On Dec. 10, the United States Supreme Court upheld Senate Bill 8, the Texas ban on abortions — not officially overturning Roe v. Wade, the court case legalizing abortion, but certainty sinking its future. On Dec. 1, I traveled with…
Supreme Court appears skeptical of Texas Death Row inmate’s appeal for Baptist pastor to be present with him at execution
A U.S. Supreme Court that increasingly views freedom of religious expression as an absolute right even amid a global pandemic appears to feel differently about the religious rights of a condemned inmate. On Tuesday, Nov. 9, the high court heard…
Supreme Court will hear Boston flag case that pits First Amendment religious liberty clauses against each other
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case this term that pits the two religious liberty clauses of the First Amendment against each other — on a flagpole. At issue is a request by a Christian civic group,…
Southern Baptists join Catholic bishops in asserting ‘no Constitutional basis’ for abortion at all
There is no constitutional basis for abortion in America, and states should be able to regulate it without interference from the federal government, according to a court brief filed July 28 with the U.S. Supreme Court by the Southern Baptist…
Supreme Court rejects NAMB’s request, sending McRaney case back to trial
The United States Supreme Court has denied a request by the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board to end a case brought against it by the former leader of a Baptist state convention. Among a long list of cases…
When being ‘pro-life’ really isn’t: How I became a Democrat who opposes abortion
The Supreme Court is now set to hear an abortion case originating from Mississippi — a case that both sides of the abortion debate point to as a threat to the continued existence of the rule of law imposed by…
From Massachusetts to Missouri, faith-based schools seek to shield governance under religious exemptions
The highest court in Massachusetts ruled this month that a social work professor at a nondenominational Christian college is not a “minister,” meaning she may proceed with a discrimination suit against the college. Meanwhile, a Baptist university in Missouri claims…
SBC agency’s appeal to Supreme Court touches on religious liberty, defamation and Baptist autonomy
A federal lawsuit that combines questions of religious liberty, defamation and the meaning of Baptist autonomy has been appealed to the United States Supreme Court. The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, the defendant in the original 2017 case,…
Supreme Court again overturns COVID restrictions on houses of worship
In a sign of how long the coronavirus pandemic has gone on, the United States Supreme Court has been dealt enough cases on church closures during the pandemic now to have reversed itself and splintered further in its own opinions….