It appears the United States Supreme Court could look for common ground in ruling on a major religious liberty case heard by the high court last week, according to two Baptist authorities on the subject. Amanda Tyler, executive director of…
‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife’ and other posters I do not want in a first grade classroom.
Editor’s note: This is the first opinion piece in a new series on religious liberty authored by BJC Fellows and made possible by a grant from the Prichard Family Foundation. Picture yourself in a first grade classroom, one with…
Texas is first step in a national plan to install ‘chaplains’ in public schools instead of professional counselors
A Texas proposal to allow unlicensed “chaplains” to take the place of public school counselors undermines religious liberty, according to Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and others. The Texas Legislature is considering House Bill 3614 and Senate Bill 763,…
Americans United takes a different view on today’s Supreme Court hearing about religious accommodation by employers
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has taken a different approach to a U.S. Supreme Court hearing today than its frequent ally, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. In the case of Groff v. DeJoy, BJC joined the…
Public funding for private Christian schools gains ground in some states but faces setbacks in Oklahoma and Texas and in U.S. House
The quest to direct public funds to sectarian schools is meeting with mixed results this legislative season, with what would have been the nation’s first religious charter school being denied in Oklahoma, a deeply religious and conservative state. While Florida…
Broad coalition of religious liberty groups sides with former postal employee
A veritable who’s who of religious groups have filed joint friend-of-the-court briefs in a U.S. Supreme Court case involving a Christian postal worker claiming religious discrimination by having to work Sundays to deliver Amazon packages. Baptist Joint Committee for Religious…
Inflammatory language of Christian nationalism is a real threat, Hollman and Tyler say
The use of dehumanizing language against people of faith who reject Christian nationalism is an attack on the religious freedoms guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, leaders of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Freedom said in a recent podcast. BJC General…
BJC acquires Center for Faith, Justice and Reconciliation
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty has acquired the Center for Faith, Justice and Reconciliation in an effort to expand its work promoting racial and religious freedom. BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler said the move announced March 6 also will…
There’s a better metaphor for America than the ‘melting pot,’ author says
Author, minister and scholar Jonathan Augustine suggests replacing the “melting pot” metaphor for American religion and society with one taken from a stew famous in his hometown of New Orleans. “I think about the ability of people to be like…
National Prayer Breakfast gets new sponsorship but still looks like government-sponsored religion, BJC leaders say
Congressional leaders say they have split the National Prayer Breakfast from its longtime organizer to bring clarity and healing to the annual event, but constitutional experts Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman believe government leaders should get out of the prayer…
What happens when church and state merge? Look to Nazi Germany for answers
The potential consequences of a merger of church and state sought by Christian nationalists are frighteningly apparent in the history of Nazi Germany, according to Dietrich Bonhoeffer expert John Matthews. Matthews, a Lutheran minister and member of the International Bonhoeffer…
Religious liberty advocates applaud Biden administration rollback of Trump policies allowing faith-based discrimination
Traditional religious liberty advocates applauded a move by the Biden administration to undo rules created by the Trump administration that allowed faith-based organizations receiving federal fundings to discriminate against clients. Due to the complex nature of changing federal policies —…