Site Index
- "A Call To Renewal" - Barack Obama on the Role of Religion in Public Life - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- "Faithiness" Artifacts from the 2008 Democratic Convention - Michael PeabodyA collection of news stories about faith at the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver.
- "Should I Fight?" An overview of the recent symposium on conscientious objection - ReligiousLiberty.TVAn attendee reports on the recent symposium held in Canada from November 6-9, 2008.
- "Something Very Distinctive About Religious Freedom": Martha Minow - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- "Spritual but not religious" community growing (CNN) - Martin Surridge
- "The Abortion Controversy" by John V. Stevens, Sr. - Greg HamiltonReview by Gregory W. Hamilton - The Abortion Controversy addresses the many myths surrounding just that: the historic abortion controversy in America—theologically, ethically, scientifically, politically, constitutionally, and socially.
- "Two Visions of America" - Rabbi Sherwin Wine - Administrator
- $65.5 TRILLION in U.S. Federal obligations exceed the gross domestic product of the entire world (WorldNetDaily) - AdministratorThe total U.S. obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits to be paid in the future, effectively have placed the U.S. government in bankruptcy, even before new continuing social welfare obligation embedded in the massive spending plan are taken into account.
- 'Aye, those be slighting words against the Lord:' Ireland's blasphemy law (National Post) - Administrator
- ‘Under God’ Spray-Painted On Secularist Billboard (WSOC) - Martin Surridge
- ‘We have so many uncanonised martyrs’ - Christians in Pakistan are living in daily fear of violence from extremists (Catholic Herald) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- 10th Circuit Rules Oklahoma Amendment Barring Islamic Law was Unnecessary and Discriminatory - Michael Peabody
- 1967 U.S. Supreme Court Decision sheds light on California marriage debate - Michael PeabodyThere is presently much debate about gay marriage in California, and the roots for the argument come from several directions. In 1967 the United States Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether marriage was a fundamental right. Granted it had to do with people of the opposite sex, but the arguments for the State of Virginia which forbade interracial marriage were primarily religious in nature. When you think about it, 1967 was not very long ago. If you are older than 42, if your parents were from sixteen states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, South Carolina, Georgia, or Florida, and were from different races their marriages would have been illegal. In California, interracial marriage was illegal until 1948.
- 3 states still ban religious clothing for teachers (Associated Press) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- 9th Circuit Holds 'Ministerial Exception' Bars Seminarian Employment Case - AdministratorEXCERPT: This “ministerial exception” helps to preserve the wall between church and state from even the mundane government intrusion presented here. In this case, plaintiff Cesar Rosas seeks pay for the overtime hours he worked as a seminarian in a Catholic church in Washington. The district court correctly determined that the ministerial exception bars Rosas’s claim and dismissed the case on the pleadings.
- 9th Circuit Upholds the Term 'God' in Pledge and on Currency - Michael PeabodyAlthough this was a lawsuit brought by an atheist, had he won, the result might have actually been more protective of the honor of God. After these rulings stripping the name of God of any religious meaning, those who have so long clamored for God's name to be mentioned as a statement of this nation's religious faith might want to re-think their position.
- 9th Circuit: World Vision Can Continue Faith-Based Hiring - Michael Peabody
- A Christian Nation: But Which Christianity? (Baptist Joint Committee) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- A Church Scorned: Church, State, Marriage, and the Quest for Power - Michael Peabody
- A Madman and His Manifesto (NYT) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- A Muslim American Reflects on Osama Bin Laden’s Death (Washington Post) - Martin Surridge
- A Short History Of The Conscientious Objector (Liberty Magazine) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- A Tennessee mosque, a good American story (First Amendment Center) - Martin Surridge
- A World Enslaved - There are now more slaves on the planet than at any time in human history (Foreign Policy) - Michael PeabodyMost people imagine that slavery died in the 19th century. Since 1817, more than a dozen international conventions have been signed banning the slave trade. Yet, today there are more slaves than at any time in human history.
- Advanced Citizenship: The Cost of Free Speech in America - Jason Hines
- Adventist Church Issues "Statement on freedom of speech and defamation of religion" - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Adventist church leaders meet with Hungarian ambassador on looming deregistration of churches - ReligiousLiberty.TVReligious liberty leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church this week met the Hungarian ambassador to the United States in an effort to help officials from that country better understand the potential effects of a looming deregistration of churches.
- Adventist Church Selects New UN Liaison - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Adventist Golfer put his faith ahead of on-course success (Tulsa World) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Adventist Review : 09RNS: Adventist Churches Among Those Burned in Ethiopia - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- ADVOCACY: There's More to Faith than James Dobson (FaithfulAmerica.org) - Alexander Carpenter
- Alabama Immigration Law Questioned by Catholic Archbishop - Martin Surridge
- Alan Greenspan: Gold and Economic Freedom (1966) - Michael Peabody
- Alexis de Tocqueville on Democracy - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- America facing food rationing? (NY Sun) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- America the chosen nation - LA Times.com Opinion - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- America's Democratic Collapse - A Speech by Chris Hedges - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- America's Would-be Saviors - Greg Hamilton
- American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Americans United Praises Justice Stevens' Record On Church And State - ReligiousLiberty.TVAmericans United for Separation of Church and State today praised Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens for his record of support for church-state separation and expressed the hope that his replacement will hold similar views.
- An Analysis of the Results of the Federal Prop 8 Same-Sex Marriage Trial - Michael PeabodyIn short, Judge Walker ruled based on the evidence presented, as any trial judge should, and regardless of his own personal sexual orientation or biases, Prop 8 supporters simply did not make a viable case for themselves. Sloganeering may have won the election but did not win a trial where real evidence was required. Prop 8 supporters may later look at the ruling and claim it was wrongly decided but as this essay points out, the reality is that they did a poor job presenting their evidence and only put two witnesses on the stand, both of whom had previously written statements that contradicted their testimony in favor of Prop 8. When both of these witnesses were neutralized, Prop 8 advocates had nothing left with which to prove their case and any effort by any judge to add in facts to uphold Prop 8 would have been the very definition of judicial activism.
- An idea lost on fanatics: Those behind the Mumbai attacks will never fathom religious liberty (LA Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TVBy Tim Rutten - Los Angeles Times - The places the killers struck -- luxury hotels, a railway station, a hospital for women and children, the Chabad Jewish center -- are all powerfully linked in the popular mind with the modern world. As the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy has argued, the jihadis have linked anti-Americanism, anti-British sentiment (the assumption is that London is Washington's lap dog) and anti-Semitic antagonism toward Zionism into a potent new ideology. To the extent it seems to find an increasingly sympathetic hearing in some fashionable sectors of the intellectual West, including the U.S., Levy correctly labels it "the socialism of imbeciles."
- Analysis - Christian Legal Society v. Hastings - The Lesson: Stipulations Matter - Michael Peabody
- Analysis: Obama Administration Declines to Defend Part of the Defense of Marriage Act - Jason HinesToday Attorney General Eric Holder and the Obama Administration announced that the Justice Department will no longer attempt to defend Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (which defines “marriage” as between one man and one woman and “spouse” as a member of the opposite sex) from challenges in states that recognize gay marriage.
- ANALYSIS: Bishops Claim Religious Liberty Under Assault - Michael PeabodyThe Church can assert its right speak in the the public square, but it should not assume power it does not have in order to force the rest of society to follow its lead.
- ANALYSIS: California Supreme Court unanimously rules that physicians cannot withhold fertility treatments to homosexuals - Michael PeabodyDo the rights of religious freedom and free speech, as guaranteed in both the federal and the California Constitutions, exempt a medical clinic’s physicians from complying with the California Unruh Civil Rights Act’s prohibition against discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation? The California Supreme Court says "No."
- ANALYSIS: Deflationary Depression and Purging To Come (The International Forecaster) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- ANALYSIS: European Sunday Weekly Rest Day Legislation Remains Unlawful - Brighton KavalohThe main purpose for writing this article is to respond to the relentless attempts in recent times to legislate in the European Union, Sunday as an official weekly rest day. The lobbyists championing this cause have been among other associations, the Roman Catholic Bishops (COMECE), some Protestants church representatives and certain Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).[1] I will now provide a synopsis of the background on this issue and show how it has developed to the present day.
- ANALYSIS: Supreme Court Declines to Hear Discrimination Case Involving Labor Union - Michael Peabody
- ANALYSIS: The Apocalyptic struggle between Jefferson's Wall and the Church - Bill CorkBy Bill Cork - EXCERPT: "Let’s be careful that we speak not only of religious liberty, but that we uphold the American tradition of separation of church and state as well. It has served us well. It allows individuals to be guided by their own religious teachings and morals, but it does not give a privileged place to any church. It affirms the freedom of individuals to believe, and to act in accordance with those beliefs, without fear. If that freedom is threatened–and I agree with Stafford that it is–then the solution is not to tear down the wall, but to build it even higher."
- Announcing and Enacting Peace in an Age of Empire - Ryan Bell
- Appeals Court Lifts Ban on Texas Graduation Prayer (AP) - Martin Surridge
- Apple Bids Adieu to 'Jew or not Jew?' iPhone App in France (CNN) - Martin Surridge
- Armageddon is not an Exit Strategy (Israel e News) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Around the globe, religious freedom under assault (Read it News) - Administrator
- Arrests Made in Christian Militia Police-Killing Plot (CBN) - Administrator
- Arthur Caplan - The Bioethics of Engineering Children - Administrator
- Article18: A New Weekly International Blog by RLTV Associate Editor Martin Surridge - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Afghanistan -- Quran Burning Protest Leaves Dozens Dead; Freed Christian Convert Flees Country - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Afghanistan — The Land that Freedom Forgot; A Profile on Religious Persecution in One of the World's Most Depressing Nations (Liberty Magazine) - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Canada -- Sikhs Upset After Quebec National Assembly Bans Religious Daggers; Controversy Reignites Multiculturalism Debate - Martin Surridge
- Article18: China -- Personal Observations of Liberty and Reflections on Life in Beijing, China - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Cuba — Three Protestant Pastors Interrogated; Roman Catholic Church in Havana Helps Free 126 Prisoners of Conscience - Martin SurridgeLike the classic American cars that drive up and down Havana’s hot streets, communist Cuba is a country from another era–Cold War isolationism, a American trade embargo that began fifty years ago, and a pair of aging dictator-brothers who have ruled the nation and restricted its freedom for decades. But while Cuba may be living in the past in many respects, its religious freedoms are a curious blend of old-fashioned totalitarian crackdown and modern globalist acquiescence.
- Article18: Egypt -- 29 Christians Dead After Attacks on Egyptian Churches; Terrorist Violence Concerns Population of Changing Nation - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Eritrea -- Threatened by North African Protests, Government Believed to Be Torturing Thousands of Christian Prisoners - Martin Surridge
- Article18: France -- Controversial Veil Ban for Muslim Women Continues to Divide Nation - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Germany -- Pope Benedict XVI Addresses Legislators; Chancellor Merkel Calls for Global Religious Tolerance - Martin Surridge
- Article18: India -- Christian Pastor Bludgeoned in Front of His Children; Government Blames "Predatory" Evangelistic Efforts - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Indonesia -- Ahmadis Viciously Killed While Police Watch; Courts to Sentence Muslim Cleric to Life in Prison on Terrorism Charges - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Kosovo -- Muslim Headscarf Ban Upheld for Schools, Christians Required to be Buried in Islamic Graveyards - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Laos -- Four Christian Women Raped and Executed by Laotian Military Along Vietnam Border - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Mexico -- Confirmed Presence of Major Islamic Terrorist Group Near U.S. Border; Former Killer Preaches to Violent Gangsters - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Norway -- Personal Reflections on the Origin of a Tragedy - Martin Surridge The fact of the matter is that the demon of terrorism is one that will practice whatever religion it must to satisfy its craving for violence. Terrorism knows no religion that it can't corrupt. Violence can find a home in any religion, any belief system, be it Muslim, Christian, or Sikh and it is not partial to any one in particular, despite the ramblings in the media.
- Article18: Pakistan -- Christian Flood Victims in Punjab Face Land Discrimination in Disaster Aftermath - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Pakistan -- Fallout from Governor's Assassination Disrupts Efforts to Eliminate Discriminatory Blasphemy Laws - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Poland -- Citizens March in Bialystok to Protest Antisemitism; Death Metal Singer Not-Guilty After Trashing Bible on Stage - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Saudi Arabia -- Prominent Saudi Cleric Hopes Women Who Violate Driving Ban Incur Wrath of God and Die - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Sudan -- Referendum Could Split Nation in Two; Potentially Good News for Millions of Sudanese Christians and Muslims - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Thailand Part 1 -- Dissenters Arrested for Insulting the Monarchy; Malay Insurgents Continue Terror Campaign in South - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Thailand Part 2 -- Special Interview with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Thailand Volunteer Bob Young - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Thailand Preview - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Uzbekistan -- Recent Incidents of Violence Against Christians Alarm Religious Minorities - Martin Surridge
- Article18: Wales - Special Interview with the President of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission in Wales - Martin Surridge
- Associated Press reports: Everything seemingly is spinning out of control - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Atheist Claims Harassment in the Military (AP) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Atheist Group Wants to Stop World Trade Center Cross (CNN) - Martin Surridge
- AUDIO: Evangelicals Up For Grabs? Candidates Court Voters (NPR) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- AUDIO: Karen Scott - "Rethinking the Premise of Religious Liberty" - Karen ScottEach year, the Walla Walla University Church in College Place, Washington celebrates religious liberty. On February 28, 2009, Karen Scott delivered an address entitled, "Rethinking the Premise of Religious Liberty."
- Balancing Government Secrecy and Accountability - What Should the Next President Do? - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Banana Republics: The United States and Guatamala in the Propaganda Wars in the 1950s - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty - Supreme Court to Hear Religious Hiring Case - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Baptists Mark 400th Anniversary, Celebrate Religious Freedom (BeliefNet) - Administrator
- Barack Obama on Religious Tolerance and Persecution - ReligiousLiberty.TVObama: Over time, what we are doing is setting up new norms and creating a universal principle that people’s faith and people’s beliefs have to be protected.
