Remember Joe Kennedy, the praying football coach? He won his court case but decided to make a nation-wide right-wing media tour instead of returning to coaching football at Bremerton High School in Washington state. This year Kennedy finally returned to...
religious liberty
The Author’s Corner with Mark Valeri
Mark Valeri is the Reverend Priscilla Wood Neaves Distinguished Professor of Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. This interview is based on his new book, The Opening of the Protestant Mind: How Anglo-American Protestants Embraced Religious Liberty (Oxford...
On the evangelical postal worker case, Supreme Court tells a lower court to take another look
Amid all the discussion of affirmative action today, the Supreme Court also made a unanimous decision on a religious liberty case. Here is Ariane de Vougue and Tierney Sneed reporting on Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General: The Supreme Court revived...
The Christian postal worker case in historical context
Gerald Graff works for the U.S. postal service. He is also an evangelical who honors the Christian sabbath. In other words, he won’t deliver the mail on Sundays. His religious convictions cost him his job. The Supreme Court recently heard...
Religious freedom vs. LGBTQ rights on college campus: a short primer
Over at The Conversation, University of Dayton professor Charles Russo gives us the lay of the land. Here is a taste: Disputes over religious freedom and LGBTQ rights in the United States have led to some of the most high-profile...
Supreme Court: Maine must fund religious education
Here is VOX: The Supreme Court held on Tuesday that Maine must fund religious education as part of a school voucher program that pays tuition for students in rural parts of the state. In the process, the Court’s decision in Carson...
Can we advance both religious liberty and LGBTQ rights?
Over the last few years we have brought your attention to Fairness for All, a balanced piece of legislation that preserves religious freedom and defends LGBTQ rights. The bill does not appear to have made it out of committee. See...
The Author’s Corner with Adam Jortner
Adam Jortner is Goodwin-Philpott Eminent Professor of Religion in the Department of History at Auburn University. This interview is based on his new book, No Place for Saints: Mobs and Mormons in Jacksonian America (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022). JF:...
Kathleen Parker on religious liberty…in 2004
As I prepared for this week’s episode of A History of Evangelicals and Politics podcast I came across a column from syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker. I read it in the June 28, 2004 issue of the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune....
Supreme Court upholds Obamacare (7-2) and religious liberty (9-0)
Here is Politico on the Texas challenge to the Affordable Care Act: The Supreme Court on Thursdaythrew out a lawsuit threatening the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, finding that Republican-led states behind the case did not have legal ground...
What is going on at Cairn University?
This one hits close to home. As I recently discussed in a few episodes of the A History of Evangelicals and Politics podcast, I am a Cairn University graduate. Here is Claudia Lauer of the Associated Press: A small Christian...
The Supreme Court is far more likely to rule in favor of religious rights
Perhaps those concerned about religious liberty as it relates to The Equality Act should consider this. Here is a taste of Adam Liptak’s parsing of a recent essay to be published in The Supreme Court Review: “For many today, religious...
A Christian college president on the Equality Act
Morgan Lee of Christianity Today’s “Quick to Listen” podcast interviews Shirley Mullen. a historian, philosopher, and president of evangelical Houghton College in upstate New York. Here is a taste: What does it mean for ministries and organizations that might require...
57 Black Christian leaders endorse Fairness for All
As I type, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding hearings on the Equality Act. As I have noted several times at this blog, I do not support the Equality Act. Instead, I join the National Association of Evangelicals, Council for...
Michelle Bachmann: This week revealed the “greatest attack” on the “foundations” of America that “we have ever seen in 400 years”
Michelle Bachmann, the new dean of Regent University’s school of government, visited MAGA evangelical Jim Garlow’s “election integrity” prayer meeting this week. You can watch it here. (It was posted on Eric Metaxas’s Rumble page). Bachmann warns the pro-Trump evangelical...
Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah reintroduces the Fairness for All Act
I’ve been covering this all day. Here is a taste of Kelsey Dallas’s reporting at Deseret News: Utah Rep. Chris Stewart reintroduced legislation Friday that aims to reduce anti-LGBTQ discrimination and, unlike the competing Equality Act that passed the House...
Will the Democrats add religious exemptions to the Equality Act?
I wrote about the Equality Act this morning. I share Jonathan Rauch’s perspective here. I believe the Fairness for All Act is the best way forward. Here is a taste of Rauch’s piece: For religious and faith-based organizations, the House...
What is the Equality Act and what does it mean?
Yesterday the House of Representatives passed the Equality Act. What is this act? National Public Radio explains: The Equality Act would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to explicitly prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill has been...