News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
Modern political candidates spend a lot of time presenting themselves as culturally acceptable to voters. That means a lot of talk about God, faith, and family, and often the winning candidate is the one who looks best driving a well-worn pickup truck. This is nothing new in American politics, but…
Maryland high schooler Caleigh Wood’s case made it to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that an assignment to write the Islamic Conversion Prayer did not violate the establishment clause of the first amendment. But the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Should the Supreme Court…
A judge has dismissed a family’s request to keep their daughter, Taquisha McKitty on life support after she was declared clinically brain dead. TORONTO — Ontario’s top court dismissed Wednesday a legal challenge brought by a Toronto-area family that fought to keep their daughter on life support after she was…
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that it has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of three Maine families who are challenging a decades-old state law that bars tuition reimbursement for attending religious schools. Angela and Troy Nelson pose in August 2018 with their children, Royce and Alicia, at…
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that it has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of three Maine families who are challenging a decades-old state law that bars tuition reimbursement for attending religious schools. Angela and Troy Nelson pose in August 2018 with their children, Royce and Alicia, at…
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that it has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of three Maine families who are challenging a decades-old state law that bars tuition reimbursement for attending religious schools. Angela and Troy Nelson pose in August 2018 with their children, Royce and Alicia, at…
What to watch for in the new Supreme Court session If you care about property rights, the environment and the First Amendment, here’s a quick checklist of cases to watch in the Supreme Court term starting this week. County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund The Clean Water Act makes…
American Legion wins fight to keep peace cross memorial standing on public land During its past two terms, the Supreme Court issued a number of notable decisions that appear to have begun the process of restoring the Constitution’s promise of religious free exercise. At the end of its last term,…
Login | October 01, 2019 university of Massachusetts Lowell (THE CONVERSATION) A movement for religious rights is transforming the place of religion in American public life. From the 1960s until very recently, liberals successfully argued at the Supreme Court that the tyranny of the majority cannot define the lives and…
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A battle over a Bible on display at New Hampshire’s veterans hospital was the focus of a federal court hearing Wednesday, with lawyers for the government arguing that a lawsuit demanding its removal should be dismissed because the Air Force veteran who filed it hasn’t shown…
An explanation of our separation of Church and State, or lack thereof “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition…
WASHINGTON, DC — Denouncing state laws that claim to advocate for school choice while discriminating against individuals who favor private schools with religious ties, The Rutherford Institute has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a provision of Montana’s constitution that prohibits students from using scholarship funds to attend religiously-affiliated…
CONCORD, N.H. — A battle over a Bible on display at New Hampshire’s veterans hospital was the focus of a federal court hearing Wednesday, with lawyers for the government arguing that a lawsuit demanding its removal should be dismissed because the Air Force veteran who filed it hasn’t shown he…
Gov. Scott Walker. Photo from the State of Wisconsin. The News : The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), on behalf of Governor Scott Walker , filed an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court in Espinoza v. Montana , a critical school choice and religious freedom case…
Business owners win suit over same-sex wedding invitations 01:19 (CNN)A 2013 Phoenix law that adds "sexual orientation, gender identity or expression" to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance violated the freedom of speech and religious beliefs of two business owners, the Arizona Supreme Court said in a 4-3 ruling Monday. Wedding invitation…
Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content. Morgan Marietta, University of Massachusetts Lowell (THE CONVERSATION) A movement for religious rights is transforming the place of religion in American public life. From the 1960s until very recently, liberals successfully…
A longstanding consensus on how to accommodate religious beliefs in government settings is breaking down as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to overturn longstanding precedent and allow greater role of religion in public life. Those were some of the observations of Nina Totenberg, the longtime legal affairs correspondent for…
FILE – This Jan. 22, 2019 file photo shows Christian artists Joanna Duka, front left, and Breanna Koski, front right, outside the Arizona Supreme Court after justices heard arguments over Phoenix’s anti-discrimination ordinance that bars businesses from refusing service to same-sex couples for religion reasons. Duka and Koski, who operate…
Attorney Jonathan Scruggs, of the Alliance Defending Freedom, speaks following his legal arguments in January at the Supreme Court that the sincerely held religious beliefs of business owners allows them to turn away gay customers. (Capitol Media Services file photos by Howard Fischer) By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services |…
Jeremy Dys is deputy general counsel to First Liberty Institute, a non-profit law firm dedicated to defending religious freedom for all. Prayer at legislative gatherings is as old as the United States—perhaps older, if we reach back in time to the Pilgrims’ landing at Plymouth Rock. Legislative prayer is such…
Capitol Media Services PHOENIX — Anti-discrimination laws do not trump the rights of business owners to refuse to provide certain services to gays, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday. In a divided decision, the majority concluded that the owners of Brush & Nib Studios have a constitutional right to refuse…
A Deschutes County proposal to allow churches in areas zoned to help deer, elk and antelope has a land use group and a state agency concerned about the impacts on wildlife that need undisturbed tracts of land for habitat, food and migration. A proposal before the county planning commission seeks…
CNN image PHOENIX – A 2013 Phoenix law that adds "sexual orientation, gender identity or expression" to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance violated the freedom of speech and religious beliefs of two business owners, the Arizona Supreme Court said in a 4-3 ruling Monday. Wedding invitation designers Joanna Duka and Breanna…
PHOENIX (CNS) — Arizona’s Catholic bishops praised the state Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 decision upholding the refusal by two Christian artists to create custom wedding invitations for same-sex couples based on their religious belief in marriage as being between one man and one woman. “We are grateful that the importance…
WASHINGTON – The Arizona Supreme Court Monday sided with two Phoenix women who said a city law aimed at preventing discrimination would have forced them to violate their Christian faith by creating custom invitations for same-sex weddings. A narrow majority of the court said that the religious convictions of Brush…