- Barack Obama on Religious Tolerance and Persecution - ReligiousLiberty.TVObama: Over time, what we are doing is setting up new norms and creating a universal principle that people’s faith and people’s beliefs have to be protected.
- Barack Obama on Separation of Church and State - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Barack Obama to Launch "Joshua Generation Project" to Reach out to Evangelicals - Michael Peabody
- Barack Obama's judicial nominees (Baltimore Sun) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Belarus: ‘We are reclaiming our history as a land of religious freedom’ (ChristianToday.com) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Benedict XVI to release encyclical outlining moral and social issues behind economic crisis - Administrator
- Benjamin Franklin on Conscience - Alexander Carpenter
- Beren Academy boys hoops coach Chris Cole still hopeful TAPPS reschedules state semifinal to accommodate Sabbath | Dallas Morning News - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- BILL TRACKER: Congress Votes to Reauthorize US Commission on International Religious Freedom - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Bill would give president emergency control of Internet (CNET) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Bishops insist on work-free Sunday protection by European Parliament (DI-VE) - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Communities (COMECE) on Thursday expressed its regret at the refusal to put to vote several amendments aimed at the inclusion of a work-free Sunday in the new Working Time Directive by the chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.
- BLOG: Democrats Begin Faith-filled Convention - Michael PeabodyFor all practical purposes, it resembled an interfaith worship service. In a move designed to appeal to religious voters, the Democrats opened their convention in Denver last night with prayer, a gospel song, and a Torah recitation by a rabbi. A Catholic nun and Muslim women in headscarves also made appearances. (You may recall that Obama received some criticism when his staff asked two Muslim women wearing headscarves not to stand behind him at an appearance.)
- Blue Laws and Sunday Legislation-why do they exist? CNN Video - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- BREAKING - More Cooperation Planned between the United Nations and World Religions - Jonathan GallagherBy Jonathan Gallagher, Ph.D. - New York, NY, USA… [December 16, 2008] Representatives from the United Nations and religious leaders met together with non-government organizations in New York Tuesday to promote greater cooperation between the UN and religious groups worldwide. The intent in the words of the organizers is “to explore new ways and means to advance cooperation between the world’s religious communities and the United Nations.”
- BREAKING NEWS - Russia Moves to Liquidate Fifty-Six Religious Groups - Derek DavisBy Derek H. Davis - On October 15 the Russian Ministry of Justice took steps to begin liquidating 56 non-Russian Orthodox religious organizations. The groups face dissolution, Russian news sources reported, because they failed to file required annual reports on their activities. Those targeted include a range of non-Russian Orthodox organizations and churches but hardest hit were various Christian groups, both Protestant and Catholic. Baptist groups were prominent on the list, but Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Seventh-day Adventist and Pentecostal groups were also included. Well known humanitarian groups such as World Vision and Youth with a Mission were also named, as was the Russian branch of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Non-Christian organizations were also named, including Muslim and Buddhist associations.
- BREAKING NEWS: President Obama Creates New Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships - Derek DavisBy Derek H. Davis, J.D., Ph.D. Excerpt: "President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Thursday, February 5, to create the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The office replaces the controversial Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives that George W. Bush created to provide government grants to churches and other faith-based organizations to administer welfare programs. "The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another--or even religious groups over secular groups," Obama stated when announcing the new office at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. The purpose, he said, “will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state."
- British researchers create human-animal hybrid embryo amid political row - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Bronwyn Winter: Uncovering the French Headscarf Debate - Administrator
- Burden of Proof: Why Most American Evangelicals Reject Long-Earth Evolution - Michael PeabodyWithin the larger context of American Protestant Christianity the debate continues without resolution. Among Christians, creationists are often asked to consider various forms of evidence of a long-history of the earth, but those advocating for a long-earth have largely ignored discussion of the genealogies of the New Testament and the concepts of original sin and salvation. Christian evolutionists have failed to provide a verse-by-verse rebuttal to the Biblical Creation narrative or to acknowledge the extent to which acceptance of creation would impact theology. Instead theistic evolutionists operate on the supposition that Creationists will eventually bifurcate their religious beliefs from scientific understanding, because incompatibilities must be resolved in favor of science. This places faith directly in conflict with science and any resultant battle on these issues will take centuries if true academic freedom is to be granted, but can resolve faster if the voices of religious dissent are silenced and those who have openly criticized evolution are denied a seat at the academic table. The attempt to “purify” academia by silencing the voices of critics such as Dr. Carson would be the first step toward a secular Dark Ages. So far, it appears that
- Burma launches new crackdown on religious groups - ReligiousLiberty.TVEXCERPT: Burma’s military junta has begun a new round of anti-Christian campaigning, pro-democracy activists have claimed. On Jan 13 the Democratic Voice of Burma reported the Ministry of Religious Affairs had ordered the closure of the city’s house churches.
- Bus advertising campaign tackles Islamophobia (BBC) - Martin Surridge
- Bush Calls for Religious Freedom in China, Iran (Voice of America) - Administrator
- Bush to attend church in China, urge religious freedom (AFP) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Buying Power: Human Trafficking and the Local Marketplace - Kate CaseI’m not willing to pick cocoa beans or cotton for a dollar a day, so who is? Trafficked boys on the Ivory Coast and factory children in Asia whose fingers are small enough to work intricate and dangerous machines fill this gap. - One of the biggest reminders and strongest points I repeat daily is that I have done nothing to secure the position I have in life of being in a free country, just like these modern day slaves have done nothing to have their entire lives indebted to us because of the harsh demands we put on them with our high consumerist behavior. These socially conscious products contain more than just a new age aura or a better selling point; they represent a desire for the priority of humanity instead of selfish search for profit.
- C. Welton Gaddy: Between Religion and Politics (Chautauqua Institution) - Administrator
- CalChamber Sounds Alarm on Employer Impact of Proposition 19 - ReligiousLiberty.TV“This initiative would change the way employers are required to do business in our state,” said Allan Zaremberg, President and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce. “Essentially any employer would be required to offer marijuana users extra protections above those provided to other employees. If Proposition 19 becomes law, our state’s workers will face increased exposure to injuries and our employers will face increased exposure to liability. Proposition 19 is bad for employers and their employees.”
- Calif. gay marriage win emboldens coalition of religious groups (AP) - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe plan is to mobilize the same religious factions that joined forces in California to deter lawmakers from "taking on this divisive social issue while we are in the middle of a huge financial crisis," Gallagher said.
- Calif. Initiative Round-up - Outlawing Divorce, Legalizing Pot, and Christmas Music - Michael Peabody
- California AB 889 Could Be End of Private Babysitting Services - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- California Court Reverses Itself and Says Homeschooling Parents Do Not Need Credentials - Michael PeabodyThis overturned the decision the judges made in February requiring homeschooling parents to possess credentials. In their decision, they stated, "It is important to recognize that it is not for us to consider, as a matter of policy, whether homeschooling should be permitted in California . That job is for the Legislature. It is not the duty of the courts to make the law; we endeavor to interpret it."
- California Supreme Court to Decide A Case Where Medical Rights v. Workplace Religious Freedom - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Campaigning for Candidates from the Pulpit is a Bad Idea - Michael PeabodyAs it now stands, churches and charities are welcome to speak truth to power on the issues that matter - from opposing human trafficking, to lobbying for workplace accommodation for religious employees, to pursuing justice. Religious organizations just cannot support or oppose particular candidates or political parties. This is a good thing.
- Campus Christian Groups Loses Appeal at Supreme Court (CNN) - Martin Surridge
- Canada: Fundraisers planned for Alberta pastor punished for expressing beliefs - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- CANADA: Symposium to be held on Conscientious Objection - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada is sponsoring a Symposium on Conscientious Objection in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Symposium is planned for November 6 ñ 9, 2008 in Oshawa, Ontario.
- Capitol Alert: Bill letting child-care providers unionize heads to Jerry Brown - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Cargo: Innocence Lost Movie - Administrator
- Catholic leader sought Mormon help on Prop 8 (Salt Lake Tribune) - ReligiousLiberty.TVIt's the first time the archbishop has commented on how churches organized to help push through the initiative, which overturned the California Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex nuptials. Mormon leaders had given a similar account of how its members, who represent about 2 percent of the California residents with a religious affiliation, came to play such a prominent role in promoting Proposition 8.
- Celebrate Religious Freedom Day on January 16 - ReligiousLiberty.TVSince 1993 each year, the President declares January 16th to be “Religious Freedom Day,” and calls upon Americans to “observe this day through appropriate events and activities in homes, schools, and places of worship.”
- Charity: How Our Tax Laws Affect Charitable Activities, Religious Institutions, and Free Speech - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Charles Colson on media indifference to international religious freedom - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- China and a Canadian Newspaper call for worldwide one-child policy - Administrator
- China and Brazil Plan to Dump Dollar (FT) - Administrator
- China Responds: "China reject's Bush's 'religious freedom' remarks" and asks him to stop "interfering" in internal affairs (Xinhuanet) - Administrator
- CHINA: Underground church activist detained enroute to Christian service Bush was attending (The Independent) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Chinese Authorities Block Easter Service in Beijing (CNN) - Martin Surridge
- Chinese police detain members of unregistered church (LA Times) - Martin Surridge
- Choice of Warren for inaugural magnifies role of U.S. ‘civic religion' (DC Examiner) - ReligiousLiberty.TV". . . the selection of Warren is the selection of a man in a faith tradition more in the face of what scholars call American “civic religion,” or a generic approach to a deity found in phrases such as 'God bless America.'"
- Chris Seiple: Religious Freedom: The Ultimate Counterterrorism Weapon? - ReligiousLiberty.TVWhile the U.S. can summon hard power with relative ease, employing soft power is more difficult. Indeed, smart power suggests that hard and soft power are two sides of the same coin, that our interests are protected when our values are promoted. If Americans want to engage the world with efficient and enduring effect, we must better understand the essence of American power and the foundation of the global public square: religious freedom.
- Chrisopher Hitchens: Don't Patronize Palin (Salon.com) - ReligiousLiberty.TVHitchens: "I cannot wait to see Obama and Biden explain how this isn't the case or how it's much worse than, and quite different from, Obama's own raving and ranting pastor in Chicago or Biden's lifelong allegiance to the most anti-"choice" church on the planet."
- Church for Single Mormons Comes with Pressure to Marry (Washington Post) - Martin Surridge
- Church, State, and the Postal Service: The Contentious History of Sunday Mail Delivery - Michael PeabodyBetween its inception in 1775 and 1912, postal employees delivered mail seven (7) days a week. In the early 1800s, religious leaders became concerned that employees were forced to work on the “Christian Sabbath,” or Sunday, and began to petition Congress to use its Article I powers to disallow Sunday delivery. This concern reached a fevered pitch in 1810 when Congress required post offices to open at least one hour on Sunday. Outraged that Congress had thus enforced Sunday desecration, religious leaders began to clamor for legislation that would outlaw Sunday operations.
- Church-state advocates urge strong successor for Stevens (ABP) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Circumcision Ban: Violating Religious Freedom? (Odyssey Networks) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Citing persecutions abroad, Obama declares ‘Religious Freedom Day’ (Examiner) - Martin Surridge
- Civil Justice Degrees Guide Identifies Top 100 Civil Liberties Advocacy Blogs - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Civil Rights Pioneer E.E. Cleveland talks about meeting Martin Luther King, Jr. - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- CLASSIC: The Proper Relation of Church and State - ReligiousLiberty.TVOriginally published in Liberty in 1921 - "Why should we Christians desire that the non-Christian be required by law to observe our religious institutions? Why should we ask that the state punish offenders against our church institutions, when God has withheld such authority from the church?"
- CNS STORY: Vatican document calls for global authority to regulate markets - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Coalition Works To Protect Religious Employees - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Colbert on Religious Symbol on Government Land - AdministratorOn his October 13, 2009 episode, Stephen Colbert addressed the recent Supreme Court arguments in the case involving the WWI Veterans' Memorial in the Mojave Desert (Salazar v. Buono). He makes a strong argument that those who are arguing for the cross as a mere symbol in order to preserve it are arguing against its religious significance.
- Colorado School's Rosary Rule Disputed (KKTV) - Martin Surridge
- Combining Comedy with Religion - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Conference Held to Relaunch Protection of Work-Free Sunday at European Level (ARLP) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Conference to Relaunch 'Sunday Protection' at European Level to be Held (COMECE) - Administrator
- Congressman Trent Franks: It is 'Critical' that nations reaffirm religious freedom (ANN) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Controlling Freedom of Conscience - Robert MoonBy Robert Moon, Ph.D. - Historically, most governments required citizens/subjects to have the same religion or belief-system (e.a. Fascism and communism ) as the ruler(s). Exceptions were seldom tolerated. Those who publicly practiced an alternate belief system to the ruler(s) were often intimidated, persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and martyred. In the discussion that follows paradigms typically used by governments attempting to control freedom of conscience are referred to as: the Gold Rule Paradigm (GRP), the Gatekeeper Paradigm (GP), and the Over Stimulation - Fantasy Paradigm (OS-FP).
- Conversation is the True Work of Peacemaking - Huffington Post - Ryan BellLast week I spent three days at a gathering of the leaders of the Religious Peace Fellowships in Stony Point, N.Y. There were representatives from more than a dozen Christian denominations -- from Catholic and Orthodox to Mennonite and Brethren -- as well as Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist peace fellowships. And me, from the Adventist Peace Fellowship. It was the first time such a gathering had taken place in many years. It was clear that while peacemaking in our increasingly violent world was an urgent priority for all of us, working together across denominational and religious lines was something we didn't understand as well.
