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….
Barrett joins in debate as Supreme Court weighs Philadelphia religious liberty case
The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments Nov. 4 in its first major religious liberty case since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and installation of a new firm conservative majority on the court. The case, Fulton v….
Bonhoeffer Moment No. 3: When conscience fails and hypocrisy prevails
In the first of this series, I noted that Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison begins with a 1943 essay titled “After Ten Years,” written the year before he was imprisoned by the Nazis. In it, the German theologian/preacher/teacher…
You might have missed this, but the Supreme Court just opened a new term
Lost amid a contentious presidential election, COVID-19 and Senate confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court justice, the high court opened its new term Oct. 6 by hearing oral arguments in a case about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Due to…
RBG: Defender of equality, principled dissenter, faithful supporter of religious liberty
The news of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death on Friday felt like a kick in the gut. Although she was 87 years old and had survived several bouts of cancer, her death still came as a sudden…