The months leading up to General Conference are sure to see a raft of proposals on homosexuality in the United Methodist Church. Being a centrist denomination by inclination many of these will seek to scratch out ground for compromise. This…
The Supreme Court just gave American evangelicals a gift
Evangelicals are tenacious, persistent, and driven when they want to fight for a cause. The problem is that American evangelicals have been swept up in fighting for the wrong cause for a long time. When the Supreme Court ruled to…
Now what?
The Supreme Court finally released the decision most court watchers had been waiting for this morning and … it went pretty much the way everybody thought it would. So now what? Well, to get a jump start on the barrels…
Obergefell decision does not remove the separation of church and state
By K. Hollyn Hollman, BJC General Counsel Click here for a 2-page handout about the decision (PDF link). Early in the U.S. Supreme Court decision finding a constitutional right to marriage that includes same-sex partners, Justice Kennedy describes the “transcendent…
Same-sex marriage: Church divided, but liberty protected
Same-sex marriage is the law of the land. Outcries to the contrary, the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision did not herald the demise of religious liberty in America.
Guilt by association: Why Franklin Graham is bad for my church
(A letter from Russ Dean, Co-Pastor at Park Road Baptist Church, to The Charlotte Observer regarding its coverage of Franklin Graham’s call for a boycott of Wells Fargo Bank.) Dear Editors, I am frustrated you chose to run as a…
How do we get along when there’s no middle ground? Part 2
In part one I told you the story of a couple of gay New York hoteliers who met with Ted Cruz and were treated as a result to calls for a boycott and other harassments. This situation prompted me to…
Exploring the church-state side of the same-sex marriage cases
By Executive Director J. Brent Walker When the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the same-sex marriage cases, the justices did not invite briefs on religious liberty. In its writ of certiorari granting review, the Court framed the issues to…
How do we get along when there’s no middle ground? Part 1
The other day, as I was reading one of the daily news emails that arrive in my inbox, I came across a story that I thought surely must have been ripped from the pages of The Onion. Two New York…
Religious liberty, marriage equality clash, creating legal confusion
By Ken Camp and Jeff Brumley Ministers from across the Lone Star state recently urged legislators to pass legislation protecting clergy from lawsuits if they refuse to conduct same-sex weddings. Welcome to the dance, Texas. Experts say the number and…
Understanding religious liberty in the same-sex marriage cases
By General Counsel K. Hollyn Hollman Obergefell v. Hodges, the same-sex marriage case being argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, is not a First Amendment case. Its potential impact, however, has increased conversations about religious liberty, particularly the…
Not all RFRAs are created equal: What’s different about Indiana’s controversial law
Move over, Gene Hackman. Indiana is becoming known for a lot more than just Hoosier’s basketball. After the state passed a law purported to restore “religious freedom,” it was met with crushing criticism from those who believe the law grants…