- Conversation with Justice Ginsburg - C-SPAN - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Cosmic Conflict & the Future (of America) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Could Chet Edwards be Obama's Running Mate? Edwards speaks on Religious Liberty - ReligiousLiberty.TVRep. Chet Edwards - "I believe perhaps America’s greatest single contribution to the world from our experiment in democracy is our model of religious freedom and tolerance. The foundation of that religious freedom is the principle of separation of church and state, imbedded in the first 16 words of our Bill of Rights: 'Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' In his letter to the Danbury Baptists of Connecticut in 1802, Thomas Jefferson expressed his belief that the principle of church-state separation is one of the most sacred of our founding principles. Unfortunately, many Americans today have come to perceive that separation of church and state implies disrespect for religion. Nothing could be further from the truth as Jefferson stated over a century ago."
- Count the Cost - The Hidden Dangers of School Vouchers - Michael Peabody
- Cumberland Times News : Start telling the truth about ‘school prayer’ - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Dangerous Redefinition: Candidates Recast Role of Religion in American Life - Jason Hines
- Dayton Tennessee Christian School Sued by U.S. Department of Labor (ASINet) - ReligiousLiberty.TVLast year an injunction was brought against the Laurelbrook School by the US Department of Labor. It alleged that Laurelbrook’s vocational program was in violation of juvenile labor laws. The trial, currently in recess, is scheduled to resume on March 30.
- Definitions Matter - ReligiousLiberty.TVIn the book, 1984, George Orwell paints a bleak portrait of a future where Big Brother is watching everything you do, and the thought police can practically read your mind. In order to gain the support of the population, an ironically named Ministry of Truth twists the meaning of words to make terrible concepts seem acceptable with slogans such as War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; and Ignorance is Strength.
- Dexter Avenue and the Battle for the Bill of Rights - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Discernibly Proactive: History of Adventist Involvement in Public Policy - Greg Hamilton[T]he leaders of the Church need to place a much higher priority on being involved in the public sphere, finding ways to be discernibly proactive while keeping the larger constitutional and prophetic pictures ever in focus. There are times to remain neutral, but we also need to be a serious player, not isolationists or sideliners.
- Disputes over religion and health care land in Calif. courts (ScrippsNews.com) - ReligiousLiberty.TVDr. Catherine Kim of Simi Valley, Calif. can't do it. Her practice as an obstetrician-gynecologist is based on medical science. But her convictions as a born-again Christian sculpt every aspect of her life, from the Bible stories she reads to her kids before bedtime to the prayers she offers people who visit her office.
- Dobson says Obama has "fruitcake interpretation" of the Constitution and is distorting Bible; still won't vote for McCain - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Documentary: The End of America by Naomi Wolf - Administrator
- Does Constitution apply to enemy combatant on U.S. soil? (AP) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Double Standards? - Supreme Court to hear two religious groups battle over monument - Michael PeabodyPLEASANT GROVE, UTAH - The U.S. Supreme Court today will hear an argument where two religious groups are fighting over whether one or both of them have the right to have their viewpoint heard. Summum, a small religious group wants to erect a monument on public land listing of the "Seven Aphorisms," but conservative Christian groups oppose it on the basis that it does not reflect their traditional values. The small plot of land already has a 10 comandments monument that has been there since 1971.
- Doug Kmiec on a Court Packed with Catholics (Wall Street Journal) - Michael Peabody
- Dr. Adrian Westney Passes Away - Michael Peabody
- Druidry to be classed as religion in Britain (BBC) - Martin Surridge
- Economic interdependency quiets voices against Chinese human rights abuses - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Economics, Democracy, and Liberty - Where are we in the Cycle? - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Economics, Faith, and Politics - European Churches call on EU Parliament to adopt 'work-free Sunday' declaration - Michael PeabodyThe Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), COMECE (the Bishops Conference of the European Community), and the Church of England are calling upon the European Union Parliament to approve a Written Declaration on "on the protection of a work-free Sunday as an essential pillar of the European Social Model and as part of the European cultural heritage."
- ECONOMICS: Depression Hits Detroit: Average home price $18,513 - Unemployment rate 21% (Tribble Ad Agency) - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe Great Depression has reached Detroit. The average price of a home is now $18,513 and unemployment has reached 21%, and it’s expected to get worse. Detroit is facing a crisis of epic proportions that officially puts Detroit statistically (and real term) on par with the great depression.
- Economics: Lawrence W. Reed on the Seven Principles of Sound Public Policy - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- ECONOMY: Chinese government paper urges new world order for economy... - ReligiousLiberty.TVBEIJING (Reuters) - Threatened by a "financial tsunami," the world must consider building a financial order no longer dependent on the United States, a leading Chinese state newspaper said on Wednesday.
- Editor's Southern Hometown Repeals Blue Law Prohibiting Alcohol Sale on Sunday - Martin Surridge
- EDITORIAL: FTC floats Drudge tax - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- EDITORIAL: Hero without a gun - Washington Times - ReligiousLiberty.TVDesmond T. Doss was 23 years old when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942. The lanky Lynchburg, Va., native was much like other young men of the Greatest Generation, but one thing set Desmond apart from the other new troops. He was a devout Seventh Day Adventist and refused to touch a weapon. Some of the men in his training unit made jokes about him, others threatened him, but Desmond held firm to his beliefs. . . . >>>
- EEOC issues New Guidelines on Religious Discrimination - Michael Peabody
- Egypt's Coptic Christians Call for More Religious Freedom (AJE) - Martin Surridge
- Embracing Exclusivity: How civic religion at inauguration abridges religious freedom - Michael NewdowBy Michael Newdow - EXCERPT: "Two months ago, when the American people chose Barack Obama to serve in the highest office in the land, it seemed that Homer Plessy’s dream had finally been realized. America, we thought then, truly stands for the justice and equality guaranteed in its Constitution. Yet, in a few days, as our new president steps up to the inaugural podium, the reality will be that government-sanctioned favoritism – now for religion, instead of race – will continue."
- Emotion, misunderstanding mark religion-in-school cases (The Tennessean) - ReligiousLiberty.TVMost people have a mistaken understanding of what the First Amendment means, says Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center. "People tend to carry around two failed models in their head," Haynes said. "Either we keep religion entirely out of public schools or we keep on doing what we used to do in the good old days and promote religion in school." Because of those failed models, schools end up making poor decisions when it comes to religion.
- Eric Foner on the separation of church and state at America's founding - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- EU Panelists Discuss European Work Free Sunday - ReligiousLiberty.TVIn this debate, you can watch Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL), Nirj Deva (ECR), Antigoni Papadopoulou (S&D) and Nadja Hirsch (ALDE) voice their views on the Protection of a work free Sunday in the EU.
- Europe's Bishops Urge Defence of Religious Freedom - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- European Church leaders call for protection of 'Sunday rest' (SofiaEcho) - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe church representatives expressed their wish to see the Sunday rest day being better protected in national legislations as well as in the future EU working time directive which currently is being revised.
- European Court OKs display of crucifixes in Italian classrooms - Adventist News Network - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Evangelical Christians and Sarah Palin - Excerpt from Peggy Noonan's Column (WSJ) - ReligiousLiberty.TVBut modern American evangelicals are among the last people who'd judge her harshly. It is the left that is about to go crazy with Puritan judgments; it is the right that is about to show what mellow looks like. Religious conservatives know something's wrong with us, that man's a mess. They are not left dazed by the latest applications of this fact. "This just in – there's a lot of sinning going on out there" is not a headline they'd understand to be news.
- Event "Slavery: The Fight We Thought Was Over" - Walla Walla - January 14-18, 2010 - Administrator
- EXCERPTS: Douglas Laycock on dangers of protecting liberty 'only for ourselves' (Baptist Joint Committee) - Administrator
- Faith Healing Couple Guilty of Murder - Martin Surridge
- Faith in Context: President Obama & Faith-based Initiatives - Monte SahlinAs he said he would during the campaign last year, President Obama has retained the "faith-based initiatives" emphasis at the White House, but restructured the organization that he inherited from President Bush. The new unit consists of two parts, where Bush's White House had only one: An Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and a President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The council is make its final recommendations in February next year (2010), so it appears that further changes may yet surface. At the same time it is clear that Obama is committed to some kind of working relationship with the nonprofit sector, including the large part of it that is related to religious constituencies.
- Faith, Freedom, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor (Liberty Magazine) - Administrator
- Fear, Incorporated: Who's Paying for all that Islamophobic Paranoia (FP) - Martin Surridge
- Federal judge dismisses religious challenge to Obama health plan - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Feds Find Young Children Working Strawberry Farms - ABC News - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Fifteen years later, home-school parents say legal battle was worth it - ReligiousLiberty.TVBy Lorie A. Shane - Michigan Education Report - Chris DeJonge was in her second week of homeschooling when the knock on the door came. She opened it to find two employees from the local office of the Michigan Department of Social Services (now the Department of Human Services), who informed her that her children were truants and that she and her husband were breaking the law by teaching them at home.
- Fifth Circuit approves prisoner's religious right to receive publication - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Film Review - "Expelled" - Darwin's Kool-Aid (CFP) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- FILM REVIEW/VIDEO TRAILER: 'Constantine's Sword' discusses state use of religious power - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Film Review: The Harm of "The Help" - ReligiousLiberty.TVIn the end, I find this movie to be a whitewash of a very compelling story in a difficult time in American history. Racism and segregation are not portrayed as the evil, insidious institutions that they are, but are depicted instead as the result of catty White women attempting to maintain their place within their own social hierarchy. Furthermore, Toure, in his belated review of “The Help,” discussed the idea of the magical Negro, so I won’t get into too much of it here. But I will say that I highly doubt that a White toddler needed her Black maid to remind her, “You is kind, you is smart, you is important.” It would’ve made better sense if the child said it to the maid.
- Film Review: “One Nation Under God” (2011): Misinterpreted facts and frightening conclusions - Jason Hines
- First European conference for the protection of a work-free Sunday - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- First religious liberty festival in Jerusalem draws hundreds (ANN) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Five Lessons on Loving Your Enemies - Jason Hines
- Five-Day Work Idea May End Up in Trash Bin (Israel National News) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Following Norway attack, Adventist religious liberty director urges caution in use of 'fundamentalist' label - ReligiousLiberty.TVGraz also urged caution in the use of the term "fundamentalist" to describe the individual alleged to have carried out the attacks, instead proffering the term "extremist" as a more accurate description of the type of ideology and behavior that falls far outside the norms of a religious community. "There's a risk that 'fundamentalism' will become blurred in people's minds with the idea of 'conservative Christianity' -- a confusion that could serve to widen the gulf of misunderstanding between different religious traditions," he said.
- Freedom Experts Criticize UN Anti-Blasphemy Resolution (ChristianPost.com) - ReligiousLiberty.TVReligious freedom experts criticized this week a United Nations anti-blasphemy resolution for most likely hindering Christian evangelism and spreading Sharia law.
- French Court Approves Veil Ban (AJE) - Martin Surridge
- French PM advised against total Islamic veil ban - Martin Surridge
- Full Text of Decision: North Coast Women's Care Medical Group v. Benitez - California Supreme Court (August 8, 2008) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Gear Up Kids! It’s Time for the Annual War on Christmas - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Gendercide: China's shameful massacre of unborn girls means there will soon be 30m more men than women (Daily Mail) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Germany, EU demand Iran to free pastor Nadarkhani | MF Monitor - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Germany: Rigid Sunday law used against Scientology which is considered "business" by gov't. (Der Spiegel) - Administrator
- Giles County, VA. To Rehang 10C Plaques in Public Schools - Martin Surridge
- Giving An Account: William Wilberforce and the Abolition of the Slave Trade - David C. Read
- God's Counterterrorism in a '24' World - Ryan Bell
- GOP to Consider Accommodating Saturday Sabbath Observers in Nevada Primaries - Michael Peabody
- Gov. Jerry Brown Should Veto Poorly Conceived Childcare Bill (LA Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Government, Religion, and a Mythical Past - Karen Scott
- Governor signs Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Grace Notes: American Grace: How Religion Divides And United Us (Liberty Magazine) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Greg Hamilton's Book Shelf - 2011 - Greg Hamilton
- Ground-Zero Mosque Protest Organizer: "Not an Issue of Religious Freedom" (CNN) - Martin Surridge
- Haiti Quake Report (ADRA) - Administrator
- Hands Off! Religious Liberty Furor Over Birth Control (Liberty Magazine) - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe real sleeper issue here, as it is with much of the political warfare of the present day, is money. Liberty magazine has consistently warned church organizations against taking state money. We have from the very beginning of the Faith-Based Initiative of the previous administration (an initiative still alive and kicking against the First Amendment establishment prick) warned that it is inimical to church-state separation for public monies to be used to advance any particular faith view. So it would seem a little ungrateful to the public purse for a church to object when the state applies generally applicable regulations to an operation it might tend to see as its pocket money project.
- Has Obama Waged a War on Religion? (NPR) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Herbert E. Douglass - Red Alert: Hurtling Into Eternity (Book Excerpt) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Hermain Cain Opposes Murfreesboro Mosque Project (DNJ) - Martin Surridge
- High School Sophomores Answer Question "How Would You Feel If Your Religious Freedom Was Taken Away?" - Martin SurridgeAs their final assignment for the play, I had students respond to the question, “How would you feel if your religious freedom was taken away?” The responses varied, in both length and reaction. Nearly all of the teenagers in the class are self-described Christians, but their approach toward religion varies from conservative evangelical to tolerant progressives to near-agnostic. Their reactions to a potential scenario in which they were not allowed to practice religion freely ranged from the pragmatic to conformist to vigilant resistance.
- Hillary Clinton: Religious liberty is essential and must not be kept private - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Historical Profile: John Wycliffe - Morning Star of the Reformation (Excerpt from Foxe's Book of Martyrs) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- HISTORICAL SKETCH: Roger Williams, Apostle Of Religious Freedom - ReligiousLiberty.TVBy Ellen G. White - The framers of the Constitution recognized the eternal principle that man’s relation with his God is above human legislation, and his rights of conscience inalienable. Reasoning was not necessary to establish this truth; we are conscious of it in our own bosoms. It is this consciousness which, in defiance of human laws, has sustained so many martyrs in tortures and flames. They felt that their duty to God was superior to human enactments, and that man could exercise no authority over their consciences. It is an inborn principle which nothing can eradicate.”
