By Bob Allen A little-known federal law enacted to bolster the rights of religious minorities is less popular but more needed now than when it became law 20 years ago, the head of a broad coalition that worked for passage…
Lawyer says religious liberty at risk
By Bob Allen Religious liberty is becoming a casualty of America’s culture wars, a leading expert on the separation of church and state told an audience Nov. 7 at the Newseum in Washington. “I certainly didn’t predict the last 20…
High court debates ‘legislative’ prayer
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…