religious liberty
Florida officials: Arrested pastor not exonerated by new order listing religious services as ‘essential’
By Jack Jenkins — April 1, 2020
(RNS) — ‘Nothing has changed,’ said a representative for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Frank Gaffney is wrong. Religious liberty is good for everyone, not a ‘takeover’
By Asma T. Uddin — March 2, 2020
RNS — If we cede power to the government to choose what it considers a religion and what it does not, who is to say what is allowed today won’t be prohibited tomorrow?
An imam and a rabbi see the State of the Union address as less than reassuring
By Omar Suleiman and Nancy Kasten — February 7, 2020
(RNS) — Does the president believe in protecting the religious liberty of all citizens of the United States?
Students expelled over same-sex marriages sue Fuller for discrimination
By Emily McFarlan Miller and Alejandra Molina — January 10, 2020
(RNS) — In an amended complaint filed this week, two former students allege Fuller Theological Seminary violated anti-discrimination laws when it expelled them after learning they were married to people of the same sex.
Newseum closing but Religious Freedom Center programs to continue elsewhere
By Adelle M. Banks — December 11, 2019
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The Freedom Forum Institute’s religious liberty programming dates to the 1990s, when the Newseum was housed in Rosslyn, Virginia.
Republicans introduce bill to protect LGBTQ rights and religious freedom
By Yonat Shimron — December 6, 2019
(RNS) — The ‘Fairness for All’ bill, introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart and eight other Republican legislators, is the culmination of a three-year effort to bridge the divide between LGBTQ people and religious conservatives.
Melissa Rogers envisions a better way forward for faith in the public square
By Aysha Khan — December 3, 2019
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (RNS) — Prompted by what she sees as a new push toward rewriting church-state laws and historic hostility to religious minorities, Rogers’ new book seeks to define the relationship between the government and religion.
Trump’s new HHS rule will harm far more people than you realize
By Maggie Siddiqi — November 14, 2019
(RNS) — This proposed rule allows this discrimination at a much larger scale. It invites discrimination against people of all faiths and no faith, against women and against LGBTQ people.
Liberal Christian group files ethics complaint against Attorney General Barr
By Jack Jenkins — October 29, 2019
(RNS) — Faithful America suggested that Barr had gone beyond expressing his own views to echo the Trump administration's singling out of religious minorities, calling the speech 'coordinated' with Trump’s election bid.
Cultivate common ground regarding faith in public life
By Melissa Rogers — October 15, 2019
(RNS) — Making lasting progress on the most difficult issues facing our country will require renewed efforts to bring diverse Americans of good faith together to listen to one another.
Coalition of 850 religious leaders backs lawsuit against DHS surveillance of pastor
By Aysha Khan — July 25, 2019
(RNS) — Manhattan pastor Kaji Douša filed a federal lawsuit accusing U.S. officials of violating her religious liberty by detaining and surveilling her over her border ministry. Now, more than 850 clergy members are standing in support of her.
VA’s revised policies on symbols, displays aim to protect ‘religious liberty’
By Adelle M. Banks — July 8, 2019
(RNS) — The announcement noted that the Supreme Court’s June 20 decision 'reaffirmed the important role religion plays in the lives of many Americans and its consistency with Constitutional principles.'
Asma Uddin: If we deprive Islam of its status as a religion, all religion is threatened
By Simran Jeet Singh — April 30, 2019
(RNS) — The argument against Islam, says legal scholar Asma Uddin in a Q&A, has nothing to do with a philosophical interrogation of 'religion,' and everything to do with depriving Muslims of their rights.
In Québec, Christian liberalism becomes the religious authority
By Hannah Dick — April 9, 2019
(RNS) — Bill 21, like the previous secularism bills, disproportionately targets religious minorities' symbols and practices.
How outrage for a death row inmate may have flipped the justices for religious liberty
By Amanda Tyler — April 2, 2019
(RNS) — The traditional view has been that these nine jurists are insulated from pressure, but the response to a case of a Muslim denied the right to his imam at his execution may have proved the exception.
