MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: It is June, and that means the U.S. Supreme Court is issuing decisions and winding up its term. Today, the nine justices weighed in on the separation of church and state. By a 7-2 margin, the court ruled that a 40-foot cross, a World War I…
Court’s ruling lets WWI cross stand
The 40-foot Maryland Peace Cross, erected in 1925 on public land in Bladensburg, Md., as a tribute to 49 World War I veterans, can continue to stand despite being a symbol of Christianity, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 40-foot cross…
American Legion Cross Case May Make It Harder To Sue Schools Over Religion
The Bladensburg World War I Memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland. It’s hard to think of a more aptly named legal doctrine than the Supreme Court’s Lemon Test. Created in 1971’s Lemon v. Kurtzman , it is meant to determine when government action violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The…
Supreme Court says 40-foot Maryland cross can stand as war memorial
Supreme Court says 40-foot Maryland cross can stand as war memorial The Supreme Court said Thursday the Constitution did not require tearing down historic monuments just because they featured religious symbols, such as crosses or the Ten Commandments. In a 7-2 decision, the high court upheld the display of a…
SCOTUS: Cross honoring military can remain on public land
Michael Robinson Chavez/Washington Post The “Peace Cross,” the focus of an intense court case regarding its upkeep and placement on public land, stands at a busy intersection in Bladensburg, Md. By Robert Barnes | Washington Post WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 40-foot cross erected as a…
Kelly Shackleford: Why Oregon cake bakers’ victory matters so much (for all of us)
Fox News Flash top headlines for June 18 On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States threw out a lower court ruling and $135,000 penalty against bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, for following their religious convictions . The Court’s decision is a victory not only for Aaron and Melissa…
Gay Wedding Religious Opt-Out Issue Ducked Again
Supreme Court sends cake case back to Washington State high court COURTESY OF LAMBDA LEGAL The US Supreme Court has, for the third time, essentially kicked the can down the road on the question of businesses claiming religious exemptions from providing goods and services for same-sex weddings. On June 17,…
Supreme Court Dodges Decision in Christian Bakers’ Refusal to Make Cake for Same-Sex Wedding
You are not signed in as a Premium user; we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. Sign in or Sign up today! The Supreme Court lifted an order Monday that punished a Christian couple in Oregon who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, telling…
Atheist Group Will End Legal Fight Over Tax-Free Housing for Religious Leaders
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has decided, wisely, to end its battle over a huge unconstitutional tax break for religious leaders. The perk is known as the “Parsonage Exemption” and it’s the loophole that allows ministers to deduct the cost of rent of their church-owned houses from their taxable income.…
Florist Loses Again at Washington High Court
Unanimous bench finds SCOTUS Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling irrelevant AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF WASHINGTON For the second time, the Washington Supreme Court has ruled that the discrimination claims brought by Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed, as well as by the state attorney general, against Arlene’s Flowers for its owner, Barronelle…
Florist loses again at Washington high court
OLYMPIA, Wash. (BP) — Barronelle Stutzman’s commitment to operate her florist business according to Christian convictions again found an unreceptive audience in Washington’s highest court. Baronnelle Stutzman The state Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision June 6 that Washington’s judicial system did not demonstrate religious animosity toward Stutzman when…
WA Supreme Court Doubles Down to Punish Christian Florist, Despite What US Supreme Court Ruled
The case of a Washington state florist who was fined for refusing to make a floral arrangement for a gay wedding in 2013 could go back to the US Supreme Court. On Thursday, the Washington state Supreme Court stood by its earlier ruling against Baronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers.…
Washington State Supreme Court Determined to Punish Christian Florist, Despite What US Supreme Court Ruled
On Thursday, the Washington state Supreme Court stood by its earlier ruling against Baronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers. As CBN News reported last year, the US Supreme Court had rejected Washington’s previous ruling, ordering the state justices to review their decision against Stutzman and consider whether they violated her…
Barronelle Stutzman, Christian florist, appeals to Supreme Court over same-sex case
A Christian florist is appealing to the Supreme Court after Washington state’s highest court ruled against her for refusing to create floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding on the grounds that doing so would violate her religion. Barronelle Stutzman, who owns Arlene’s Flowers, first asked the Supreme Court to consider…
Douglas Strang: Sharing religious beliefs at work – a human right?
Douglas Strang Douglas Strang looks at the case law on religious discrimination in the workplace. Some of the most challenging HR/employment law issues of the recent years have related to religious discrimination and in particular the question of whether an employee can rely on their religious beliefs as justification for…
Sweeping Religious Freedom Bill Heads to Senate
Not with a toilet flush, but with a whimper, the Senate State Affairs Committee sent a sweeping religious refusal bill to the full Senate Monday evening, March 25, after several hours of testimony from Texas residents, social workers, lawyers, and numerous members of the clergy. The Senate State Affairs Committee…
Religion news in brief
Collinsville Bible Baptist Paul Terrell, who played the trumpet for the Gaither Band for several years, will be performing at special services at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 5-6, at Collinsville Bible Baptist Church. Friday night’s topic will be "The Trump Shall Resound," with Terrell playing the trumpet as…
Quebec moves to ban religious symbols in public service
Canada’s Quebec province on Thursday unveiled controversial draft legislation that would ban a significant section of public servants from wearing religious symbols such as a crucifix, yarmulke or hijab. The measure which applies to police, teachers and others in positions of authority is expected to become law by June with…
Portland’s New Law Adds Job Protections for Atheists
Portland, Ore., has long prohibited religious discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation—but now the city will also expressly protect the nonreligious, including atheists, agnostics and others that don’t believe in a particular religion. Although discrimination based on the lack of religious beliefs is prohibited under Title VII of the…
Texas AG Probes San Antonio Chick-fil-A Contract Ban
(Photo by Rick Uldricks/Patch staff) AUSTIN, TEXAS — The attorney general of Texas said he has opened up an investigation stemming from the San Antonio City Council’s decision to exclude Chick-fil-A from an airport concession contract given the company’s opposition to same-sex marriage. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday…
Federal Rule Protects Nuns’ Stance on Obamacare Mandate
A federal rule was just published in the Federal Register. A single rule in a document that runs over 80,000 pages long may seem a small thing, but this particular rule marks the defeat of what many Americans perceive as an extended assault on religious freedom begun by the Obama…
ACLU asks to intervene in lawsuit over tuition to religious schools
Judith and Alan Gillis of Orrington, parents of Bangor Christian Schools junior Isabella Gillis at the school Aug. 28, 2018. The Gillis’ are one of three Maine families that are challenging the prohibition on using public money to pay tuition at religious schools after a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.…
ECHR twisted logic: You can insult Christian but not Muslim religion
Pussy Riot performs in concert during Day For Night festival on December 16, 2017 in Houston, Texas © Getty Images / Gary Miller Two recent rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) demonstrate not only that it’s a political and hypocritical organization. They also show the severe structural…
The Role of Religion
A commentary on French President Macron’s declaration at the Vatican. This post is part 2 of 2. There is undeniable historical truth that institutionalized religion has functioned to back a ruling power and the social classes it has privileged (as with the Church of England under the Restoration following England’s…
Time’s up for ‘standing by’ in China, say religious watchdog groups
China (MNN) – China may finally be making the move to re-write the Bible. Bob Fu, founder of China Aid , a persecution watchdog group, raised the alarm this month, in an address to members of the U-S government. According to him, the Three Self Patriotic Movement and the Chinese…