A controversial effort to require posting the Ten Commandments in all Texas public school classrooms has died for this session. Senate Bill 1515 passed through the Texas Senate on party-line votes but was among dozens of bills that didn’t get a…
An eleventh commandment: Be careful what you wish for
As a biblical studies professor, I have noted with interest Senate Bill 1515 in the Texas Legislature to place the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. But what are the Ten Commandments? There is no single definitive version of…
‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife’ and other posters I do not want in a first grade classroom.
Editor’s note: This is the first opinion piece in a new series on religious liberty authored by BJC Fellows and made possible by a grant from the Prichard Family Foundation. Picture yourself in a first grade classroom, one with…
Hypocrisy
When we boil down all the assorted examples of how evangelicals have sold themselves to Donald Trump for 30 pieces of silver, one word summarizes it all: Hypocrisy. Call it irony. Call it opportunism. Call it greed. Call it a…
Ken Ham puts the fear into Halloween — and into the gospel
Used to be, it was the occasional apple or other healthy snack that ruined an otherwise perfect candy collection on Halloween night. But creationist Ken Ham has taken spoiling the holiday to a new level with “Halloween Learn & Share Kits” designed to scare children straight into the judging arms of Jesus.
Hoping for cessation of ‘war on Christmas’ rhetoric? Don’t, historians say
Another season of the so-called “war on Christmas,” especially in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, may be just enough to drive some people over the edge. And all indications are it isn’t going to go away. “There is no…
BJC’s Walker says Okla. ballot question poses danger to religious institutions
A Baptist expert on religious liberty termed a ballot initiative repealing Oklahoma’s prohibition against using state funds for religious purposes “a dangerous road” toward the intermingling of church and state. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for…
‘Ten Commandments judge’ faces possible second ouster
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, nicknamed the “Ten Commandments judge” for his refusal to remove a monument from the state judicial building in 2003, has been suspended and faces a possible second ouster from the bench he reclaimed in 2013….
Lawmakers seek repeal of no aid to religion in Oklahoma constitution
Lawmakers in Oklahoma are pushing a ballot initiative to repeal a section of the state constitution that prohibits the use of taxpayer money or property to advance religion. House Joint Resolution 1062, passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives March…