Lost amid a contentious presidential election, COVID-19 and Senate confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court justice, the high court opened its new term Oct. 6 by hearing oral arguments in a case about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Due to…
Baptist editor eyeing case of Muslim suspended for refusing to serve booze
A Baptist state newspaper editor says a Muslim flight attendant who sued ExpressJet airlines for suspending her because she refused to serve alcohol to passengers could be a test case on whether courts use a double standard in adjudicating religious…
Anti-hate group scrutinizes SBC resolutions committee
The Southern Poverty Law Center questioned Southern Baptist Convention leadership for naming to a resolutions committee at the upcoming SBC annual meeting representatives of organizations the civil rights organization identifies as hate groups. The nonprofit legal advocacy organization — which began…
Church/state group says county clerk must issue marriage licenses to gays
By Bob Allen A group that advocates for both the free exercise of religion and separation of church and state says in a brief filed with the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Kentucky county clerk must issue marriage…
What can we learn from Kentucky’s Rowan County clerk?
By General Counsel K. Hollyn Hollman For good or bad, a Kentucky clerk became the public face, complete with “Eye of the Tiger” soundtrack, for religious freedom claims relating to same-sex marriage. Following the Supreme Court’s marriage decision, the elected…
Why aren’t more Christians refusing service?
By Brett Younger Kim Davis’ 15 minutes have stretched to 15 weeks. Just after the Supreme Court affirmed the right of same-sex couples to marry, Davis affirmed the right of county clerks to decide who can get married. She refused…
How do we balance religious liberty and rule of law?
If you could collect a dime every time U.S. media mention “religious liberty” between now and Election Day 2016, you could fund your own Super-PAC — or maybe even bankroll your own run for the White House. We’re going to…
Love already won
My grandmother, Eva Mae Thomas, was my first catechizer and theologian. At the age of 12, she put a pen and notepad in my hand and asked me to “write down all the Scriptures that the preacher says.” There were…
Kim Davis: Blinded by belief
So, Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to sign marriage licenses for same sex couples, went to jail. And many political conservatives and religious fundamentalists praised her faith — as if she’s the first person ever jailed for following…