- HISTORY: Nine Children Face an Angry Town (Adventist Review) - Administrator
- HISTORY: Sousa's Band Under Ban of Sunday Blue Law - AdministratorBinghamton, N. Y., November 13, 1922—Harold F. Albert, recreational director of the Endicott Johnson Corporation, was arrested yesterday afternoon on complaint of the Binghamton Ministerial Association for staging a concert by John Philip Sousa's Band at which an admission was charged.
- Hitchens on the Danger of Emotions Underlying Self-Pity of Beck Rally (Slate) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- House Healthcare Vote - A Huge Triumph for the Catholic Church (America Magazine) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- How secular newsrooms handle stories with a religious component (Wall Street Journal) - ReligiousLiberty.TVIn "Blind Spot: When Journalists Don't Get Religion" -- a collection of essays that he edited with Lela Gilbert and Roberta Green Ahmanson -- he notes that similar assertions have been common in the coverage of Islamic terrorism. The book's contributors explore all sorts of news stories with a religious component -- Islamic and otherwise -- showing where reporters have veered off course and discussing the reasons why.
- HSLDA | Swedish Pol to Social Services Minister: Take Homeschooled Kids! - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Huckabee and Colson on the Manhattan Declaration - Administrator
- Human Rights Nightmare: Indian mafia gangs are deliberately crippling children for profit (DailyMail.co.uk) - ReligiousLiberty.TVEXCERPT: Now in hiding after being rescued from the hospital by a charity, Aamir is one of hundreds of Indian children deliberately crippled by gangs so they can earn extra money begging. He still struggles to talk about his experience.
- Human Rights Watch to Pakistan: Drop Blasphemy Charges Against Teenager (HWR) - Martin Surridge
- Hundreds of Christians, Muslims clash in Cairo (AP) - Martin Surridge
- Illinois law requiring moment of silence in public schools ruled unconstitutional - Michael PeabodyThe court upheld the principle that students have a constitutional right to pray on their own at any time and that the government or the schools should not arbitrate when and how students pray.
- In Defense of Separation - Jason Hines
- In Human Hands - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- In Italy - Joke about the Pope, Go to Jail - Michael PeabodyWhat do Kim Jong Il, Pope Benedict XVI, and the Italian President have in common? Tell a joke about them to the wrong audience and you could end up in jail.
- In Nigeria, escalating religious conflict impacts Adventist Church (ANN) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- In Peru, 'historic' religious liberty legislation passes (ANN) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- In wake of Supreme Court decision, 'clear defense needed of church-state wall' (Des Moines Register) - ReligiousLiberty.TVConsidering the U.S. Supreme Court's contentious struggles over free speech and religion, it was a surprise to say the least to see Wednesday's ruling unanimously endorsing a government installation of the Ten Commandments in a city park. While this ruling will likely have limited impact, it raises troubling questions about how dedicated this court - particularly the younger justices, who will be shaping it for decades to come - will be to maintaining the proverbial wall separating church and state.
- INDIA - 27 Seventh-day Adventists Die in Religious Violence - ReligiousLiberty.TVSeventh-day Adventist Church leaders in India have reported at least 27 Adventists dead from anti-Christian brutality that developed in the eastern India region of Orissa in late August. Church leaders said there are still violent outbreaks in the area despite India's Central Reserve Police forces patrolling the state.
- INSPIRATION: The Secret of All Persecution and the Power of Love - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Interfaith Moral Action on Climate to Meet April 24 in Washington, DC - Karen Scott
- International court to punish nations failing to prevent global warming (Telegraph) - ReligiousLiberty.TVStephen Hockman QC is proposing a body similar to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to be the supreme legal authority on issues regarding the environment. The first role of the new body would be to enforce international agreements on cutting greenhouse gas emissions set to be agreed next year.
- Interview with Attorney and Pastor Mitch Tyner - ReligiousLiberty.TV"In my view, if we are not prepared to protect the rights of those with whom we disagree, we are not serious about religious freedom." Former associate general counsel of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Mitch Tyner, asks questions about the legal process, lawsuits between believers, separation of church and state, and addresses the controversy about gay marriage.
- Interview with Jeff Sharlet: The Secret Political Reach Of 'The Family' (National Public Radio) - Administrator
- INTERVIEW: Barry Lynn - Why Churches Should Stay out of Politics (SpectrumMagazine.org) - Michael PeabodySpectrum Magazine has just interviewed Barry Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Lynn is an attorney, activist, and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.
- INTERVIEW: John Marcotte, Author of the 2010 California Protection of Marriage Act - Administrator
- Interview: Scott Ritsema talks about his new book "The Way, the Truth and the Sword" - Michael Peabody
- Investigation led ex-KGB agent to Christianity | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Iran Court Convicts Christian Pastor Convert To Death | Fox News - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Iran Supreme Court returns pastor’s case to lower court (ArabNews.com) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Iran Upholds Christian Pastor’s Apostasy Conviction: Execution as Early as Wednesday | American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- IRLA Meeting draws large crowd in Angola - Michael Peabody
- Is Christian "Just War" Just Like Jihad? (Patheos) - Martin Surridge
- Is Santorum Right? How to Revive American Protestantism (and Why It is So Important) - Michael Peabody
- Is the Era of Large-Scale Islamic Terrorism Coming to an End? - Martin Surridge
- Islamophobia: Stoking Fears about an American Community - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Israel Looking Into Making Sunday Day of Rest (Bloomberg) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- It is a sad reflection of our time that Che Guevara is seen as a hero (Telegraph) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- It's about the Kids, Stupid: A Review of The Future of Marriage by David Blankenhorn (Nicholas P. Miller) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Italy Edges Closer to 'Burqa Ban' Law (AJE) - Martin Surridge
- Italy Fights School Crucifix Ban (AJE) - Martin Surridge
- J. Brent Walker - “Church and State in the USA: Promises and Challenges” - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- James Madison on Religious Freedom - Administrator
- Jan Paulsen on Freedon - Administrator
- Jefferson and Mason: From Toleration to Freedom (Chautauqua Institution) - Administrator
- Jehovah’s Witnesses Undergo Persecution in the former Soviet Union - ReligiousLiberty.TVSince their formation in the late 19th century, Jehovah's Witnesses have suffered relentless persecution worldwide for their controversial religious beliefs. Archibald Cox, Jr., famous for his role as the Watergate prosecutor that helped force the resignation of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, once noted that Jehovah's Witnesses were "the principal victims of religious persecution ... in the twentieth century.” Persecution against Witnesses was especially strong during WWII when their political neutrality, conscientious objection to war, and refusal to salute any nation’s flag made them the target of governments and citizen mob groups alike. Except for the Jews, they were proportionally the most persecuted group in Nazi Germany; they were banned during the war in countries like Russia and Spain, and sometimes beaten and jailed in places like Britain, Canada, Cuba, and the United States. The ACLU reported that by 1940 in the United States alone, "more than 1,500 Witnesses . . . had been victimized in 335 separate attacks.”
- Jerusalem: The Pope in Search of Christians (LinkTV) - Administrator
- John F. Kennedy's Speech Affirming Separation of Church and State - ReligiousLiberty.TVI believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.
- John Paul Stevens Retires from Supreme Court (AP) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- John Stevens responds to Prof. Daniel Crane's article on privatizing marriage - John Stevens
- Join our Facebook Group! - ReligiousLiberty.TVNetwork, upload your own stories and videos, and get involved! It is free and anybody can join.
- Judge Bork predicts ‘terrible conflict’ will endanger U.S. Catholics’ religious freedom (CNA) - ReligiousLiberty.TVFormer Supreme Court nominee Judge Robert Bork has predicted that upcoming legal battles will have significant ramifications for religious freedom. He names as issues of major concern the continued freedom of Catholic hospitals to refuse to perform abortions and the likely “terrible conflict” resulting from the advancement of homosexual rights.
- Judge Rules Against Plaintiffs Claiming Murfreesboro Mosque Violated Their Rights (The Republic) - Martin Surridge
- Judge upholds ban on guns in places of worship (Atlanta-Journal Constitution) - Martin Surridge
- July 2009 News and Opinion - The Economy, Marriage, and More - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- June is National Torture Awareness Month - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Justice Department Files Religious Discrimination Lawsuit Against Essex County, New Jersey (DOJ Release) - AdministratorThe Department filed a lawsuit today against Essex County, N.J., alleging that it discriminated against a Muslim corrections officer on the basis of her religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The suit alleges that the county refused to permit Yvette Beshier to wear a religiously mandated headscarf while working as a corrections officer.
- Justice Department sues on behalf of Muslim teacher, triggering debate - The Washington Post - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Karel Nowak: A Legacy of Religious Liberty (Spectrum Magazine) - ReligiousLiberty.TVShortly before I left the work at the GC office I had an opportunity to sit down with Karel and ask him what he would say to the person who would replace him.
- Karen Scott to Present Eight Week Seminar on Religious Freedom in Walla Walla, Washington - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Key California Committee Passes Workplace Religious Freedom Act - Michael Peabody
- Landowner Of Proposed Muslim Community Site Files Suit Against Town - Michael Peabody
- Largest religious liberty festival to date draws 45,000 - Administrator
- Law Professor Alan Brownstein on California marriage debate (Liberty Magazine) - AdministratorReligious liberty and equality is predicated on the right to be different. Its underlying principle is that we do not have to accept the truth or value of someone else’s religious beliefs in order to agree that those beliefs and practices deserve protection against discriminatory treatment.
- Lawsuit filed to remove "So help me God" from inaugural oath (USA Today) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Lawyer says right to religious liberty protects Amish sect's refusal to use safety triangles on buggies | The Courier-Journal | courier-journal.com - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Learning from the Past - Robert Moon
- Letter from Pastor Youcef Thanks Supporters and Urges Prayer | Iran, American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Liberty and tolerance: Our checkered history with religious equality (OregonLive.com) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Liberty Magazine: Would An Official Sunday "Day Of Rest" Alienate Believers Who Observe A Different Day Of Worship? - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Lifting The Veil: Muslim Women Explain Their Choice (NPR) - Martin Surridge
- Light rising in the darkness - ReligiousLiberty.TVIsaiah 58:10..If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
- LITERATURE - "The War Prayer" by Mark Twain - Michael PeabodyThe country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.
- London Telegraph Describes G20 Plan For Bank Of The World, Global Currency - Administrator
- Louisiana House Approves Ten Commandments Monument at Capitol (Reuters) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Mainstreaming Hate in the Netherlands (ForeignPolicy) - Martin Surridge
- Manifest Destiny and the Momentum of Empire: Making Sense of America's Global War on Terrorism - Greg Hamilton
- Marriage Amendment: In California, your state constitutional rights are in the hands of your neighbors - Michael Peabody
- Martin Sheen on Church / State Separation - ReligiousLiberty.TVTelevision president, Martin Sheen, narrates this video, produced by People For the American Way, about the history of separation of church & state and efforts by the Religious Right to undermine it. It was produced some years back.
- Maryland State Legislature considers a Workplace Religious Freedom Act (HB 381) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Mau-Mauing the Mosque: The dispute over the "Ground Zero mosque" is an object lesson in how not to resist intolerance. (Slate) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Mayor Bloomberg Gives Stirring Speech on Mosque - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- McCain Says He Would Put Conservatives on Supreme Court (Washington Post) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- McCain shies away from religion talk - Politico.com - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- McCain to make religious freedom a key foreign policy issue (AFP) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Mercer University: Religious Liberty in the Constitution - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Methodists and Wahhabis (Middle East Online) - ReligiousLiberty.TVSaudi Arabia and the United States are the Odd Couple of the twenty-first century. One a monarchy, the other a democracy. One founded on a restrictive faith, the other a beacon of religious freedom. One blessed by vast petroleum resources, the other cursed by a gargantuan appetite for oil. Their governments bound to each other by ties of money and armament, yet their populations distrustful of each other’s political designs, angry about violent deeds attributed to the other, and disdainful of their respective faiths.
- Michael Newdow - Question to Justice Scalia: Does the Establishment Clause Permit the Disregard of Devout Catholics? - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Michigan Church Has the Right to Help Poor People, ACLU Tells Court (ACLU Release) - Administrator"Congress enacted the Religious Land Use Act to protect the fundamental right of freedom of religion," said Dan Korobkin, an ACLU of Michigan staff attorney who is representing the church. "Churches and other religious institutions have the right to use their property to exercise their religious beliefs -- which in this case entails providing charitable services to the poor and underprivileged."
- Modern Torture Techniques Emerged from Inquisition reports "The Atlantic" - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- More Americans Believe in the Devil, Hell and Angels than in Darwin's Theory of Evolution (MarketWatch.com) - ReligiousLiberty.TVSome of the interesting findings in this new Harris Poll include: -- 80% of adult Americans believe in God - unchanged since the last time we asked the question in 2005. Large majorities of the public believe in miracles (75%), heaven (73%), angels (71%), that Jesus is God or the Son of God (71%), the resurrection of Jesus (70%), the survival of the soul after death (68%), hell (62%), the Virgin birth (Jesus born of Mary (61%) and the devil (59%).
- Mormonism & American Politics: Noah Feldman - Administrator
- Musical Interlude: "No Compromise" By Peter Furler - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Muslim Leaders Say U.S. Pilot Refused to Fly With Them Onboard (FOX News) - Martin Surridge
- Muzzle Flash Evangelism: Outrage over Biblical References on Military Gun Sights (From ABC News) - Administrator
- Namibia: Divine Right and 'Moron' (namibian.com.na) - Administrator
- National : Church/State concerns kill House "Bible Bill"; Seventh-day Adventists respond - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- New book addresses Conscientious Objection in today's military - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- New Book Explores Common Origins and Experiences of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- New law in Russia ends jury trials for 'crimes against state' (LA Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TVReporting from Moscow -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev paused in the last, quiet hours of a dying year to sign into law a controversial bill that eliminates jury trials for "crimes against the state," a move that lawyers and human rights groups fear will be the start of a dangerous exertion of Kremlin control over government critics.
