By Marv Knox Houston Mayor Annise Parker might be in the running for the next Nobel Peace Prize for accomplishing the seemingly impossible. Her honor’s administration inadvertently gathered fundamentalist and liberal Christians, Muslims and Jews, and even Baha’is and Baptists…
Broad Baptist coalition asks Houston mayor to withdraw subpoenas for sermons
By Bob Allen Moderate and conservative Baptists set aside differences in an Oct. 15 letter opposing subpoenas ordering five Houston pastors to turn over sermons as evidence in a lawsuit seeking repeal of the city’s non-discrimination ordinance. Top leaders of…
Baptist leaders oppose subpoenaing of pastors
By Bob Allen A Baptist minister who leads a national interfaith organization voiced concern about the subpoenaing of church sermons in a lawsuit challenging Houston’s non-discrimination ordinance. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said in an Oct. 15 letter…
Charles Watson is on a mission: to ensure religious freedom for the next generation
Interviewed by Robert Dilday What led to your focus on religious liberty issues? c POSITION: Education and Outreach Specialist, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty AGE: 33 EDUCATION: B.S, The Citadel; M.Div., Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology CURRENT CITY:…
Pastor/farmer to take Baptists’ First Amendment commitments to Va. legislature
By Robert Dilday A pastor and cattle farmer in rural Southside Virginia has been tapped to advocate in the state’s legislature for First Amendment issues on behalf of the Baptist General Association of Virginia’s religious liberty committee — the first…
ERLC head says Baptists should reclaim separation of church and state
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top spokesman for religious liberty says conservative Christians should reclaim the phrase “separation of church and state” in order to avoid government overreach in matters of faith. Russell Moore, president of the SBC…
Bible flap challenges Navy policies on faith in pluralistic society
By Jeff Brumley A June decision to remove Bibles from the U.S. Navy’s base lodging system was cheered by atheists. Now it may be evangelicals’ turn to celebrate after the decision was placed on hold last week pending further review….
Freely chosen
By Sam Chaise Should people be free to choose their own religion? Yes. This, to me, seems like such an obvious answer that I am flabbergasted that in much of the world, the de facto reality on the ground is…
Exploring RFRA in light of Hobby Lobby’s narrow victory
By Holly Hollman and Brent Walker The U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in the consolidated cases of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Burwell has generated more interest in religious-liberty law than any other…
BJC breaks down Hobby Lobby ruling
By Bob Allen Two Baptist experts in religious liberty law say the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of a 1993 federal law intended to bolster religious freedom in the recent Hobby Lobby decision could set a precedent for future rulings applying…
Protecting Christians and Yazidis: Elusive religious freedom
By Bill Leonard When the storm troopers of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) took Mosul, they marked the homes of Christians with a red Arabic “N” for “Nazarene,” targeting those families for “extermination or expropriation.” That’s what…
Prison beard case is Supreme Court’s next church-state decision
By Bob Allen Religious liberty advocates say a case headed toward the U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 7 over whether Arkansas prison officials have the right to deny permission for a Muslim inmate to grow a half-inch beard for religious reasons…