By Bob Allen A divided U.S. Supreme Court debated Nov. 6 whether explicitly Christian prayers at a New York town board’s meetings violate the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. “What we heard this morning in the courtroom was…
Church, state and taxes spark debate
By Vicki Brown Congress established the 501(c)3 tax-exempt status applicable to churches, religious organizations and ministers “in recognition of their unique status in American society,” the IRS claims in its Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations. The designation benefits…
Pastor in Central Asia faces year in prison
By Bob Allen A Baptist pastor in Kazakhstan faces up to a year in prison after refusing to pay a fine equivalent to about two months’ average salary for conducting worship without government permission, the international news service Forum 18…
Groups want probe of NYPD surveillance
By Bob Allen The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty joined more than 120 national, state and local organizations in an open letter Oct. 24 urging the Department of Justice to investigate post 9/11 surveillance practices in New York City…
Baptists in Uzbekistan lose camp
By Bob Allen A court in Uzbekistan has ordered confiscation of property purchased 13 years ago by Uzbekistan’s Baptist Union for use as a summer camp, according to a report by Forum 18, a global news service that monitors abuse…
SBC leader speaks at Mormon school
By Bob Allen Mormons and Southern Baptists may not see each other in heaven, but they might in jail, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler said in an Oct. 21 lecture at Brigham Young University. “I do not believe…
SBC leader: Religious liberty under assault
By Bob Allen Southern Baptists’ top public policy spokesman compared current threats to religious liberty to those faced by America’s founders Sunday morning on Fox & Friends. “This is just one fiery rafter in a burning house,” Russell Moore of…
SBC leader defends ‘sectarian’ prayer
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top expert on religious-liberty concerns says the U.S. Supreme Court should uphold a New York town’s practice of opening its city council meetings with sectarian prayer. “A prayer, by definition, isn’t a speech…
Baptist leader blasts ‘civil religion’
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s chief spokesman on public policy said Oct. 10 that issues facing military chaplains are part of a larger trend in society to endorse “a bland, generic, nothing blob of civil religion over genuine…
American Baptist staffer elected BJC chair
By Bob Allen Curtis Ramsey-Lucas, managing director of resource development for American Baptist Home Mission Societies, has been elected chair of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty’s board of directors. Ramsey-Lucas’ agency is part of American Baptist Churches USA,…
Ministry says lawsuit settlement unfair
By Bob Allen A Kentucky Baptist Convention agency claims settlement of a 13-year lawsuit between a former children’s home employee fired because she is a lesbian and the Commonwealth of Kentucky convicts it without a trial of violating the religious…
ERLC defends sectarian public prayers
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court Aug. 2 defending prayers offered in Jesus’ name at government meetings. The first legal brief filed since Russell Moore…