- New Pew Research Center Survey Finds Moderate Attitudes Among Muslim Americans (Pew Forum) - Martin Surridge
- New Religions: A Small Sect Makes it to the Supreme Court - Monte SahlinBy Monte Sahlin - The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted an appeal from a religion that you probably never heard of until it hit the news yesterday. Summum is rooted in gnostic Christianity (or, at least modern understandings of gnosticism) and ancient Egyptian religion (or, at least contemporary understandings of ancient Egyptian religion). It was founded in 1975 and has its headquarters in (of all places) Utah. The case before the Supreme Court is based on the fact that the small town in Utah has a large, stone monument in the city park of the Ten Commandments. The believers in Summum petitioned the city council to add another monument with their seven principles of good behavior. The city council refused, thereby establishing the religions of the Ten Commandments (Judaism and Christianity) over the little sect of Summum. The small religion has raised enough funds to hire attorneys and appeal their case all the way to the top court in America. There are serious constitutional issues about religious liberty in this case even if you have a hard time taking Summum seriously. But, I want to focus on something else: The way new religions are being invented and why so many people are moving away from the large, historic faiths.
- New York Attorney General Launches Religious Rights Initiative to Enforce Anti-discrimination Laws - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- New York City 'Workplace Religious Freedom Act' Clarifies Religious Accommodation Requirements for Employers - Michael Peabody
- New York City Council Passes Workplace Religious Freedom Act (Sikhsayaset.net) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- NEWS / ANALYSIS: Obama to expand Bush's faith based charities and support their right to hire/fire based on faith (AP) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- NEWS / OPINION: Law Professor Denied Communion Because He Supports Obama - Michael Peabody
- NEWS BRIEFS: Global Privacy, Free Speech Issues - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Nikki Haley provokes question: What's Sikhism? (CNN) - Martin Surridge
- Ninth Circuit to Determine Whether "Spiritualist" Charter Schools Get Tax Dollars - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- NJ county's Sunday buying ban may be checking out (AP) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- No Compromise: The Story of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani - Michael PeabodyThroughout history, it seems that people of most faiths have had some period of persecution and martyrdom for no crime other than telling others what they have chosen to believe. Those who dared to think differently were dangerous to the status quo and they either had to publicly change their mind or face torture or death.
- No, Ninth Circuit, the Relevant Law in C.F. v. Capistrano Unified School District Was Indeed "Clearly Established" - Evolution News & Views - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- North Carolina billboards challenge “one nation under God” (WBTV) - Martin Surridge
- North Dakota Catholic Conference says 'Sunday law' Benefits All People (EWTN News) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- North Korea Freedom Week - CBN.com - Administrator
- Northwest Religious Liberty Association Honors Oregon Speaker Dave Hunt - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Not a Single Christian Church Left in Afghanistan, Says State Department | CNSnews.com - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Obama Administration Changes Its Approach to the Defense of Marriage Act - Michael PeabodyDuring the brief window between the California Supreme Court’s decision finding a ban on same-sex marriage in violation of the California Constitution on May 15, 2008 and the ballot-initiative amending said constitution on November 5, 2008, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer got married. While same-sex marriages during this window period have been recognized in California since they were presumably “constitutional,” the newlyweds filed a case against the federal government in state court that was transferred upon motion of the federal government into federal court alleging that “the refusal of all states and jurisdictions” to recognize the validity of their marriage resulted in the denial of their marriage status by other states, and federal rights and benefits that other married couples received so long as they were of the opposite sex.
- Obama makes plans to remove 'conscience clause' for health-care workers - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe Catholic Culture blog has posted a link to a set of articles about Obama's plans to rescind the "conscience clause" that protects health-care personnel from pressure to participate in procedures they regard as immoral, such as abortion.
- Obama puts believers and non-believers on the same footing in speeches (WSJ) - Administrator
- Obama Sets Off a Debate on Ties Between Religion and Government (NY Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Obama speaks up for Tibetans, but in a hushed voice (India Times) - Administrator
- Obama's Faith-Based Outreach Hit By Wright Controversy - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Obama's Olive Branch Doctrine: Religion & the Path of Democratic Reform in the Arab-Muslim World (PART I) - Greg Hamilton
- Obama’s Olive Branch Doctrine (PART II) Interfaith Tolerance & the Reshaping of U.S. Foreign Policy - Greg HamiltonPresident Obama’s middle-ground approach to the credible and well-established “Clash of Civilizations” theme – when formulating international religious freedom policy – is best understood when placed on a scale between tolerance and international consensus (an interfaith, “soft-power” approach), and America’s constitutional ideal of religious freedom and human rights (an Evangelical and “exacting” approach). Yet both policy methods delimit religious freedom, threatening it altogether.
- Observations of Liberty in China (WWUB) - Martin Surridge
- OC Couple Threatened With $500-Per-Meeting Fines For Home Bible Study « CBS Los Angeles - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Olympics: China Bans Foreign Chaplains - only "official" chaplains allowed (Houston Chronicle) - ReligiousLiberty.TV"China's ruling Communist Party is suspicious of any cause that could compete with its authority, including organized religion. Officially, the party allows worship only at registered churches belonging to a state-controlled organization; nonregistered places of worship are closely monitored. The party also bans foreign chaplains' holding services without government permission or proselytizing on Chinese soil."
- On a Visit to the U.S., a Nigerian Witch-Hunter Explains Herself (New York Times) - Martin Surridge
- On Cardinal Stafford's Speech: Are the Church and the State on an Unavoidable Collision Course? - Robert MoonOn November 13, 2008 J. Francis Cardinal Stafford spoke before the International Conference to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute on Marriage and the Family at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. His speech attracted singificant attention for its controversial viewpoint. You can read the full text of the speech by clicking here. Dr. Robert Moon, a member of the ReligiousLiberty.TV advisory panel responds.
- On September 23, 2008 an Innocent Man is Scheduled to Die - Terry BenedictBy Terry L. Benedict - How Easily Can an Innocent Man Lose His Life? Ask Troy Davis, who came within a harrowing 23 hours of execution by lethal injection last year and received a new execution date of September 23, 2008:
- On the Table - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Op-Ed: What is a Christian Nation? - Jason HinesI think we have to start at the most basic point – what do we mean when we say “Christian nation?” Part of what makes the notion of a Christian nation unworkable is that I don’t think Christians in America (or anywhere else for that matter) could ever agree on what a Christian nation should be. If Christians can’t agree on what it is, how could the ever actualize it? In some of the comments on left on the Facebook page, some have noted that a Christian nation is impossible because of Christ’s statement that his kingdom is not of this world. (John 18:35-37) While this argument has merit, I mention it only to make the point that it would be hard to actualize a Christian nation if you had a contingent of Christians saying that having a nation is against the very premise of Christianity. In order to address the idea of what a Christian nation is, we have to define both what a nation is and what it means to be Christian.
- Open Forum: What does religious freedom mean to you? - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- OPINION - President Obama: Bad News For the New Atheists and Other Fundamentalists (Frank Schaeffer - Huffington Post) - ReligiousLiberty.TVInto the all or nothing culture wars, and the all or nothing wars between the so-called New Atheists and religion the election of President elect Obama reintroduces nuance. President elect Obama's ability to believe in Jesus, yet question, is going to rescue American religion in general and Christianity in particular, from the extremes.
- OPINION - President Obama: Bad News For the New Atheists and Other Fundamentalists (Frank Schaeffer - Huffington Post) - ReligiousLiberty.TVInto the all or nothing culture wars, and the all or nothing wars between the so-called New Atheists and religion the election of President elect Obama reintroduces nuance. President elect Obama's ability to believe in Jesus, yet question, is going to rescue American religion in general and Christianity in particular, from the extremes.
- OPINION: Courtship of religion complicates McCain and Obama campaigns - Michael Peabody
- OPINION: Does the World Need a Global Population Control Agency? (Catholic Online) - ReligiousLiberty.TVOverpopulation hysteria has real world consequences. One of these is a United Nations population control agency that goes by the name of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
- OPINION: Gay Rights and Religious Liberty (Los Angeles Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- OPINION: O'Connor's 4th Circuit Ruling on City Council Prayer - John Stevens
- OPINION: Obama vs. Pope Benedict (Washington Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TV"The first thing I will do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," Obama said at an address before Planned Parenthood on July 17, 2007. And if he does, it will trigger a harsh response from Pope Benedict XVI, as well as a political revolt among practicing American Catholics.
- OPINION: Patrick J. Buchanan: The Wars of Religion Return (HumanEvents.com) - Robert Moon
- OPINION: The Good Old Days? Not Quite - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- OPINION: When Did "Conservative" Become Anarchist? - Monte SahlinWhat planet am I living on? I have grown up with the idea that conservatives were those who value tradition and defendthe status quo ante; who support the institutions of our society. But now it seems that "conservatives" believe that it is wrong for the president of the United States to talk to the nation's school children despite the fact that Ronald Reagan did so; that it is OK to carry an automatic weapon to a public meeting with elected officials; that un-fact-checked statementscirculated by unknown bloggers and radio entertainers are to be believed over independent newspapers with long histories of factual reporting.
- Oregon Governor Signs Bill Repealing Ban on Teachers' Religious Dress - Michael PeabodySALEM, OREGON - On April 1, 2010, Governor Ted Kulongoski signed a bill (HB 3686) that will repeal Oregon's 87-year-old ban on teachers wearing religious dress.
- Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signs the Workplace Religious Freedom Act - Administrator
- Oregon House of Representatives passes Workplace Religious Freedom Act - Greg HamiltonSB 786 has passed both houses of the legislature and is now on the Governor's Desk.
- Oregon House Votes to Repeal Ban on Teachers Wearing Religious Dress - Administrator
- Oregon law is too strict on teachers' religious garb (Oregonian) - Administrator
- Oregon Legislature Ends Ban on Teachers Wearing Religious Dress - Goes to Governor for Signature - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Oregon Legislature Votes Down 1923 Ban on Teachers Wearing Religious Dress - Administrator
- Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee hears testimony on the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Oregon Senate Passes Workplace Religious Freedom Act - Greg Hamilton
- OUTRAGE IN COLORADO: More than 100 Muslims Fired When They Protest Employer's Policy Prohibiting Prayer Breaks (NPR) - ReligiousLiberty.TVGreeley, Colorado - Last month, more than 100 Somalis were fired for walking off the job after the company refused to let them take breaks to pray at sunset during the Muslim holiday month of Ramadan. They are in the process of filing a class-action lawsuit against the company.
- Paper warns of global financial collapse if nations do not respond in concert (Telegraph.co.uk) - ReligiousLiberty.TVAs the unflappable Warren Buffett puts it, the credit freeze is “sucking blood” out of the economy. “In my adult lifetime, I don’t think I’ve ever seen people as fearful,” he said.
- Paradoxical Christian? I’m a Bible-believing Christian Who Passionately Supports Church State Separation - Steve Allred
- Pastor Boissoin's Lawyer: Case Will Positively Impact Religious Freedom in Canada (LifeSiteNews) - Administrator
- Pastor who helped get "under God" in Pledge dies - ReligiousLiberty.TVALEXANDRIA, Pa. (AP) - The Rev. George M. Docherty, credited with helping to push Congress to insert the phrase "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance, has died at 97.
- Pastors Challenge the IRS: Using the Pulpit to Promote Candidates - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Pat Robertson, the Earthquake in Haiti, and the Righteousness of God - Michael PeabodyIn 1999, comedian George Carlin wrote, “Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time! But He loves you.” I thought about Carlin’s statement as I watched a clip of Pat Robertson blaming this week’s earthquake in Haiti on a mythical pact that the people of Haiti supposedly made with the Devil in order to become independent of France over two centuries ago. ““[E]ver since they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor,” Robertson said.
- Patriotism, Piety, and the Perfect Storm - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- PBS Series "Liberty's Kids" Now on YouTube - ReligiousLiberty.TVAn excellent educational cartoon series for kids (and adults) starring Walter Cronkite as Ben Franklin is now on YouTube. In this episode, Ben Franklin, Moses, and James discover disguised colonists raiding the tea-laden ship that Sarah is aboard. To watch the entire series, go to http://www.youtube.com/user/LibertysKidsTV The official website, which includes activities and information for parents and teachers is located at http://www.libertyskids.com/
- PE.com : YUCAIPA: 'In God We Trust' to be displayed - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Pennsylvania Debates Whether To Hunt On Sundays (Huffington Post) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Pepperdine Conference Addresses The Claims of Law and Religion - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Petraeus Condemns U.S. Church's Plan to Burn Qurans (WSJ) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Pilgrims among first to recognize that socialism doesn't work (Salem News) - ReligiousLiberty.TVAmerica's first experiment with socialism was an abject failure that cost the lives of more than half of the foundering settlers by 1627. After living the liberal philosophy for half a decade of want, Gov. Bradford and the other founders of the Plymouth Plantation came to recognize that, despite their struggles, perseverance and faith, something was very wrong; something needed to change if they were to survive.
- Polygamy central issue in Utah Attorney General race - ReligiousLiberty.TVFor Hill's part, she said polygamists would never have to fear being prosecuted for their religion. She contends that the state's bigamy statute is unconstitutional in the wake of the 2003 Supreme Court ruling Lawrence v. Texas.
