As the Republican Party holds its midterm convention here in Dallas this week, it’s notable how many Republican elected officials suddenly found somewhere else to be. Some of these don’t want to get more of the stink of a failing…
Flunk Those Who Want a Religious Test for Office
The Republican lieutenant governor of Indiana wants to change his state’s Constitution to bar non-Christians from holding public office. A Christian Nationalist pastor who won his spot as part of the gubernatorial ticket with then-U.S. Sen. Mike Braun in 2024,…
What James Madison can teach Americans about religious freedom today
As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, debates about religious freedom continue to occupy the center of American public life.
Due process is not some woke aberration
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is clear: “Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.” Note the choice of word — “person,” not citizen. That distinction is no accident. It…
Ronald Reagan and the Whole Trump
Just 10 days after Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term, I wrote these words: The Pine Belt News: “On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump commuted the sentences of the paramilitary members who had been convicted of…
Slavery and guns in America: The constitutional parallels
“We don’t have to die like this. We don’t have to live like this.” Those two sentences have become something of a mantra for Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I heard her say…
Don’t take preaching lessons from Christian nationalist Gen. Flynn
I’m attempting to wrap my mind around the idea of a former Army general telling me I should preach from the U.S. Constitution. I mention this only because Michael Flynn has been occupying American pulpits, recommending the Constitution as a…
Lindsey Graham says he goes to church about three times a year but wants Supreme Court nominee to rate her faithfulness on a scale of 1 to 10
Once again, a United States senator asked a nominee for public office a question about personal religious practice, despite the clear prohibition of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution. This time the questioner was Sen. Lindsey Graham, R.-S.C., and the…
How the Constitution’s original religious freedom guarantee almost didn’t happen
On this day 234 years ago, the U.S. Constitution was signed and sent to the states for ratification, not only proposing a much-needed new system of government but also taking one of the first concrete steps to protect religious freedom….
Pack a constitution with that Bible for overseas mission trips, expert says
A huge challenge facing faith-based groups operating overseas is ignorance about the laws governing religion in other countries. It can get people into a lot of trouble, said Eron Henry, a Jamaian-born American and former communications executive with the Baptist…