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…
How Christians can support religious liberty without sacrificing human dignity
With Election Day in two weeks and early voting already under way, it’s impossible to miss how religion continues to be wielded in American politics. For decades, Christianity has been co-opted to justify a specific slate of policies, narrowing what…
Baptist Press compares GOP and Democratic platforms to SBC resolutions, and there are some surprises
It should come as a surprise to exactly no one that the platform of the Republican Party aligns more closely with resolutions passed by the Southern Baptist Convention than does the platform of the Democratic Party. What might be surprising,…
BJC announces 2024 class of BJC Fellows
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty has name eight young adults to its 2024 class of BJC Fellows. Now in its ninth year, the BJC Fellows program educates young leaders in the history and principles of religious liberty and engages…
SBC engages feisty debate on meaning of religious liberty before adopting resolution
That there are two distinct views on the meaning of religious liberty among Southern Baptists came into stark contrast June 11 during lengthy debate of a resolution “on defending religious liberty.” The convention’s Resolutions Committee put forward the resolution that…