In the 1980s, in the throes of the Cold War, huddled in a Baptist college dorm room with friends, I watched the original version of the movie Red Dawn. The film portrays a hypothetical invasion of the United States by…
Professor outlines three common rebuttals to church-state separation
The principle of church-state separation is not a myth even though those exact words don’t appear in the U.S. Constitution, according to scholar David R. Brockman. Brockman, nonresident scholar in religion and public policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute and…
The American church’s fear of persecution versus the words of Jesus
There’s a disconnect between the American church’s fear of persecution and the words of Jesus. In a nation where Christians still hold significant cultural influence, privilege and legal protections, a fear of persecution seems almost exaggerated. Too many in the…
Authoritarian rule is ‘common denominator’ in religious persecution, USCIRF says
Authoritarian rule is the “common denominator” in the worsening of religious persecution around the world, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its 2025 annual report. Last year, totalitarian regimes widened the direct oppression of minority faiths in…
What I learned at CBF’s Advocacy in Action
I got to tag along with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship on its Advocacy in Action trip to Washington, D.C., last week. Having participated in several similar advocacy trainings and trips with various groups, I thought I knew what to expect. The…
‘Do No Harm Act’ gets introduced yet again
A coalition of Democratic legislators has reintroduced the “Do No Harm Act” in the U.S. Congress with hopes of clarifying that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act cannot be used to harm others. The bill has been reintroduced every year since…
Georgetown dean fires back at Trump official who demanded curriculum changes
The dean of Georgetown University Law Center has rebuffed a Trump administration official who sought to control the Catholic school’s curriculum. That’s not going to happen, Dean William M. Treanor said, because of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment ……
Pride puppies and a charter school: a look at the blockbuster religion cases at the Supreme Court
Speaking to students at Catholic University last fall, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh praised his colleagues’ efforts to reinforce the “critical principal” of religious liberty.
Trump vows to ‘protect’ Christians in America
Even as his administration battles with Christian leaders over immigration and ICE raids in churches, President Donald Trump pledged Feb. 6 he will “protect” Christians in America. “While I’m in the White House, we will protect Christians in our schools,…
Trump issues two orders on education that get swift pushback
Amid the flurry of executive orders coming from the Trump White House, two issued Jan. 29 related to education, and both drew immediate fire from educators and church-state separationists. The first order, “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families,” promotes…
Pew study documents combination of religious repressions in some countries
Nations with governments highly repressive of certain religious groups usually have societies equally antagonistic toward religious minorities, new research shows. “Government restrictions and social hostilities tend to go hand in hand,” Pew Research Center says in its latest report on…
Trump’s new ICE policy attacks the church
Last week, the incoming Trump administration announced it will rescind a 2011 ICE policy that keeps government officials from entering sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals to carry out immigration raids and deportations. The mere thought of this…