On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. In the immediate aftermath of that landmark ruling, Christian conservatives took to social media and television to declare victory and many did so with…
Counting the cost of government funding
By Aaron Weaver The White House recently announced that President Obama would make good on a 2008 campaign promise and sign an executive order banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. According to a White…
Counting the cost of government funding
The White House recently announced that President Obama would make good on a 2008 campaign promise and sign an executive order banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. According to a White House Official, the…
The “ruinous consequences” of payday lending
“Very few things harden the heart more than usury in all its forms.” A Baptist pastor in North Carolina wrote those words in the October 31, 1840 edition of the Biblical Recorder. Citing a slew of Bible verses from Exodus…
Baptist environmentalism: remembering Earth Day 1970 and Henlee Barnette
April 22, 1970 was an important day in the history of our nation. It marked the first-ever celebration of Earth Day — an event that put environmentalism front-and-center in American society in a very visible way. With more than 20…
Playing politics with religious freedom: Mississippi and RFRA
The Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate passed on Tuesday religious freedom legislation that has prompted outrage from progressive news media and advocacy groups. A column on the website Slate included perhaps the most provocative headline: “Mississippi passed its anti-gay…
“Corporations are people, my friend” — Hobby Lobby and religious freedom
Less than two years after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s most significant legislative accomplishment, “Obamacare” is set to be back before the High Court next month. Oral arguments for Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores,…
Baptists go after payday loans
By Aaron Weaver Abortion, homosexuality and church-state separation are all issues on which Baptists have made their diverse opinions loudly known to the public. But predatory lending is not an issue that many associate with Baptists. Yet, Baptists in several…
Church-state relationships in a pluralistic society
Recently, two Baptist-affiliated universities filed a federal lawsuit against the Obama Administration. Houston Baptist University and East Texas Baptist University are challenging the constitutionality of the controversial “contraception mandate” of the Affordable Care Act (aka “ObamaCare”) requiring most health care…