This year’s presidential campaign has taken some of the strangest twists in U.S. history. Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, suggests nine books that can help clear things up.
High court must not rule RFRA is unconstitutional
By J. Brent Walker When the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on March 25 in the contraception case involving Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties, it will be asked to decide novel and difficult questions concerning the interpretation and…
Standing for principles in all situations
By Brent Walker Defending religious liberty by standing up for the separation of church and state sometimes results in unpopular outcomes. Saying no to a state-sponsored Ten Commandments monument in the middle of an Alabama courthouse will sometimes raise eyebrows….
God has never been truant
By Brent Walker At a time of national tragedy, we should all be praying, grieving and supporting those who suffered grievous loss. Then we must have a conversation, even a debate, followed by action to make sure what we saw…
Jeffress flap illustrates wisdom of ‘no religious test’
By Brent Walker We have been instructed over and over again of this folly: — In 1789, when in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution our nation’s founders declared “no religious Test shall ever be required as a qualification to…
Two more myths about the separation of church and state
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last in a series of commentaries is adapted from articles that ran in consecutive issues of Report from the Capital. Previous installments are here, here and here. By Brent Walker (ABP) — Myth No. 7:…
Kicking God out of the public square
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third in a series of commentaries is adapted from articles that ran in consecutive issues of Report from the capital. Previous installments challenged myths that the separation of church and state is not implied in…
Religious freedom cuts two ways
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a series of commentaries adapted from articles that ran in consecutive issues of Report from the Capital. Yesterday’s installment challenged myths that the separation of church and state is not implied in the…
Myths about the separation of church and state
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of commentaries adapted from articles that ran in consecutive issues of Report from the Capital. By Brent Walker The United States of America is one of the most religious and certainly…
Religious liberty good for religion and the state
By Brent Walker In President Obama’s meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao Jan. 18-21, the issue of human rights and religious liberty must be discussed along with economic and environmental issues. Certainly, the tradition in the United States is that…
The decade in religious liberty
By Brent Walker Dubbed by Time magazine the “decade from hell,” the past 10 years have been ones for which we can say good riddance: September 11, two costly and deadly wars, the economic meltdown. In terms of church-state relations,…
The advent of Christmas craziness
By J. Brent Walker The United States’ habit of Christmas craziness began, just like reminders of the holiday season itself, early this year. You know what I mean — the perennial cry that someone or some group (usually one’s ideological…