Essay: Advocates and builders, advancing religious freedom together

CHRIS SEIPLE, president emeritus of the Institute for Global Engagement, says – in an article first published on Religion News Service, that the two camps in US religious freedom diplomacy need to work as one…
Essay: Religious liberty has a long and messy history in the US – and there is a reason Americans feel strongly about it

In an article published on The Conversation, religious liberty scholars JAMES HUDNUT-BEUMLER and JAMES P BYRD look at the tumultuous history of religious liberty in the US…
Religious liberty: Foes of death penalty offer spiritual support at executions

DAVID CRARY, of Associated Press, looks at how people of faith are involved in a bid to overturn a Texas policing banning pastors from praying audibly or laying their hands on the condemned…
Essay: Religious liberty means COVID-19 restrictions cannot target churchgoers

In an article first published on Religion News Service, TONY PERKINS, president of the Family Research Council, argues that the government should not target religious gatherings or activities for restriction during the coronavirus response…
Essay: In the US, it’s time for Democrats to start talking about international religious freedom

In an article first published by Religion News Service, PETER HENNE, director of Middle East studies in the Global and Regional Studies Program at the University of Vermont, argues that the issue of international religious freedom represents an opportunity for Democractic presidential candidates…
Liberal Christian group files ethics complaint against US Attorney General Barr

RNS Faithful America, a Christian advocacy group that often champions liberal causes, has filed an ethics complaint against US Attorney General William Barr, claiming he violated his oath to defend religious liberty for all Americans in a recent speech at Notre Dame University’s law school. The complaint, filed last week with the Justice Department’s Office […]
Essay: Cultivate common ground regarding faith in public life

In an excerpt from her new book, ‘Faith in Public Life’, MELISSA ROGERS, former executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and now a visiting professor at Wake Forest University, underlines the important role decisions about faith in public life play in determining the country’s future…
Coalition of 850 religious leaders backs lawsuit against DHS surveillance of pastor

RNS Earlier this month, Manhattan pastor Kaji Douša filed a federal lawsuit accusing US officials of violating her religious liberty by detaining and surveilling her over her ministry to migrants at the border. Now, more than 850 ordained clergy from around North America have formed an interfaith coalition in support of Dousa, senior pastor of […]
In the US, Veteran Affair’s revised policies on symbols, displays aim to protect ‘religious liberty’

RNS In the wake of a Supreme Court decision permitting a cross to remain on a public highway, the Department of Veterans Affairs has revised its policies on religious symbols in displays at VA facilities. VA Secretary Robert Wilkie announced on 3rd July that the new policies will reduce inconsistencies among VA facilities. A Catholic […]
Essay: How outrage for a death row inmate in the US may have flipped Supreme Court justices for religious liberty

In an article first published on Religion News Service, AMANDA TYLER, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, looks at recent US Supreme Court decisions involving the issue of religious liberty…