- Polygamy law doesn’t breach religious freedom guarantee, lawyer argues - Vancouver Sun - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Polygamy: Where religious liberty ends (Salt Lake Tribune) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Pope Benedict XVI on Religious Freedom (CNA) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Pope Benedict: "the Great Consolidator" (American Spectator) - Administrator
- Pope says European sex education an 'attack' on religious freedom (AFP) - Martin Surridge
- Pope urges religious reconciliation (Al Jazeera) - Administrator
- PRECEDENT - A century ago religious groups tried to change the California Constitution to enact a religious law - ReligiousLiberty.TVJ.O. Corliss - Liberty Magazine - 1908 - "California is the only State in the American Union without a Sunday law. From 1858 to 1883 a Sunday-rest statute in that State was made so annoying to many of its citizens that it became an object of political contention. The supposed dominant party, through church affiliations, inserted a plank in its platform, pledging itself to maintain the Sunday law for the betterment of the laboring class. The other party went to the polls, on a pledge to repeal the existing statute requiring Sunday rest, on the ground of its hostility to religious rights." The result was a political upheaval in favor of repealing all Sunday laws in the State of California. About the same time the State supreme court handed down a decision in the case of ex parte Newman, declaring a Sunday law unconstitutional. Since then three attempts have been made by the churches to have the legislature re-enact a Sunday-law statute. These advances have been coldly met, on the ground that any such statute could have no force in the face of the constitutional limitation.
- Preliminary Analysis: Congress Passes Hate Crime Legislation - Michael Peabody
- President Obama's Health Care Mandate vs. Religious Liberty? Join the Discussion - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Prof. Daniel Crane - "A Judeo-Christian Argument for Privatizing Marriage" (Cardozo Law Review) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Professor Steven Calabresi on Enforcing Morality (Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy) - Michael Peabody
- PROFILE: Rep. Chet Edwards Champions Separation of Church and State in Congress - Michael Peabody
- Promoting Religious Liberty: Whither the Obama Administration? (Doug Bandow - Huffington Post) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Proposal to Ban Circumcision Draws Strong Criticism (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty) - Martin Surridge
- Proposal Would Deny Federal Money if Employees Must Provide Medical Care to Which They Object (WashingtonPost.com) - Michael Peabody
- Putting a Smile on Human Dignity - Ray Dabrowski
- QUOTATION: A man who cannot be enticed by money . . . - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Raw Majority Power: Why Checks and Balances Matter - Michael PeabodyAn epic battle played out on two levels at the California Supreme Court on March 5. On a surface level, attorneys fought over a technical issue of whether the Proposition 8 prohibition on gay marriage represented a revision or an amendment. On the deeper level, the question asked was whether there are any limits on the majority to impact the rights of the minority.
- RAW MATERIALS: This week's Obama / Dobson broughaha - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Reflection: The Trouble with the Future - Jonathan GallagherIn the context of the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, one journalist took the time to look back and see what the pundits said would happen next. No one, but no one, got it right. No one foresaw the rapid collapse of European communism and the demise of the Soviet Union. By 1991 The U.S.S.R. was no more, and no one saw this future with any degree of precision. Instead they got it wrong. The end of communism will be a long time coming. Wrong. If the Warsaw pact goes, so does NATO. Wrong. Germany will not be allowed to re-unite. Wrong. A united Germany will become a nuclear power before the end of the millennium. Wrong. Gorbachev will long continue. Wrong.
- Refuge Camp in Africa "The Most Desperate Place on Earth" (CNN) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Regenerating the Heart - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Registrar wins same-sex tribunal (BBC) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Religion in Public Schools: Academic, Not Devotional (J. Brent Walker - Washington Post) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Religion, Politics, and the 2008 Election - Administrator
- Religion-politics mix proves perilous (Christian Century) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Religious Freedom Problems Growing in Indonesia (UPI) - Michael Peabody
- Religious freedom requires Baptists to hold in tension certain principles (The Baptist Standard) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Religious group promotes new Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom that stands against secularism - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Religious Groups Object to Covering Birth Control (Fox News) - Martin Surridge
- Religious intolerance now driving persecution of minorities across the world (Minority Rights Group) - ReligiousLiberty.TVState of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2010reports that the rise of religious nationalism, the economic marginalization of religious minorities and the abuse of counter-terrorism laws have all led to a growing pattern of persecution against religious minorities globally.
- Religious leaders denounce Arizona immigration law (BBC) - Martin Surridge
- Religious leaders line up in support of Supreme Court case - The Courier-Journal - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Religious Liberty 2010 – A Year in Review - Jason Hines
- Religious Liberty Dinner - April 5, 2011 - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Religious Liberty in French Romantic Poetry: Gérard de Nerval’s Verse Lends Space for Other Religions - Lauren Peterson
- Religious Liberty on North Dakota Ballot (Devils Lake Journal) - Martin Surridge
- Religious Persecution on the Horn of Africa (American Spectator) - ReligiousLiberty.TVSomalia continues to implode, as Islamists gain increasing control over what remains of the impoverished, conflict-ridden nation. But it is not the only human tragedy in the region. Eritrea, which won its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of war, has earned a reputation as one of the world's youngest tyrannies. It also is one of the world's worst religious persecutors.
- Religious Pluralism & America’s Christian Nation Debate: Revisiting the Intentions of America’s Constitutional Founders - Greg Hamilton
- Religious Tension Leads to Clashes in Jerusalem (From Al Jazeera English) - Martin Surridge
- Religious Undertones in Egyptian Protests? - (Liberty Magazine Round Table) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Religious-freedom groups mourn Kennedy, cite church-state views (ABP) - Administrator
- ReligiousLiberty.TV Endorses California Proposition . . . - ReligiousLiberty.TVDiscusses support of a California Ballot Proposition.
- ReligiousLiberty.TV Promo - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Rep. Schakowsky talks about the Importance of Protecting Religious Minorities Abroad (C-SPAN) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Report says 225,000 Haiti children work as slaves (AP) - Administrator
- Residents, Church Vie For History-Rich Russian Isles (NPR) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Respecting the Religion of Your Brother - Ray Dabrowski
- Rev. Leo A. Walsh "Lost In Translation: Divergent Notions of Religious Liberty in Post Soviet Russia" - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Reza Aslan: The Future of Religious Nationalism - Administrator
- Richard Land and Jim Wallis: Faith and Politics - Administrator
- Rick Perry and the perils of sectarian religion in 2012 - Figuring Faith - The Washington Post - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- RITSEMA: Supreme Court deals death blow to the 4th Amendment (Civics News) - Scott RitsemaNow, any the time that law enforcement makes a "mistake" that prevents them from doing a proper search, they will get away with it, and the evidence can be admitted into the court proceedings. The incentive to do the search in a legal fashion has now been removed; instead, and an incentive to do illegal searches and then say "oops" has now been introduced.
- RITSEMA: Tracking Pat Robertson's Shift to the Left - Scott RitsemaOPINION - Pat Robertson, one of those Christian spokesmen that makes Christians cringe every time he opens his mouth, has struck again. At least he's not calling for violence...this time.
- RLTV PODCAST - "Under the Blood Banner" Eric Kreye talks about Growing Up in Hitler's Germany - ReligiousLiberty.TVEric Kreye, whose story is told in the book Under the Blood Banner: The Story of a Hitler Youth talks with Michael Peabody about growing up in Hitler's Germany. Born in America but raised in Germany, Eric describes how he was beaten by his teacher when he could not recite Hitler's life story, how his father helped him avoid many of the Hitler Youth activities, how his family hid a Jewish woman and her daughter from the Gestapo, what it was like when the American military moved into Germany, and how he and his brother came to America.
- RLTV PODCAST: Attorney Karen Scott on the Current Problem of Human Trafficking in the United States - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- RLTV PODCAST: Jason Hines - A Passion for Freedom - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- RLTV PODCAST: Jason Hines on The Church, Same-Sex Marriage, and Public Policy - Michael Peabody
- RLTV Podcast: Martin Surridge on Swiss Minarets and the French Burqa Ban - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- RLTV PODCAST: Martin Surridge on the Decline of Islamic Terrorism - Martin SurridgeMartin Surridge and Michael Peabody discuss Surridge's recent article, "Is the Era of Large-Scale Islamic Terrorism Coming to an End?" in which he theorizes that Islamic terrorism in the West is on the decline.
- RLTV PODCAST: Monte Sahlin on How to Help Haiti - Monte Sahlin
- RLTV PODCAST: Ryan Bell - "I'm a Social Justice Christian" - Michael PeabodyRyan Bell, pastor of the Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church talks with Michael Peabody about Glenn Becks' recent controversial comments against "social justice Christians" and why Christians should work toward social justice.
- RLTV PODCAST: Scott Ritsema on the Gun Sight Controversy - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- RLTV Podcast: The Rock v. The Gates and the Role of the Remnant - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Robbing God: The Essence of a Church-State Union - Jason HinesBy Jason Hines - But how do you kill Christ? An examination of how it actually happened in the Bible reveals an interesting answer.Matthew 27: 1, 2 describes the process. Christ is first condemned to death by a religious tribunal. He is then sent to the state to have this religious determination ratified and executed. This is the essence of a union of church and state. The church has the moral authority but not the tangible power to condemn Christ to death, and so they turn to the state to legitimize their moral proclamation.
- Rodney Baker: Demonisation and Witch Hunts in Religion and Politics - Administrator
- Romney's 12/6/2007 Speech on Religion and the Presidency - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Ron Paul - "Something Big Is Happening" (CampaignForLiberty.com) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Ronald Reagan on Preserving the Sacred Fire of Human Liberty - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Roosevelt’s or Reagan’s America? A Time for Choosing - ReligiousLiberty.TVBy John Marini - Imprimis - In light of the differences between the ideas and policies of Roosevelt and Reagan, it is not surprising that political debates today are so bitter. Indeed, they resemble the religious quarrels that once convulsed western society. The progressive defenders of the bureaucratic state see government as the source of benevolence, the moral embodiment of the collective desire to bring about social justice as a practical reality. They believe that only mean-spirited reactionaries can object to a government whose purpose is to bring about this good end. Defenders of the older constitutionalism, meanwhile, see the bureaucratic state as increasingly tyrannical and destructive of inalienable rights.
- Ruling on Ministers: What the Supreme Court said & didn’t say | Oregon Faith Report - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Russia plan to "kick out cults" could also affect religious freedom (RT) - Administrator
- Russia's Medvedev calls for Egypt to respect religious rights (ChannelNewsAsia) - Martin Surridge
- Russian President may push 'new world currency'... - Administrator
- San Francisco Court Protects Religious Freedoms of Christian Homeless Shelter, Christian News - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- San Francisco Mulls Circumcision Ban (CBS News) - Martin Surridge
- Santorum’s Martyr Complex (SLATE) - Martin Surridge
- Sarah Palin's Interview on Faith (CBN) - ReligiousLiberty.TVSarah Palin discusses her faith in an interview with the 700 Club.
- Saudi King - World facing covert economic war (SaudiGazette.com.sa) - ReligiousLiberty.TVWorld leaders vowed Saturday in Beijing to overhaul the global financial system in the face of recession fears.
- Say No to the Defamation of Religions Resolutions, Yes to the Right to Believe (Open Doors) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- SB 786: Workplace Religious Freedom Act - Administrator
- Scholarship contest asks high school students to revisit JFK speech on separation of church and state - Administrator
- Sec. Clinton condemns "Religious Defamation" laws and addresses international issues in annual Religious Freedom Report - Administrator
- Secrecy v. Transparency - Wikileaks and the Gospel - Michael Peabody
- Secularism isn't the same everywhere: Three models in Europe highlight various church-state relations (ANN) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Senator - Conservative and Christian broadcasters could still be threatened by proposed broadcast regulations (KIITV) - ReligiousLiberty.TVIn a floor speech, Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe noted that while the Senate voted last week against reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, it approved another amendment saying federal regulators should promote diversity in media ownership and ensure that broadcasters operate in the public interest.
- Seven Years Later and Counting - A 9/11 Scrapbook - ReligiousLiberty.TVSeven years have passed since the planes hit the World Trade Center. Here is an unvarnished scrapbook of events that took place on that day and how these events led to a war in the Middle East and what happened there.
- Shabbat in Commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King - Administrator
- SHOCK! Popular UK Magazine Promotes Sterilization for Women in their 20s - ReligiousLiberty.TV“By the time I was 18, I knew I was never going to change. I couldn’t imagine letting something take over my body and then my whole life. I couldn’t even look at a baby without feeling uncomfortable.” Chloe, sterilized at age 20
- SHOCKING - Uncovering the business of child sacrifice in Uganda (BBC Africa) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Should Congress Continue to Fund the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom? - Michael Peabody
- Should Europe recognize Sunday as the official day of rest? (BBC Video) - Administrator
- Significant Differences Emerging Between McCain and Obama in Prospective Judicial Nominees (NY Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Sikh Group Develops App to Report Airport Profiling (CNN) - Martin Surridge
- Slavery and the Civil War - How the North and South were to Blame (Adventist Review) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Smelling an Old Man's Feet: Reflections on Footwashing, the Ordinance of Humility - Martin SurridgeBy Martin Surridge - While the state of some feet and certain odors might not be too pleasant, some are downright ugly; the ritual itself is incredibly beautiful. I am reminded of both Christ washing our sins away and the spiritual importance of serving the elderly and helping others. It makes me sad when I see how many people skip out on this opportunity because of feelings of embarrassment. I won’t argue that the process isn’t uncomfortable; however, there is incredible value in such discomfort. Following the words of Christ—turning the other cheek, loving our enemies, rejecting the ways of the world—are not supposed to be easy instructions.
- So Much For Religious Liberty (Forbes) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Soldier alleges military pattern of Christian bias (AP) - ReligiousLiberty.TVTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - An atheist soldier suing over prayers at military formations claims a larger pattern of religious discrimination exists in the military, citing attempts to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan and an evangelical bias in a suicide prevention manual.
- Soldiers Fight a Battle of Conscience - Administrator
- Some Thoughts on the Implications of the Same-Sex Marriage Trial for Religious Minorities - Michael PeabodyPutting the emotional issues aside, this is the cold reality: If the U.S. Supreme Court takes this case and decides to uphold Proposition 8, this outcome could strip away fundamental principles that also protect religious minorities.
- Soros sees no bottom for world financial "collapse" (Reuters) - ReligiousLiberty.TVNEW YORK (Reuters) - Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis. Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.
- Southern Evangelicals More Likely to Support Torture - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe report cited a survey of 600 Southern white evangelicals and said that 57 percent hold the belief that torture can sometimes or often be used to extract information from suspected terrorists, as opposed to 48 percent of the general population. The survey also pointed out that they are guided by their own life experience and common sense rather than the Bible when thinking about the acceptability of torture.
