Barring humanists from RE committees is discriminatory, court rules

Barring humanists from RE committees is discriminatory, court rules

Local advisory committees on religious education may not exclude humanists, the High Court has found. In a landmark ruling on Friday, the High Court determined that Kent County Council acted unlawfully in barring a humanist from joining a Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) as a full member. Judge…

Old Firm: The match verdict on philosophical belief

Old Firm: The match verdict on philosophical belief

Some say football is a religion, but does fervent support for Rangers FC amount to “philosophical belief”? Durham University final year student Beatrice Hale looks into an unusual employment tribunal case Rangers FC — image via Wiki Commons/Archibald99 The Employment Tribunal in Glasgow recently handed down its judgment in the…

How is the Supreme Court changing the law of religious liberty in America?

How is the Supreme Court changing the law of religious liberty in America?

Its conservative majority is expanding the right to religious exercise at the expense of church-state separation AMERICA’S SUPREME COURT has long steered a careful path between the twin religion clauses of the First Amendment: the “free-exercise” clause, which requires a degree of friendliness towards religion and its adherents; and the…

Key Takeaways From Praying-Coach Case While Supreme Court Deliberates

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…

Faith Can’t Abrogate a Contract

Faith Can’t Abrogate a Contract

The Church of Scientology in Los Angeles. Photo: Bing Guan/Bloomberg News The California Court of Appeal has opened a new front in the legal war over religious exemptions. In Bixler v. Church of Scientology , the court ruled in favor of former members of the church who allege that they…

Religious News From Around the Web January 10, 2022

Religious News From Around the Web January 10, 2022

“Global Respect Act” Disrespects Religious Liberty; Christians Win in European Court of Human Rights; Chinese Communists “Walk in Footsteps of Taliban”; To Forward a Spiritual Revival? University and Smithsonian to Study Role of Religion in Jan 6 Capitol Riot; Patheos Pulls Plug on Negative Religious Criticism “Global Respect Act” Disrespects…

Iran’s House Churches Are Not Illegal, Says Supreme Court Justice

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…

Prayers for ‘Where the Church Suffers the Most’ in Europe

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…

UK court upholds Franklin Graham in Blackpool bus advertising case

UK court upholds Franklin Graham in Blackpool bus advertising case

Christian News The BGEA put adverts for the festival on local public buses. (Blackpool) Manchester County Court Judge Claire Evans ruled in favour of Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) in the Lancashire Festival of Hope advertising campaign case. In 2018, the English city of Blackpool hosted…

Covid blanket ban on church worship in Scotland ruled unlawful

Covid blanket ban on church worship in Scotland ruled unlawful

The prohibition on worship has been overturned by Lord Braid in the Court of Session after a challenge was brought by a coalition of 28 faith leaders. Lord Braid said the regulations went further than the government was lawfully able to do, but this did not mean churches should “reopen…

Religious liberty lawsuits against California governor volley among divided lower courts, ultimately will land in Supreme Court

Religious liberty lawsuits against California governor volley among divided lower courts, ultimately will land in Supreme Court

Of the roughly 32 lawsuits that have been filed since March against California Gov. Gavin Newsom, many allege his executive orders violate the religious liberty clauses of the California Constitution. Twenty-two active cases address religious freedom violations, education policies, forced closures of businesses, alleged violations of federal and state laws,…

ACLJ Files Lawsuit Challenging California Ban on Singing in Church

ACLJ Files Lawsuit Challenging California Ban on Singing in Church

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif., July 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) has teamed up with Tyler & Bursch, The National Center for Law and Policy (NCLP) and Advocates for Faith & Freedom to file a lawsuit challenging the state of California’s ban on singing and…

MAT backs down in legal case on religious assemblies

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…