In East Texas, does cheering for God erase church-state line?
In Kountze, Texas, there’s not much daylight between God and football on Friday nights. That’s why most fans in the stands cheer loudly when the cheerleaders hoist banners with biblical verses for the...
View ArticleMitt, Mormons, and the religious test that wasn’t
WASHINGTON — Buried in the mountain of demographic data preoccupying political pundits this week is one historic statistic that may have far-reaching consequences for religious freedom in America:...
View ArticleIn Christmas wars, it’s all or nothing
In the angry eyes of Christians in Santa Monica, Calif., Damon Vix is the atheist who stole Christmas. Vix is blamed for the city’s decision to ban all private displays in Palisades Park, ending a...
View ArticleSentencing teen to church crosses First Amendment line
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a judicial-conduct complaint against an Oklahoma judge who sentenced a 17-year-old to an unusual form of probation — 10 years of church. In November,...
View ArticleReligious freedom: not just for the religious
Atheists, humanists and other nonreligious people face discrimination and persecution in many parts of the world, according to “Freedom of Thought 2012,” a report released this week by the...
View ArticlePharmacists win religious-freedom victory
DIXON, Ill. — Justice delayed, it turns out, is not always justice denied. Earlier this month, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan ended a seven-year legal battle against two Illinois pharmacists...
View ArticleIn 2012, the rise of a new religious America
The first Hindu elected to the House of Representatives, Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, will take the oath of office in a few weeks — and she has chosen to place her hand on the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text...
View ArticleIn 2013, escalating battles over claims of conscience
Let’s start the New Year with a conundrum as old as the Republic: When religious convictions clash with secular laws, how far should government go to accommodate religious claims of conscience? From...
View Article10th Circuit rejects inmate’s lawsuit over special diet
A federal appeals court has found that a Colorado inmate failed to show his religious-liberty rights were violated when prison officials denied his requests for a vegetarian diet. Aaron I. Jordan, an...
View ArticlePerils and politics of inaugural prayers
Prayers delivered at presidential inaugurations are rarely quoted and quickly forgotten (at least in the earthly realm). But in today’s deeply divided America, who prays the prayers – and who doesn’t –...
View ArticleIn Texas schools, failing grade for Bible courses
Fifty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional the devotional use of the Bible by public schools, in its ruling on Abington Township v. Schempp. But many school districts in...
View ArticleWhen do student prayers cross the First Amendment line?
Students are free to pray in public schools – except when they aren’t. If this sounds confusing, pity school administrators charged with figuring out if and when to draw the line on student prayers....
View ArticleDemocracy minus freedom equals tyranny
Violent protests and a rising death toll across Egypt this week are tragic reminders that free and fair elections are no guarantee of a free and fair society. Only one year ago, Mohammad Morsi won...
View ArticleA right for the religious is a right for the nonreligious
Government in America must be neutral among religions and neutral between religion and non-religion – at least that’s how the U.S. Supreme Court interprets the establishment clause of the First...
View ArticleFor most Americans, gay equality trumps religious objections
In the wake of two favorable Supreme Court decisions, gay-rights proponents got another boost this month with the release of State of the First Amendment: 2013, a public-opinion survey supported by the...
View ArticleDispelling the myth of a ‘Christian nation’
Culture warriors, pseudo-historians and opportunistic politicians have spent the last several decades peddling the myth that America was founded as a “Christian nation.” The propaganda appears to be...
View ArticleBy removing Islam display, Kansas school surrenders to ignorance
Back to school means back to culture wars for Minneha Core Knowledge Elementary School in Wichita, Kan. On the very first day of school, someone snapped a photo of a bulletin-board display in the...
View ArticleTo stop the madness, put a face to faith
No quick fix – diplomatic or military – will dissolve the centuries of distrust and rivalry that fuel the sectarian conflict in Syria, where Alawites and Shiites are pitted against Sunnis, with...
View ArticleWhen God-talk by kids is protected speech
If you ask a class of 5th graders to write about someone they “look up to,” don’t be shocked when at least one of them decides to write about God. That’s exactly what happened in Millington, Tenn.,...
View ArticleOn Thanksgivukkah, give thanks for religious freedom
The marketing frenzy surrounding “Thanksgivukkah” – a term coined by a Massachusetts woman for this year’s rare convergence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah – reminds me of an old New Yorker cartoon:...
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