A sharp increase in religiously motivated harassment and violence pushed the number of countries dealing with high levels of social hostilities involving faith to its highest point in more than a decade, according to a Pew Research Center study released…
For 2 centuries, Latter‑day Saints have revered religious freedom – but their definition is evolving
On July 5, 2026, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is encouraging its American members to participate in a special fast: a day to “express gratitude for religious liberty and to pray that it be strengthened throughout the world,”…
Nicaragua reportedly restricting Baptists and Bibles
The Nicaraguan government is ramping up its persecution of Baptist and other religious organizations and restricting the use and possession of Bibles, according to the international human and religious rights group CSW. Formerly known as Christian Solidarity Worldwide, CSW said…
OU joins a Hall of Shame
The University of Oklahoma is the latest school to debase itself in deference to Donald Trump and evangelical Christians’ false claims of religious persecution. Trump and white evangelicals have this in common: Both claim persecution when they are instead the…
Lawsuits stack up, but Trump administration stonewalls challenges to Anti-Christian Bias Task Force
A constitutional watchdog group has filed a second lawsuit against the Trump administration’s Anti-Christian Bias Task Force. The president created the commission in a Feb. 6 executive order directing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch investigations into “anti-Christian conduct”…
Landor in Babylon — How a Rastafari’s Case against Prison Injustice Could Be Used to Weaponize ‘Religious Liberty’
Last month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, a case brought by Damon Landor after officers at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center forcibly shaved off Landor’s dreadlocks despite his Rastafari commitments.
What Christians Hold in Common with ‘Aspirational’ Conservatives
There are few terms more prone to misinterpretation today than religious freedom and conservative. Religious freedom could mean constitutional safeguards for practicing sincerely held religious beliefs, or it might mean a veiled justification for discriminating against those with whom you disagree.
Religious freedom is routinely curbed in Central Asia – but you won’t often see it making international news
Freedom of worship is tenuous around the globe. The Pew Research Center’s latest annual report found “high” or “very high” levels of government constraints on religion in 59 of the 198 countries and territories it analyzed – a new record. When Pew…
Proud to be [a Real] American — Lee Greenwood’s ‘God Bless the USA’ and the Politics of the ‘Apolitical’
When you’re raised in an authoritarian Christian community you can never quite comfortably fit into, you learn early on about the ambiguity of language. Words like “love,” for example, mean very different things to a person who respects others’ bodily autonomy and…
‘Pro-family’ groups dislike transgender ‘cult’ but like Melania’s parenting advice
Politically conservative “pro-family” groups ended 2024 by calling to stamp out the “transgender cult,” opposing constitutional rights for Satanists, promoting Melania Trump’s parenting advice, warning against sympathy for immigrants, and celebrating Donald Trump’s second election as a source of spiritual…
Conservative Christians do not have sole ownership of religion, Jewish scholar says
Now as much as ever, people across the spectrum of faith must proclaim religious freedom to push back against conservative Christians claiming sole ownership of religion in America, rabbi and author Jill Jacobs said. “It’s really important that progressive religious…
Religious freedom faces even more peril in Burma
Religious freedom conditions have worsened in Burma this year as government influence continues to wane and armed ethnic groups amass power and territory in the nation’s ongoing civil war, according to a report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious…