The First Amendment and concepts such as separation of church and state and freedom of religion seem to signal that religious diversity is strong in the United States. “Well, that’s not really true,” Khyati Joshi, author of White Christian Privilege:…
Equality Act stirs passions about the definition of religious liberty and RFRA’s role
When the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act last week, the long-simmering battle between religious conservatives and the rest of the nation reached a renewed pitch. At stake is the desire of religious conservatives — especially evangelical Christians…
Does landmark religious freedom legislation need a fix or is it fine as is?
Does the landmark Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 need a legislative fix? Some Democratic Congressmen and religious freedom advocates believe so, which has prompted a renewed attempt to resolve problems they believe have been created by conservative court rulings…
Christian nationalism deeply embedded into American life, Tyler warns
Christian nationalism has seeped so deeply into the fabric of American religious and political life that arguing with its adherents is frustrating and unproductive, according to Amanda Tyler, executive director of BJC. Tyler spoke during a Feb. 26 webinar titled…
Interdenominational panel warns of extreme danger of Christian nationalism
Christian nationalism represents a severe and present danger to American democracy, according to religious leaders affiliated with the group Christians Against Christian Nationalism. People of faith must educate themselves about the movement, positively engage its adherents and pursue lives modeled…
Religious liberty groups praise Biden’s repeal of Muslim travel ban
Amid a flurry of executive orders issued by President Joe Biden on his first day in office was a repeal of the so-called “Muslim ban,” which prohibited entry to the United States by citizens of select countries mainly with majority…
House passes bipartisan resolution against blasphemy, heresy and apostasy laws
It turns out there is something Republicans and Democrats can agree on about religious liberty in the current lame-duck session of Congress. On Monday, Dec. 7, the House of Representatives passed on a 386-3 bipartisan vote House Resolution 512, calling…
Everything I know about separation of church and state I learned from my mother
I must have been in the third or fourth grade when Mama said to me, “When people want prayer in the schools, they are assuming the person who is praying has the same beliefs they do.” And then she added,…
Barrett joins in debate as Supreme Court weighs Philadelphia religious liberty case
The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments Nov. 4 in its first major religious liberty case since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and installation of a new firm conservative majority on the court. The case, Fulton v….