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…
BJC leaders say religious liberty fears about Respect for Marriage Act are overdrawn
Conservative Christian leaders opposed to the Respect for Marriage Act are engaged in cancel-culture fear mongering that frames marriage equality as a threat to their religious liberty, Amanda Tyler said in a recent episode of the “Respecting Religion” podcast. “For…
Next up: Abortion rights cases based on religious liberty claims
Expect a proliferation of religious liberty cases for abortion access as the issue of reproductive rights moves to the states, predicts Holly Hollman, general counsel and associate executive director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. While legal claims that…
Churches can talk about issues and advocate for voting rights without running afoul of the law, BJC leaders explain
Even in the midst of a highly charged 2020 election cycle, most American houses of worship have protected their tax-exempt status by avoiding candidate endorsements and direct involvement in political campaigns, said Amanda Tyler, executive director of Baptist Joint Committee…
Christian nationalism links gun rights and ‘Christian nation’ ideals in dangerous mix, Tyler and Hollman say
Americans who believe gun ownership is a God-given right and that the United States should be an officially Christian nation are among the most aggressive opponents of common-sense limits on firearms, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman said in a recent…
Church-state separationists join Justice Sotomayor in blasting the Supreme Court’s ruling in a Maine school voucher case
Church-state separationists lambasted a June 21 decision of the United States Supreme Court that granted parents in Maine access to taxpayer-funded vouchers to send their children to private religious schools. Meanwhile, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a scathing dissent from the…
As fired coach’s case heads to Supreme Court, broad coalition says it’s his students who were the victims, not the coach
A broad coalition including athletes, former NFL players, civil rights advocates, members of Congress and religious groups have filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a Washington school district that placed a high school football coach…
There’s another big religious liberty case coming to the Supreme Court next week
With all eyes fixated on the United States Supreme Court this week hearing oral arguments in the Mississippi abortion case, scant attention has been paid to another potentially landmark case before the court next week on taxpayer funding for religious…
BJC general counsel sees little future guidance in Supreme Court’s latest religious liberty ruling
As with a 2018 ruling involving a baker who refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest foray into a free exercise of religion claim is so narrowly written as to offer little future…