religious liberty - Page 14

The independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released its Annual Report for 2015, documenting religious freedom violations in 33 countries and assessing the U.S. government’s implementation of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).

During oral arguments before the Supreme Court on whether same-sex marriage should be a “right,” the Obama administration admitted that religious schools teaching marriage as the union of one man and one woman could lose their tax-exempt status as a

The award will reportedly bankrupt the seven-member Klein family and force Sweet Cakes by Melissa Bakery to shut down. The Kleins’ lawyer, Anna Harmon, said that the damages awarded was not limited to the sale of business assets, but would be taken out of their personal funds.

A leader of the Coalition of African-American Pastors (CAAP) who spoke at the March for Marriage in Russellville, Arkansas Saturday was interrupted in her address when LGBT activists with protest signs and rainbow flags ran up on the stage with her, attempting to disrupt the event.

Pastors from all over Texas are descending upon the Texas Capitol today to support a Texas House Bill that protects the rights of certain religious organizations and individuals when refusing to perform or to recognize a gay marriage. The Texas Pastor Council has issued a Call to Action for “Pastors At The Capitol” for Wednesday, April 22nd. They will be attending the House State Affairs Committee hearing on H.B. 3567 to “begin challenging the false narrative of the Texas Association of Business that Texas can’t be both business friendly and protect the religious freedom of the people.” The Texas Pastor Council is a part of the United States Pastor Council (USPC).

The Duncan Public School district in Oklahoma has promised to prohibit the distribution of Bibles to students, after an atheist organization threatened legal action over what it calls “unconstitutional Bible distribution.”

Wyoming Catholic College has rejected $1 million in federal student aid programs to keep its Catholic identity, rejecting strings tied to the funding regarding birth control, same-sex marriage, and gender issues–requirements that are not in keeping with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The 70-year-old grandmother who owns a flower shop in Washington state and became a national figure for refusing to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding says she was surprised her actions gained such notoriety and had often done business with the gay couple, whom she considered friends.

By supporting religious freedom, Roger Simon says, “the potential candidates risk alienating the rest of the nation.” A closer look, however, reveals that this might not be the whole story.

Dr. Ben Carson is calling for more attention to be given to Christians and their rights, suggesting that they are being passed over in favor of other concerns, such as gender identity and sexual orientation.

In his ongoing campaign against Christian persecution, Pope Francis underscored the responsibility of the international community Monday in his address to the pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter’s Square, urging governments not to stand idly by while anti-Christian violence continues.

In a bizarre new twist on the religious liberty front, Colorado officials have determined that bakeries must cater to proponents of gay marriage but are not legally obliged to decorate cakes with Bible verses.

A gay woman in Indiana has created a stir by coming out in favor of religious liberty, showing public support for Christian-owned Memories Pizza and their decision not to cater gay weddings.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a conservative Republican and potential 2016 presidential candidate, said on Breitbart News Sunday this weekend for the Easter Sunday special show that Democrats and liberals are waging an open assault on Americans’ religious liberty rights.

After a week of hearing religious liberty attacked, my religion doesn’t let me watch the biggest college game of the year Saturday night. This from an Alabaman who drove to Indiana to see the Hoosiers upset Kentucky in a regular

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told Breitbart News that the modern Democratic Party is “so radicalized and so extreme” that it won’t stand up for the most basic tenets of the U.S. Constitution, including religious liberty as afforded by the First Amendment.

On April 1, the Catholic bishops of Indiana posted a joint statement online in response to the heated debate generated by the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, affirming the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens and the need for its protection in law.

Faith is officially regarded as trivial now, a hobby to be practiced quietly in whatever private spaces the State chooses to permit. The case against the RFRA boils down to telling religious people they must set aside their faith if they want to do business, because the State has an interest in every transaction, no matter how small, and there are no valid objections to its moral judgment.

In a spectacular display of bad journalistic form, Ed Schultz cut the microphone of Heritage Foundation Fellow Ryan Anderson in the midst of a heated debate on Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act during The Ed Show on Tuesday night.

Despite the criticism surrounding Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s religious liberty law, lawmakers in Arkansas just passed a similar bill. On the other hand, lawmakers in both North Carolina and Georgia are on the defensive about their own pending religious liberty legislation.

The Post reported that a similar measure in North Carolina would “make no sense,” according to Gov. Pat McCrory who made the statement during a radio interview and added he would not sign any such legislation.

The tolerant left has now decided that anybody who believes in freedom of religion ought to be boycotted. CEOs and government leaders are threatening to boycott the state of Indiana–and not just governmental entities in Indiana, but private businesses in Indiana that have never discriminated against anyone homosexual, let alone same-sex weddings. But these same CEOs and government leaders will happily do business with some of the worst regimes on earth–regimes that do not merely recognize the right of private businessowners to do business with the clients they choose, but that sponsor the state-sanctioned execution of homosexuals.

Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy took to Twitter Monday morning to announce he will be signing an executive order barring state-funded travel to Indiana in the wake of Gov. Mike Pence signing a Religious Freedom law.

Religious liberty has become something believers have to beg for, on bent knee, hats in hand, while mumbling a stream of apologies about how they’re not motivated by personal animosity toward anyone. Their adversaries are free to question their very humanity, dismissing matters of faith and conscience with a sneer.

In the midst of preparations for the World Meeting of Families to be celebrated in Philadelphia next September with the presence of Pope Francis, Archbishop Charles Chaput offered a grim assessment of the state of religious freedom in the world.

According to an Atlanta Journal Constitution report, Georgia lawmakers supporting “religious liberty” efforts at the state Capitol doubled-down Wednesday by introducing a second bill to prevent government intrusion on faith-based beliefs.

Senator Ted Cruz gathered with Houston area pastors on Thursday to address the City of Houston and Mayor Annise Parker’s “unchecked government power” and “assault on religious liberty.”