The message of Thomas Helwys — a founder of the Baptist denomination and one of the first Englishmen to state explicitly that people of any religion should be free to exercise their faith without government interference — is as relevant today…
Missouri’s proposed religious freedom amendment sets old allies at odds
The battle over religious freedom and LGBT rights has moved from Arizona and Mississippi to Missouri.
Baptist newspaper supports ‘bathroom bill’
A Southern Baptist state newspaper editor says Tennessee lawmakers should put children’s safety ahead of money when considering a controversial bill that would require public school students grades K-12 and higher to use the restroom that corresponds to their sex…
A nation devoted to religious freedom, struggling to define it, state by state
Not all efforts to protect religious liberty are futile or misguided. Here’s how you can fairly evaluate religious liberty needs and understand proposed legislation.
That’s not your seat: Regulating the seating arrangements at God’s dinner party
“That’s not your seat” is a phrase used by Morgan DePerno, a student in my church history class, as the title for her recent review of Martin Luther King Jr’s Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. For Morgan, “that’s not…
Civil rights panel blasts new state religious liberty laws
The U.S. Civil Rights Commission has denounced new state “religious liberty” laws backed by Southern Baptist state conventions as a trend to use religion as an excuse to deny people their human rights. The independent, bipartisan agency charged with advising…
When religious liberty demands cease to be legitimate
I think most Americans, even non-religious Americans, are on board with the idea of religious liberty — in the abstract. But like so many of the things we hold dear, what sounds great in theory becomes deeply complicated when the…
Baptist says ‘religious liberty’ bill threatens … well, religious liberty
A Missouri religious liberty bill passed last month by the state Senate after a 39-hour filibuster once again kept lawmakers up late at night, when a five hour debate April 13 in the Missouri House of Representatives ended after midnight…
Social conservatives try new tack with state-level efforts on religious freedom
Pivoting from setbacks on the national stage, they take a more targeted approach to religious and individual privacy rights.