., decorates a cake for a client on Sept. 21, 2017. Phillips refused to bake a cake for a same-sex couple in 2012, a decision that eventually took him all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. As tensions rise over the…
Religious Liberty Rights of Students, Teachers Are Not the Same
Teachers, coaches, and school administrators are representatives of the state, and they are properly prohibited from encouraging or discouraging religious activity when acting in those capacities, writes Holly Hollman, general counsel and associate executive director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. She examines the potential impact of the U.S.…
In Battle Between Religious Liberty vs. LGBTQ Rights, One Case Declares Clear Winner
The Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County , which (wrongly, in my view) expanded the coverage of a federal statute—Title VII—which prohibits sex discrimination in employment to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status, was the legal ricochet heard ‘round the world. But after the…
BOBBY HARRISON: Another ‘trigger law’ to keep an eye on as Supreme Court deliberates: gay marriage
The 2007 law that would ban abortions in Mississippi if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade isn’t the only so-called “trigger law” language the state has. If the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturns its 2015 ruling legalizing gay marriages, Mississippi has an existing law — even a provision in…
Harrison: Another Mississippi ‘trigger law’ to keep an eye on as Supreme Court deliberates: gay marriage
Below is a political analysis column by Bobby Harrison: The 2007 law that would ban abortions in Mississippi if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade isn’t the only so-called “trigger law” language the state has. If the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturns its 2015 ruling legalizing gay marriages, Mississippi…
Besides abortion ruling, Supreme Court taking on many high-profile cases
With legal observers focused on a Supreme Court draft ruling showing the justices are poised to overturn Roe v. Wade , the landmark 1973 ruling that guaranteed abortion rights nationwide, the high court is also planning to issue decisions this term on several additional high-profile cases. Here’s a quick primer…
Religious Liberty Rights of Students, Teachers Are Not the Same
Teachers, coaches, and school administrators are representatives of the state, and they are properly prohibited from encouraging or discouraging religious activity when acting in those capacities, writes Holly Hollman, general counsel and associate executive director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. She examines the potential impact of the U.S.…
Religion digest
Almobarak Cultural Center Islamic services for Juma prayer are held at the Almobarak Cultural Center, 142 Ski Motel Point, every Friday at 1 p.m. The public is welcome to attend. Call Omar Almobarak at 501-767-0214 for more information. Christian Science Sign up to receive an email with a unique offer…
When it comes to religion and work, company policy a factor
The Law at Work The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard argument on the case of a public high school football coach who lost his job for refusing to discontinue his practice of silently praying with willing members of his team and others on the 50-yard line after games, win or…
Opinion Why the Supreme Court told Boston its ‘Christian’ flag ban won’t fly
The idea, the city said cheerily, was to “ foster diversity ,” “create an environment in the City where everyone feels included,” and promote harmony “among Boston’s many communities.” What could possibly go wrong? In today’s prickly America, enough to require the Supreme Court to referee the dispute. It did…
Justices Struggle to Replace Oft-Criticized Religion Lemon Test
Lemon test intended to determine when government violates First Amendment Test for determining preference one religion over another remains on the books Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has twice chided government entities in the span of a week for following an oft-criticized ruling intended to ferret out excessive entanglement with…
The Macro And Micro-Politics Of Religion On 2022 Philippine Election – Analysis
File photo of Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte with Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) leader Eduardo Manalo during the President’s visit at the INC Central Temple in Commonwealth, Quezon City on December 14, 2018. Photo Credit: Presidential Communications Operations Office, Wikipedia Commons People say that that there are two sides of…
The Supreme Court and religion: Entering the maze
The U.S. Supreme Court’s first major ruling on the meaning of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause was in Everson v. Board of Education, in 1947, when it upheld a state law that provided busing of students to parochial schools. The court’s entry into this constitutional maze foreshadowed the controversy that…
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Death Penalty Cases that Could Limit Access to Federal Court Review
The U.S. Supreme Court has heard argument in two death penalty cases that present highly technical legal issues that could profoundly affect the extent to which prisoners convicted in state courts will have meaningful access to federal review of their cases. In two of the last cases to be argued…
Football, Faith, and the First Amendment – Part 2
Next week, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District . The case is about Joseph Kennedy, a Christian high school football coach in Washington state who regularly prayed before games. Eventually a majority of the players joined in as well, and one player’s parent…
General Counsel’s Corner: Student Social Media and Free Speech on Campus
Free speech on campus—and off—has become a flashpoint for U.S. colleges and universities. Students’ ability to post their comments and concerns online, to forward messages to others for whom they may not have been intended, and to record the speech of faculty and staff or other students and post what…
Court Wades into Ocala Prayer Vigil Fight
The briefs filed at the appeals court offer dramatically different descriptions of the police department’s role in the vigil. Credit: Thanamat Somwan/Shutterstock.com. A federal appeals court Thursday will take up a long-running constitutional dispute about a prayer vigil that was backed by the Ocala police chief amid a spate of…
Federal appeals court wades into Ocala prayer vigil fight
TALLAHASSEE — A federal appeals court Thursday will take up a long-running constitutional dispute about a prayer vigil that was backed by the Ocala police chief amid a spate of shootings in the community. A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in an appeal…
Key Takeaways From Praying-Coach Case While Supreme Court Deliberates
Former Bremerton, Wash., High School football coach Joseph A. Kennedy addresses the media outside the U.S. Supreme Court after April 25 oral arguments in his case. The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether prayers at the 50-yard line by former high school football coach Joseph A. Kennedy were protected by…
NBC op-ed sounds alarm over Supreme Court potentially siding with football coach fired for on-field prayers
SCOTUS to hear case on football coach’s prayer 00:00 00:0003:10GO LIVE Facebook Twitter Email Embed SpeedNormal Autoplay An op-ed published Monday by NBC News proceeded to sound the alarm over the Supreme Court potentially siding with former high school football coach Joe Kennedy in his lawsuit against the Bremerton, Washington…
Opinion: Praying coach case suggests conservative justices want to rewrite the law on religion and schools
Joe Kennedy, a former football coach in Washington state, says his First Amendment rights were violated. Jeffrey Toobin is chief legal analyst for CNN and the author of "The Nine" and "The Oath." The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. (CNN)By now, it’s…
Case Summary: Freedom of religion not engaged in small-scale hydroelectric project
A civil engineer, Mr. Redmond, was denied approval to build a small-scale hydroelectric project because of the impact it was going to have on the spiritual practices of a local First Nation group. Mr. Redmond applied for judicial review, arguing that his Charter right to freedom of religion was infringed.…
Lawyer: Objections to prayer ‘correct’
D. Scott Hickam, attorney for the Lake Hamilton School District, has determined that an advocacy group’s constitutional objections to including a prayer at the district’s monthly school board meetings are "substantially correct." The district recently removed prayer as an item on its standard agenda after a parent contacted the Freedom…
Sikhs sue US Marines over beard, turban restrictions on religious liberty grounds
Captain Sukhbir Toor, who with three other Sikhs sued the U.S. Marine Corps April 11, 2022. | Sikh Coalition A group of four Sikh men are seeking a religious exemption from the Marine Corps allowing them to keep the beards and turbans that they say are essential to the practice…