Tattooed Jesus, yoga and the debate over school endorsement of religion
Legal battles over when and where to draw the church-state line on school endorsement of religion can be a nightmare for administrators, a headache for judges and a payday for lawyers. Read More
View ArticleGay marriage, gender identity and the future of religious dissent
The rapid shift in public support for gay marriage and LGBT civil rights in Europe and the U.S. has left religious conservatives scrambling to put spokes in the fast-moving wheel of social change. Read...
View ArticleAt the High Court, rare win for workplace religious freedom
Beyond religious garb and grooming, it remains to be seen to what extent the Court’s ruling will encourage business owners to work harder to accommodate requests for religious accommodation on such...
View ArticleAfter Charleston
The brutal murder of nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17 was a chilling assault on fundamental freedoms guaranteed every American...
View ArticleAfter Gay Marriage, Can We Move from Battleground to Common Ground?
In recent years, religious freedom — or, more precisely, religious freedom claims — have been front and center in the battle over same-sex marriage. Read More
View ArticleAfter gay marriage, can we move from battleground to common ground?
In recent years, religious freedom – or, more precisely, religious-freedom claims – have been front and center in the battle over same-sex marriage. Read More
View ArticleWhen combatting extremism, schools are the long game
According to FBI reports, Abdulazeez was inspired to “martyrdom” through listening to the hate-filled sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki, the al Qaeda recruiter killed by an American drone strike in 2011. Read...
View ArticleOlympic fiasco: Awarding Beijing rewards persecution
Last week, the International Olympic Committee awarded Beijing the 2022 Winter Games, demonstrating yet again that selection of a host city has everything to do with politics, money and power — and...
View ArticleDespite settled law, schools still struggle to get religion right
Although I can't cite a scientific survey to prove it, I have detected a recent upswing in conflicts over religion in public schools. Just as I was beginning to believe that most schools were finally...
View ArticleClerks, conscience, and the case for common ground
On August 31, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal from Kim Davis, a county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky who objects on religious grounds to issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Undeterred, Davis...
View ArticleIn Kentucky, a win-win for the Constitution
What better way to commemorate Constitution Week than with a good old-fashioned American compromise? Read More
View ArticleIn words and gestures, Pope Francis re-awakens the American ideal
At a cultural moment when celebrity trumps character in America, it took a humble priest from Argentina to remind us of the better angels of our nature – and of the kind of nation we must aspire to...
View ArticleHolidays, public schools and what it means to be “American”
Battles this month over holidays in public schools — from Halloween in Connecticut to Christmas in Indiana — are about far more than witches, ghosts, Santa Claus, or Jesus. Read More
View ArticlePolitics and perils of Muslim bashing on the campaign trail
According to conventional presidential campaign wisdom, loose talk denigrating a religious tradition practiced by millions of Americans would seriously damage – if not sink – a candidate’s bid for the...
View ArticleIslam, public schools, and the challenge of teaching about religions
What has triggered recent conflicts is not so much inclusion of study about religions in the curriculum – some level of religious literacy, after all, is required by all state standards. The fight is...
View ArticleOn Thanksgivukkah, give thanks for religious freedom
Both Hanukkah and Thanksgiving are rooted in the struggle for religious liberty, but neither marks a lasting triumph. Read More
View ArticleDon’t worry, Santa, the ‘war on Christmas’ isn’t real
Belief in Santa perpetuates a spirit of joy and goodwill. But the “war on Christmas” narrative does little more than stir up anger and ill will. Read More
View ArticleFrom a 5th-grader, uncomfortable truth about religious conflict
If schools don’t teach young kids (or allow them to discuss) the truth about religious strife in history, then what exactly do they teach? Read More
View ArticleIn 2014, free the faithful
Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, imprisoned in Iran, is just one of thousands imprisoned for their different faiths around the world. Read More
View ArticleDo corporations have religious freedom?
When people of faith choose to live out that faith in the world of business, they should not be put to what the Supreme Court once called ‘the cruel choice’ between following their God and making a...
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