News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
Flowers bloom outside the front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday. Mark Sherman / AP FILE – In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a formal group portrait to include a new Associate Justice, top…
Halifax County Sheriff Wes Tripp is standing with the sheriffs of Craven and Johnston counties and will not interfere or interrupt any religious services which are conducted inside a church. His statement is in line with a resolution sent by the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association to Governor Roy Cooper which…
The COVID-19 emergency shouldn’t divert the media from getting prepared for an unusual pileup of big “culture war” news that will break at the U.S. Supreme Court during the weeks through early July. Pending decisions the media will need to interpret involve abortion, religious conscience claims, gay and transgender rights,…
Attorney General Brian Frosh has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against Gov. Larry Hogan and other state officials over social-distancing mandates. The suit was filed by three delegates and others including the group Reopen Maryland alleging the violation of their constitutional rights. BALTIMORE — The attorney general of…
In this June 12, 2017 file photo, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh speaks during a news conference in Washington. BALTIMORE — The attorney general of the State of Maryland filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed May 2 against Gov. Larry Hogan and several other state officials alleging a…
Under the current guidelines, only outdoor church services are permitted. (Source: WBTV File) CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Last week the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association issued a resolution calling for Governor Roy Cooper to amend the Stay at Home to allow for churches to hold worship services inside, provided they meet…
Source: MGN Kentucky churches will be allowed to hold services starting May 10 after rulings in two separate cases. A lawsuit by Maryville Baptist Church and its pastor arguing that Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration infringed on the congregation’s constitutional rights by restricting faith-based gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic…
Juan Altamirano climbs to the roof of The Church of the Annunciation while painting the exterior Wednesday, April 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Lurking within the recently passed congressional stimulus package is a constitutional violation that virtually guarantees massive fraud and abuse. Churches, houses of worship and…
The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening many of our most cherished freedoms. We are told by the government not to travel. We are told we can’t gather for religious services. We are told we must wear masks, but we must not go to restaurants or stores. Our favorite sporting events, school…
Editor’s note: This letter is in response to the column, published April 29, 2020. To start, arguing that “marriage has always had a religious tradition” is not entirely accurate. Marriage has existed in every known human culture in history, and predates every major religion practiced today. In ancient Mesopotamia, a…
The Supreme Court of the United States will be holding another round of live streamed telephonic oral arguments on Wednesday. This time, the court will consider a controversial section of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania and Trump…
Washington (CBS News)— The Justice Department is siding with a Virginia church challenging Governor Ralph Northam’s executive orders limiting in-person gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, which the church says unfairly applies to houses of worship and other religious institutions. Federal prosecutors submitted the statement of interest in support of Lighthouse…
(Shutterstock via CNA) The Justice Department (DOJ) is backing a small community church suing Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, arguing that the state cannot single out churches for public health restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Lighthouse Fellowship Church on Virginia’s Eastern Shore filed suit last week against Northam’s stay-at-home order prohibiting…
Mississippi state leaders plan to sue Chinese government over coronavirus outbreak Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here . A federal judge in Mississippi ruled Friday that the First Pentecostal Church of Holly Springs can stay open for drive-in services…
Apr 19, 2020 at 12:02 AM A number of religious organizations — mostly evangelical Protestant denominations — have issued challenges to state or local "shelter in place" regulations that prohibit religious gatherings. These challenges have no legitimate position in law. Yes, the U.S. Constitution has two provisions that might seem…
Demonstrators oppose stay-at-home orders during a rally last week at the Capitol in Lansing, Mich. Despite such challenges, the government has broad constitutional latitude to impose restrictions to protect public health. Can the government restrict individual liberties to stop the spread of COVID-19? It’s a question being raised by protesters…
I blogged below about Judge Browning’s Free Exercise Clause analysis; but the church also raised an assembly clause challenge to the ban on gatherings of more than 5 people in places of worship. Such a challenge, if accepted, would have applied to nonreligious gatherings, too, but the judge rejected it…
LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Justin Walker granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing Louisville, Kentucky Mayor Greg Fischer from blocking On Fire Church from holding drive-in services on Easter. The TRO was filed yesterday in the United States District Court…
Apr 14, 2020 at 12:03 AM A number of religious organizations — mostly evangelical Protestant denominations — have issued challenges to state or local "shelter in place" regulations that prohibit religious gatherings. These challenges have no legitimate position in law. Yes, the U.S. Constitution has two provisions that might seem…
LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Justin Walker granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing Louisville, Kentucky Mayor Greg Fischer from blocking On Fire Church from holding drive-in services on Easter. The TRO was filed yesterday in the United States District Court…
people raise arms at Christian music concert Houston lawyer Jared Woodfill, no stranger to controversial cases, is at it again with a legal challenge claiming Harris County’s COVID-19 stay-home order violates religious liberty rights. Woodfill has made headlines in the past by fighting against Houston’s LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance and objecting…
As the coronavirus continued to kill , hospitalize , and harm thousands of people this weekend, President Trump declared that Sunday was, rest assured, a National Day of Prayer. “We are a Country that, throughout our history, has looked to God for protection and strength in times like these,” he…
The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear another case regarding the freedom of religious organizations to employ people who share their sincerely held beliefs. The most recent case, Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, Agne s, comes from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which…
A former Bremerton High School assistant football coach who sued the school district after he was ordered in 2015 to stop praying on the field after games lost his lawsuit Thursday, with a judge finding his religious rights were not violated. His attorney said he would appeal. In his ruling,…
Students walk on the campus of Liberty University in September 2019. A watchdog group advocating for religious freedom in the armed forces has accused Pentagon officials of “dropping a nuclear weapon on the Constitution” after a military court held a special session at Liberty University last week. In a strongly…