- Southern Mexico's religious liberty forum spotlights local challenges to freedom of belief - ReligiousLiberty.TVAlthough they garner little attention from the international community, recent cases of violence directed toward Protestants in the region, among them Adventists, intensify the need to protect the region's tenuous religious liberty.
- Speak Now - A Response to the European Sunday Alliance - Michael PeabodyIn its Founding Statement, the European Sunday Alliance argues that, in the interest of synchronicity, Sunday is the appropriate day of rest for all of Europe, and makes no allowance or acknowledgment of what should be done for those whose faith requires them to rest on a day outside of Sunday. In fact, it is not hard to see how those who rest on a different day might be an annoyance or hindrance to Sunday rest, and even in the debate may be portrayed as roadblocks, troublemakers, or even anti-religious. Businesses who open on Sunday could be fined, and those who conduct their own entrepreneurial endeavors on Sunday could also find themselves operating against the law.
- Spencer Chiimbwe—Adventist Peacemaker (Spectrum) - Ryan BellSpencer Chiimbwe is a Zambian national residing in the United States since 2006. Throughout his life he has been involved in conflict transformation at a national and international level including being a Peace Fellow, Action Researcher and Coordinator for both the Coalition for Peace in Africa in Southern Africa Region and for the ACTION Support Center. He is also a member of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPACC), a global civil society-led network which seeks to build international consensus on peace building and prevention of violent conflict. Finally, after moving to New York City, he founded the New York Center for Conflict Dialogue which enhances diplomatic efforts to resolve conflicts through facilitating and coordinating various thematic forums on conflict.
- Spiritually transformed killing machines of Christ (Civics News) - Scott Ritsema
- State and Federal Legislators Introduce Bill to Outlaw Local Criminalization of Circumcision - Michael PeabodyCalifornia Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) and Assembly member Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) have introduced a bill that would directly ban local bans on circumcision. In a press conference held in Los Angeles yesterday, July 21, 2011, Ma and Gatto said that the bill would render the San Francisco ballot measure moot.
- State department cites religious freedom violations (Associated Baptist Press) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Step forward for church-state relations in Azerbaijan - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Stephen Colbert Tests Columbia Prof On Textbooks (Comedy Central) - Administrator
- Stimulus plan will restrict healthcare (Bloomberg.com) - ReligiousLiberty.TVOne new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions.
- Stopping US Muslim backlash (AJE) - Martin Surridge
- Student Clubs and Rights - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Suit Seeks To Invalidate New York Same-Sex Marriage Law For Procedural Irregularities (Religion Clause) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Sunday Shopping to be Banned in Croatia - Efforts Underway in Britain - Michael PeabodyIn a concession to the Catholic Church, the Croatian parliament has passed a law requiring all shops to be closed on Sundays beginning January 1, 2009. This is the result of years of campaigning by the Church, which makes up 90% of the population.
- Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor's rulings on religious issues - Michael PeabodyUniversity of Toledo law professor Howard M. Friedman has compiled a list of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's rulings on religion clause issues at his blog, Religion Clause. Sotomayor has served on the Second Circuit since 1998. She served as a federal district court judge in the Southern District of New York from 1992 to 1998.
- Supreme Court to consider Ten Commandments vs. 'Seven Aphorisms' - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Supreme Court was right to side with Mennonites | The Des Moines Register - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- São Paulo passes religious freedom charter (ANN) - ReligiousLiberty.TVSeventh-day Adventist Church leaders and religious freedom proponents in Brazil say the passage this month of the Brazilian Charter of Religious Liberty helps galvanize freedoms of belief already established by the country's constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Take A Quick Survey! Win a T-Shirt! - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Take Money, Lose Faith - Seven Catholic Schools turned into public schools in Washington DC (Maryland Daily Record) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Taking Alarm: The Importance of the International Religious Liberty Association - Michael Peabody“It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens and the noblest characteristic of the American Revolution. The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and avoided the consequences by denying the principles.”
- Taliban say they killed aid worker for spreading Christianity (AP/Reuters) - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe woman, a British citizen, worked with handicapped Afghans and was killed in the western part of Kabul as she was walking to work around 8 a.m., the police said. Najib Samsoor, a district police chief, originally said the woman was from South Africa, but the British government later said she was British.
- Talking Points SB 786 - Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act - Greg Hamilton
- Ten Commandments' return to Va. school district depends on legal battle's outcome - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Tennesee governor signs Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law - Michael Peabody
- Tennesee Senate Approves Bill to Ban Teaching of Homosexuality in Schools (Boston Globe) - Martin Surridge
- Tension over Religious Sites Leaves Dozens Hurt in Jerusalem Clashes - Martin Surridge
- Testimony of Gregory Hamilton in support of the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act (SB 786) - Greg Hamilton
- Testimony of Michael Peabody in favor of the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act (SB 786) - Michael Peabody
- Texas Ed Board Adopts Resolution Limiting Islam (NPR) - Martin Surridge
- Texas education board rejects in-depth study of First Amendment (DallasNews.com) - Administrator
- Texas execution looms after jury consult Bible (Amnesty International) - Administrator
- Thailand Calls for Ban on Religious Tattoos for Tourists (CNN) - Martin Surridge
- The 2008 Election - Religion, the Economy, and Values Voters (AP) - Michael Peabody"Barriers remain to both major parties if they seek to appeal to religious voters on the economy. You're either for or against gay marriage or abortion rights, but no one supports foreclosures and layoffs. Differences arise over solutions, and analysts say it can make more sense for campaigns to make general pitches on the economy than faith-based appeals."
- The Army Wants You...Again! (Yes, Really.) - ReligiousLiberty.TVBy Colby Buzzell - Imagine that you graduated from college, and a couple years afterward your alma mater contacts you and says, Sorry, you didn't graduate from college. In fact, you have five weeks to drop everything that you're doing--quit your job, get out of your lease, put all your stuff in storage, cancel your Netflix, etc.--and report back to campus so that you can redo all the schooling that you've already done. And not only that, here's a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver with only one round in the chamber--spin the chamber, point it at your head, and pull the trigger. If you live, you live. If you don't, you don't.
- The case against legalizing marijuana in California (Philadelphia Inquirer) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- The Church as a Bride of Caesar (National Review) - ReligiousLiberty.TVWhile we have tracked the emergence of the religious right in America, Fr. Robert Sirico writes in the National Review about the political power of part of the religious left which he describes as "a hyper-political movement that offers up the moral authority of churches and aid organizations to advance the ends of the Obama administration and its allies in Congress."
- The Coming "War" Between the Obama Administration and the Catholic Church (LifeSiteNews.com) - ReligiousLiberty.TVhe possible signing of the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) by President-Elect Barack Obama would be "the equivalent of a war" an unnamed senior Vatican official recently told TIME magazine. The startling comments make the second time this week that a Vatican official has forthrightly and in the strongest language condemned Obama's extreme policies on abortion. Speaking at the Catholic University of America a few days ago, Vatican Cardinal James Stafford labeled Obama's anti-life policies as "aggressive, disruptive, and apocalyptic," also noting that, "On November 4, 2008, America suffered a cultural earthquake" (see coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111703.html ).
- The damage of the anti-vaccine movement (Los Angeles Times) - AdministratorChildhood diseases once mostly eradicated are making a comeback. And children are dying.
- The Dangerous Idea of Protecting Religions from “Defamation” (USCIRF) - Administrator
- The dangers of relinquishing liberty for a quiet and "safe" life - Michael Peabody
- The End of the Community Action Program? - Monte Sahlin
- The European Attack on Religious Liberty - Martin SurridgeWhile they have been easy to miss, the news has been peppered recently with stories of serious threats to religious liberty not in the developing world, war-torn regions in the Middle East, or third-world countries struck by natural disasters, but in Europe, our own geopolitical backyard.
- The First Baptist in America (Florida Baptist Witness) - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe earliest Baptists in America stemmed from a group of like-minded individuals who surrounded Roger Williams. It was on Feb. 5, 1631, that Roger Williams (1603-1683) and his wife sailed from Bristol on the ship Lyon and landed at Nantasket, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- The Flushing Remonstrance - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- The Health-Religion Connection by Joshua Crouch - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- The High Cost of China's One-Child Policy - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- The Hijacking of Religion - Jonathan GallagherBy Jonathan Gallagher, Ph.D. - "For a country to move from general tolerance to extreme intolerance in just a few short years speaks of the power of religion, and its ready exploitation by those seeking political authority and control. The fuel is human competition. For where there is enough food, land, water and other resources, the need to fight other communities is much reduced. But as the world becomes increasingly overpopulated, then such scenarios can only increase. Religion is so close to the heart of how any society defines itself that those seeking political power and worldly goals will readily use such a potent weapon. The exploitation of religious belief is not new—witness the jihads and crusades from history—but its greatly increased impact and extent will be the dominant factors for the foreseeable future."
- THE LIGHTER SIDE: Stand-Up Comedy featuring A Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Jew, and an Atheist - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- The Link Between Religious Freedom and Economic Freedom - Michael PeabodyReligious liberty and economic freedom draw on and encourage similar traits. New data on economic liberty and religious freedom suggest that religiously free societies encourage entrepreneurs whose new enterprises benefit themselves, their companies, employees, shareholders, consumers, stakeholders and the entire community. In other words, religiously free societies usually display the highest concentration of companies that generate prosperity and broad development. Closed religious systems foul economic development and stunt growth. Closed economic systems are unkind or worse to religious sentiments and practice. Open systems in both areas are necessary to sustain human flourishing. Hence, if we desire more economic freedom and prosperity, then we should have a strategy of promoting religious liberty. If we want economic growth and development, we need to tolerate and permit religious groups and persons to follow their beliefs. Competition for religious activity creates healthy conditions for economic competition and activity.
- The loser in this election is religion. (AP) - ReligiousLiberty.TVWith a few exceptions, whatever seemed odd or fringe trumped serious discussion about how candidates' religious beliefs shape their approach to governance.
- The Lure of School Vouchers - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- The Manhattan Declaration: Approach with Caution - Michael PeabodyWe have no reason to doubt that those who drafted and are signing the Declaration are sincere and trying to do what they believe is best for America. There are many good reasons why it may seem a good idea, but we should raise a voice of caution regarding the unintended consequences of this approach. Christians tempted to set aside theological differences, which include differences in how grace and salvation are viewed so significant that they led to the battles of the Reformation and Inquisition, and unite on points held in common in order to change society should recall the unholy results of such unions. From a Christian perspective, government and even church edicts cannot change hearts, only God can.
- The New Blue Laws - Slate.com - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- The Oath Dilemma -- Special Contribution to RLTV - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- The Passing of Richard John Neuhaus (1936 - 2009) - Michael PeabodyOn January 8, 2009, Richard John Neuhaus, 72, the intellectual force behind an influential coalition between Catholics and Protestants passed away after a long battle with cancer.
- The Politics of Obama's Faith and the Evangelical Left - Stephen Manfield - ReligiousLiberty.TVAccording to Stephen Mansfield, the author of this book, Barack is "raising the banner of what he hopes will be the faith-based politics of a new generation . . . and he will carry that banner to whatever heights of power his God and the American people allow."
- The Pope, the President, and the Politics of Faith (Asia Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- The Problem I Have With Conspiracy Theories - Steve AllredThe Bible tells us what we need to know and do to stand through the end of time. One thing we should not be doing is closely studying into conspiracy theories that are speculative and based on theories of men. Instead, we should put on the full spiritual armor of God so that we can stand against the ultimate conspirator – the devil himself.
- The role of religion under Obama (CS Monitor) - ReligiousLiberty.TVWASHINGTON - After decades of ceding God to the GOP, at least in the public square, Democrats – with President Obama in the lead – are speaking with a fuller religious voice. The watchword? Inclusiveness.
- The Story of a Life by Lincoln Steed (Liberty Magazine) - Martin Surridge
- The U.S. Supreme Court made the Right Decision When It Upheld the Ministerial Exception - Michael PeabodyIn ruling the way it did, the Supreme Court protected the right of a religious organization to select its clergy without government interference and avoided placing church doctrine under government interpretation. Civil magistrates will not be in a position to where they are forced to determine which religious view, that of the clergy member or the church, is correct.
- The Unitary Executive - At the Zenith of His Powers - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- The Winter Olympics and Inequality in Global Athletics - Martin Surridge
- Theology a Hot Issue in 2012 GOP Campaign (AP) - Martin Surridge
- This Fourth of July, Celebrate Religious Freedom (The Baptist Standard) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- THIS WEEK: Christian-Hindu Unrest leads to Violence in India - ReligiousLiberty.TVThousands of Christians staged road blockades in several parts of the city on Sunday, after suspected Bajrang Dal activists carried out a series of attacks on prayer halls in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts, alleging conversion... Police resorted to caning to disperse the protesters, including nuns and women, in the evening near Milagres Hall complex, while a few people threw stones at the police. In the melee, some were hurt and a few vehicles damaged.
- This Weekend . . . Celebrate Religious Freedom - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Thought & Crime (Liberty Magazine - March/April 2008) - An Update - Michael Peabody
- Thought and Crime - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Tight California Prop. 8 race closely watched (AP) - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe race has tightened over the past six weeks and is expected to be close. A Field Poll released Friday found 49 percent of likely voters oppose the ban and 44 percent favor it. In mid-September, the measure was losing by 17 points.
- Timeline: Obama Administration Actions Affecting U.S. Religious Freedom | Christianity Today - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Tom McClintock - CISPA Cyber-security Bill - A Truly Orwellian Measure - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Top Ten RLTV Articles of 2008 - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe Top Ten articles posted on ReligiousLiberty.TV in 2008.
