By Bob Allen The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill Feb. 13 to allow houses of worship damaged by Hurricane Sandy to receive disaster aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, despite warnings by advocacy groups that the…
AU opposes taxpayer repair of churches
By Bob Allen A religious-liberty watchdog group is urging defeat of a bill before Congress to authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to issue direct grants to churches and other religious institutions damaged last October by Hurricane Sandy. Americans United…
Contraceptive mandate opt-out expanded
By Bob Allen The Obama administration proposed a broader opt-out Feb. 1 for religious organizations that object to mandated coverage of contraceptives in employee health care plans, an effort to alleviate religious-liberty concerns behind a number of lawsuits challenging the…
Prayers by the Book
By Bill Leonard In his 1646 work, The Dippers Dipt, Anglican clergyman Daniel Featley published a scathing attack on the “Dippers” rampant in England. “Dipper” was an early name for Baptists and their practice of immersion baptism. Featley denounced such…
Prayers by the Book
By Bill Leonard In his 1646 work, The Dippers Dipt, Anglican clergyman Daniel Featley published a scathing attack on the “Dippers” rampant in England. “Dipper” was an early name for Baptists and their practice of immersion baptism. Featley denounced such…
The religious war on freedom
By Bruce Gourley What is the enemy of religion? While evil is often the answer, a poll focused on religious liberty in America and released this month by the Barna Group points in a much different direction. When asked if…
So help me God?
By Molly T. Marshall The afterglow of the great national celebration of our democracy lingers. Inauguration ceremonies offered a vision of who we are becoming as a people and called us to craft a future more progressive, more inclusive and…
Groups challenge NH school-choice plan
By Bob Allen Three civil-liberties organizations filed a lawsuit Jan. 9 challenging New Hampshire’s new school-choice bill that provides scholarships funded by tax credits for underprivileged students to attend private schools. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the…
Georgia guns-in-church ban upheld
By Bob Allen Georgia’s law banning the carrying of guns in churches will remain on the books after the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal Jan. 8 to revive the case of a Baptist minister who claimed it burdens his free exercise…