Thirteen U.S. senators and representatives have written to the acting director of the Internal Revenue Service urging him to continue enforcement of the Johnson Amendment that prevents churches and other charities from endorsing political candidates. The IRS announced July 7…
The history of America’s ‘theology of suspicion’
The Trump administration’s vilification and authorization of violence against peaceful protesters at migrant detention centers may be appalling and terrifying but it is nothing new, scholar Sergio González said during the 2025 Shurden Lectures. “The question — When did mercy…
A Nazi walks into a bar
No, this is not the setup for a tasteless joke. On Thursday, Oct. 23, a 33 year-old white man named Kenneth Leland Morgan, wearing a tailored SS uniform, attempted to enter Cutter’s Pub in downtown Athens, Ga. Footage captured by…
Religious freedom and dignity for prisoners at US Supreme Court
Religious freedom is for everyone. That’s a promise — as well as a calling for us today — straight out of our country’s flawed but hopeful “history and tradition” that the current U.S. Supreme Court keeps emphasizing. If we want…
BJC Fellows marks 10 years and 100 alumni
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty this year celebrates a decade of developing faith freedom advocates through its BJC Fellows Program. The total number of fellows to come through the program since 2015 reached 100 with induction of the 14-member…
Supreme Court hears case of Rastafarian forcibly shaved
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Nov. 10 in a prison abuse case that could affect the religious freedom rights of inmates nationwide. Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections stems from prison guards forcibly shaving a Rastafarian man’s hair…
‘Insert God here’
As a kid, I attended two elementary schools, three junior high schools and two high schools. Picture me this way: Scrawny, acne-faced, frizzy haired, shy. It is hard enough to make friends when you are 13; imagine always being the…
In brief to Supreme Court, BJC argues that monetary damages are available under federal religious liberty law for prisoner forcibly shaved
A prisoner forcibly shaved in violation of his religious liberty rights is entitled to monetary damages. That is the legal conclusion of a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Landor v. Louisiana Dept. of Corrections by BJC and other advocates.
Texas curriculum fight offers lessons in advocacy, Tyler says
The new “Bluebonnet” curriculum in Texas furthers the mythology of America as a Christian nation and tries to “indoctrinate that history at a very early age for young Texans,” according to Amanda Tyler. Tyler, who leads Baptist Joint Committee on…
Trump says he’s bringing back prayer to schools
The president who famously said he’s never prayed to ask for God’s forgiveness claimed Sept. 8 he’s going to reinstitute prayer in public schools — a practice outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1962. Ever since the court’s ruling…
Baptist Joint Committee trains 10th BJC Fellows class
The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty marked the 10th anniversary of its BJC Fellows program by training a 14-member 2025 class, bringing the total number of Fellows to 100. Each summer, the BJC trains a new class of emerging…
What’s your church: Republican? Democrat? Independent? Gospel?
On July 7, 2025, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas Tyler Division, issued the following ruling: When a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith…