(OPINION) Appeals to tradition entered a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring Texas to grant a convicted murderer his Baptist pastor's audible prayers and comforting touch during his execution.
Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court gave religious liberty advocates a victory by ruling 5-4 that Montana’s no aid clause, also known as the Blaine Amendment, cannot exclude religious schools from public programs that provide scholarship to students attending private school. The ruling makes it easier for families to obtain tuition help for religious schools of their choice.
Read More
In the nation’s latest religious freedom battle, church leaders in many states from New York to Oregon are clashing with governors over how and when to resume in-person gatherings.
Read More
(OPINION) In early April, the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom called for the release of prisoners of conscience in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. These prisoners are often detained simply for holding beliefs their government does not recognize. But a prison sentence should not become a death sentence due to the virus.
Read More(OPINION) The Chinese Government facilitated the transfer of Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities from Xinjiang to factories in various parts of China, and big companies have profitted from the forced-labor.
Read More
(OPINION) The church in China is under attack, but the famous missionary’s work there more than a century ago endures.
Read More
(OPINION) Asma Uddin is the author of the provocatively titled “When Islam Is Not a Religion.” Her advocacy for all religions, including those with adherents who might oppose hers, is a lesson in the universality of freedom of religion that the Constitution intends.
Read More
(OPINION) Projections about the future of religious beliefs vary depending by prediction method, and perhaps bias. A recent BBC article saw a coming decline in favor of science and legal systems. Other statistics tell a different story.
Read More
(OPINION) A recent piece in The Atlantic examines how the excesses of progressive politics affect kids. It contains insights into how journalists can better cover the culture war’s religious implications.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Last week’s State Department summit brought together representatives from nearly 100 countries and dozens of faith groups to discuss threats and successes of religious freedom globally.
Read MoreSaudi Arabia, China, Russia and Myanmar are the world’s worst offenders of religious freedom in 2018, according to the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report.
Read More
The Rohingya, an ethnic minority persecuted by some Buddhist groups in Myanmar, are facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises of this century. We spoke to Yangon-based activist Sam Naeem about the evolution of their struggle so far.
Read More
We talked with Steven Waldman, founder of BeliefNet and author of the new book Sacred Liberty, about America’s battles for religious freedom— how the notion that the US was founded with religious liberty in mind is wrong— our current challenges for preserving it, and much more.
Read More
It may be the one issue in America capable of uniting Mormons, Native Americans, Roman Catholics and Evangelical Christians. The issue of religious liberty has, in recent years, increasingly galvanized people of many faith traditions in the United States to unite against secular forces. One of its most-vocal backers and eloquent advocates is opinion journalist David French.
Read More
(COMMENTARY) There’s a federal lawsuit against the University of Iowa for removing a Christian business group’s on-campus recognition on grounds of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Read More
An Australian Anglican pastor, academic, and human rights activist, Mark Durie is also very critical of Islam – especially on the issue of religious liberty. He speaks of ‘moderate’ governments whose economic openness and political cooperation is lauded by the West, which turns a blind eye to their blatant restrictions on religious liberty. But Durie's concern goes beyond just the victims, to include those who let it slide.
Read More
Angry uprisings flared up in 80 cities across Iran since late December, until being violently shut down by the Revolutionary Guards. The protests have deeply shaken the religious elite who rule Iran. They’ve also exposed the state’s systemic dysfunction, as well as widespread rage and resentment among Iran’s populace — most notably among the poor and disadvantaged.
Read More