- Toward a Medieval Model - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Transcript of Mayor Bloomberg's Speech on Ground Zero Mosque - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Trial Court Upholds Most of Canada's Anti-Polygamy Law (Religion Clause blog) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Trivia Question: Which Current State Governor Participated in an Exorcism? - ReligiousLiberty.TVHere are some clues: A convert to Christianity during the early 1990s, this governor is no academic slouch, having been accepted at both Yale Law School and Harvard Medical School. At the age of 24, he was appointed his state's Secretary of Health and Hospitals. He ran for governor, and then for Congress, and then for Governor again. He is now 37 years old.
- TURKMENISTAN: Old "offences" still used to punish current religious activity (Forum 18) - Administrator
- Two-story Cross has Neighbors Fuming (LA Daily News) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- U.S. Muslims worry about new federal rules (MSNBC) - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe revised guidelines going into effect Monday will allow agents to use undercover sources to gather information, interview people without identifying themselves and spy on suspects without evidence of wrongdoing. Critics say the rules will allow for abuses, including more racial and religious profiling.
- U.S. Senator Lieberman Describes Sabbath Observance in New Book - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- U.S. State Department Releases 2008 Report on International Religious Liberty - Michael PeabodyThe US State Department (United States Council on International Religious Freedom - USCIRF) released the 10th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. Read it here.
- UK - Health and safety snoops to enter family homes (TimesOnline) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- UN condemns Gaddafi jihad call - Martin Surridge
- UN Human Rights Council approves proposal for limits on religious speech - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Understanding Islam Conference - Ganoune Diop - InFocus Interview - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Understanding World Religions Promo - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Administrator
- Unlikely Allies on Prison Reform - Coming together on a wedge issue (New York Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- UPDATE - Troy Anthony Davis Execution Stayed a Third Time Yesterday (New York Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TVA federal appeals court on Friday, October 4, halted the execution of a Georgia inmate convicted in the 1989 killing of a police officer, the third time in 16 months that a stay of execution has been ordered in the case.
- Update: Iranian Pastor Nadarkhani Continues to Refuse to Renounce Christian Beliefs - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Uproar in Canada over face-veil ban (Al Jazeera English) - Martin Surridge
- US Army ready if the downturn gets out of hand (NY Post) - ReligiousLiberty.TVIn a report published Nov. 4 - just in time for the holiday season - the War College's Strategic Studies Institute posited a number of shocks that the country should be prepared for, including unrest caused by the economy's failure.
- US Commission on International Religious Freedom Issues 2009 Report - 13 Nations of concern - Administrator
- US court rules against "I Believe" car license plates (APD) - ReligiousLiberty.TVA US federal judge has ordered South Carolina not to issue cross-adorned ”I believe” car number plates, ruling it violates the constitutional separation of church and state. US District Court judge, Cameron Currie, ruled that the state legislature – which voted unanimously last year to approve the number plates that include a cross in front of a stained glass window – had clearly given favoured government treatment to a single faith, and ordered to halt its issue.
- US Says Kyrgyz Law Would Restrict Religious Freedom (VOA News) - ReligiousLiberty.TVU.S. lawmakers are urging Kyrgyzstan's president not to sign legislation they say will severely restrict religious freedom in the Central Asian country.
- Vatican again urges radical reform of global marketplace - The Irish Times - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Vatican calls for global authority on economy - Reuters - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Vatican Radio - Full Text: Note on financial reform from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VEEPSTAKES WINNER: It worked - Dobson says he would "pull lever" for McCain-Palin - Michael PeabodyIn the last couple of days, I have wondered what it would take for John McCain to get the evangelical vote, particularly when Dr. James Dobson had previously said that he could not vote for him. Well, apparently the selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin worked some magic for the good doctor and he said "But I can tell you that if I had to go into the studio, I mean the voting booth today, I would pull that lever."
- VEEPSTAKES: Could Tim Pawlenty Bring 30 Million Evangelicals Back to the GOP? - Michael PeabodyAlthough McCain has won the GOP nomination, some evangelical leaders such as James Dobson have expressed that they will not vote for him because he is too "liberal." Can Pawlenty, a dedicated evangelical Christian, bridge this gap?
- VEEPSTAKES: Will Alaska Governor Sarah Palin bring in Conservative Votes for McCain? - Michael PeabodyWith Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty apparently out of the running for McCain's VP pick, speculation this morning turns to Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska.
- VIDEO - BREAKING NEWS: Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder, on the Rule of Law - Michael PeabodyEarlier this year, he gave a lecture for the ACS convention regarding the importance of restoring the rule of law. He called upon the United States to reverse "the disastrous course" set by the Bush administration in the struggle against terrorism, arguing "the next president must move immediately to reclaim America's standing in the world as a nation that cherishes and protects individual freedom and basic human rights."
- VIDEO - Pat Robertson Gives Religion A Bad Name With His Disaster Comments - CNN - Administrator
- VIDEO - Sign company removes pro-atheist billboard at request of California city - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe city of Rancho Cucamonga, CA asked the General Outdoor sign company to remove an atheist billboard after several complaints from religious groups. Yet, religious groups would be up in arms if they were asked to remove a religious sign.
- VIDEO AND ANALYSIS - 33 Pastors Defy IRS Ban on Political Endorsement - Michael Peabody
- VIDEO CLIP: Compulsion in religion and the freedom to disbelieve - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO ROUNDUP - ECONOMIC CRISIS - "The Sky is Falling, $700 Billion Should Fix It" - ReligiousLiberty.TVhe economic landscape of the United States is facing a crisis of epic proportions. We are told that we are facing an economic depression if Congress does not sign a contract that will essentially admit liability for this crisis and that will form a new branch of government with no oversight. Video clips from news sources, analysts, citizens, and an old film.
- VIDEO UPDATE: Troy Anthony Davis Granted Temporary Reprieve - Michael PeabodyLess than 2 hours before Troy was to die by lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court , the highest court in the United States, granted a stay of execution. AP Video and updates about Terry Benedict's film project.
- VIDEO: Barack Obama on Religious Pluralism - The Speech that sparked the Debate - Administrator
- VIDEO: California Supreme Court Oral Arguments on Prop 8 - ReligiousLiberty.TVWatch the March 5, 2009 proceedings and read the briefs on both sides of this contentious issue.
- VIDEO: Christian Perspectives on Legal Thought - ReligiousLiberty.TVA panel from the 2007 J. Reuben Clark Law Society Conference featuring: Robert F. Cochran, Jr., Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law; W. Cole Durham, Gates University Professor of Law, Director, BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU; and Elizabeth Sewell, Associate Director, BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU.
- VIDEO: Michael Gerson on the Emerging Center of Evangelicalism - ReligiousLiberty.TVMichael Gerson, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and President Bush's former speechwriter, discusses new trends in evangelicalism. He explains that the younger evangelicals are breaking from the religious right; while they are remaining morally conservative, they are becoming more socially liberal.
- VIDEO: Michael Newdow in Panel at Boston College on Religious Freedom and the Pledge of Allegiance - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO: R. Gustav Niebuhr: "The False Promises of Tolerance" (Chataqua Institution) - ReligiousLiberty.TVAuthor and professor R. Gustav Niebuhr argues that tolerating people of different faiths is not enough; that in order to live in a safe and cohesive society, we must go out and interact with them.
- VIDEO: VP Candidate Joe Biden on Religion, Government, and the Presidency (Fora.TV) - ReligiousLiberty.TVRecorded in May 2007, Delaware Senator and Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden discusses the role of religion in American society, and gives his thoughts on the separation between church and state.
- VIDEO: 16-year-old boy dies from lack of medical treatment; family plans religious freedom defense - Michael Peabody
- VIDEO: 18-minute Speech by Mitt Romney on Religious Liberty - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO: 60th Anniversary - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (HRAC) - ReligiousLiberty.TVOn December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."
- VIDEO: Atheists Place Sign at Washington State Capitol Nativity - O'Reilly Protests - ReligiousLiberty.TVOLYMPIA, Wash. -- An atheist group has unveiled an anti-religion placard in the state Capitol, joining a Christian Nativity scene and "holiday tree" on display during December.
- VIDEO: Could Gay Marriage Erode Non-Profit Tax-Exempt Status? - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO: For Independence Day - "Letters From War" by Mark Schultz - Michael Peabody
- VIDEO: God in China - The Struggle for Religious Freedom - ReligiousLiberty.TVIn this hour-long documentary, produced for Italy's RomeReports News Agency, Chinese men and women speak candidly of their experiences as religious believers, and their assessment of what the future may hold for them. The film presents interviews with representatives of both official and underground religions, shows priests and seminarians practicing their faith in secret, and offers a rare glimpse into China's Muslim community.
- VIDEO: Increasing American Religious Comity (Pew Forum by way of Spectrum Magazine) - Michael Peabody
- VIDEO: Interview with James Carroll about Christianity and Violence - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO: Is there room for peace? - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO: John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. on Religious Liberty - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO: John McCain on What the President's Religion Should Be (BeliefNet) - ReligiousLiberty.TVA few months ago BeliefNet interviewed John McCain and asked him what religion he thought the President should be. The Republican presidential candidate told Beliefnet he's uncomfortable with a Muslim president but felt Mitt Romney's Mormonism is a non-issue. Any religion is okay, according to McCain, so long as this candidate "will carry on the Judeo-Christian tradition that has made this country great."
- VIDEO: Madeleine Albright Discusses "The Mighty and The Almighty: United States Foreign Policy and God" - ReligiousLiberty.TVFrom Fora.TV - Recorded May 7th, 2006 - Madeleine Albright talks about The Mighty and The Almighty: United States Foreign Policy and God. The former secretary of state offers a provocative and very personal look at the role of religion in America's foreign policy. She argues that understanding the place and power of religion, and knowing how best to respond to it, is essential if America is to lead successfully around the world.
- VIDEO: Modesto Priest Urges Obama Supporters To Confess (KOVR-TV) - ReligiousLiberty.TVMODESTO, Calif. — A Roman Catholic priest has told parishioners they should confess if they voted for Barack Obama because the president-elect supports abortion.
- Video: Oregon Governor Repeals Ban on Teachers' Religious Dress - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO: Palin linked political success to prayer of Kenyan witch hunter - ReligiousLiberty.TVAccording to accounts of the witchhunt circulated on evangelical websites such as Prayer Links Ministries, after Pastor Muthee declared Mama Jane a witch, the townspeople became suspicious and began to turn on her, demanding that she be stoned. Public outrage eventually led the police to raid her home, where they fired gunshots, killing a pet python which they believed to be a demon.
- VIDEO: President Obama on Church and State - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO: Proselytism and Religion - A Hindu Perspective - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO: Religious Freedom Worldwide Worsens (Voice of America) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEO: Sam Harris Discusses Religion Run Amok (FORA.tv) - ReligiousLiberty.TV"With gentle demeanor and tight argument, Sam Harris carried an overflow audience into the core of one of the crucial issues of our time: What makes some religions lethal? How do they employ aggressive irrationality to justify threatening and controlling non-believers as well as believers? What should be our response?"- The Long Now Foundation
- VIDEO: War on/for Christmas Begins! Focus on the Family Protests Religiously Neutral Retailers - ReligiousLiberty.TVIt is an amusing video, but the message is clear - retailers should be commercializing Christmas, not just the "holidays." At Christmastime, all retailers should be Christian or at least not offend Christians by recognizing other celebrations of the holiday season. Apparently FOTF believes that the "Christian" (not "Judeo-Christian") majority should prevail and if you don't like it, find another country.
- VIDEOS: Independence Day Music - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- VIDEOS: Obama's, McCain's and Palin's Pastor Problems - ReligiousLiberty.TVThis year, the candidates' religious leaders and their own beliefs are getting a lot of attention. Here is a round-up of some of the videos that have made news in recent months.
- Virginia Board Votes Against Proposed Same-Sex Adoption Rules (Washington Post) - Martin Surridge
- Visit Our Facebook Group for the Latest News Stories - Administrator
- Wall of silence broken at Minnesota's Muslim public school - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Walla Walla - Shelter for Freedom Screens Documentary Film “Cargo: Innocence Lost” - Martin Surridge
- WANTED: Freedom Champions - Robert Moon
- War and peace in Quran and Bible - Martin Surridge
- War on the Weak: Eugenics in America - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Washington DC - New Turn in Debate Over Law on Marriage (The New York Times) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Washington House of Representatives Attempts to Facilitate Union Take-Over of Religious Child Care Centers - Michael PeabodyBy Michael D. Peabody - So what’s the biggest threat to religious liberty? According to J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, the answer is found in the strings attached to government funding of religious activity. Earlier this month, during a speech for the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, Walker said, “What the government funds, it always regulates. Government-sponsored religion is always bad for religion. How can we raise a prophetic fist with one hand and take government money with the other?” The truth of Walker’s statement was underscored just last week when the Washington State House of Representatives passed HB 1329, now working its way through the state Senate, that cleared the way for unionization of private and most non-profit child care centers if they take government subsidies for as little as one child, and even declares the centers’ employees “government employees” for the purposes of unionization.
- Washington Post: 20,000 More U.S. Troops To Be Deployed For “Domestic Security" - ReligiousLiberty.TVThere are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement.
- Washington State - Faith-based groups taking crucial role in Euthanasia initiative battle - ReligiousLiberty.TVFaith-based groups or individuals are playing a crucial role on both sides of the battle to make Washington the second state, after Oregon, to allow physicians to legally prescribe deadly medication -- hardly surprising, since the issue deals with literal matters of life and death.
- Washington State Bill to Unionize Child Care Centers Dies in Committee - Administrator
- Wasilla Assembly of God - Statement on Sarah Palin - ReligiousLiberty.TV"Governor Sarah Palin did attend Wasilla Assembly of God since the time she was a teen ager. She and her family were a part of the church up until 2002. Since that time she has maintained a friendship with Wasilla Assembly of God and has attended various conferences and special meetings here."
- Watch "Bonhoeffer Speaks Out Against Hitler" - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- We Separate Church and State for a Reason - Romney's Perspective on Religion and the Presidency - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Weekend Inspiration - "Tears of the Saints" - Leeland - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- WEEKEND INSPIRATION - Tony Campolo Talks about a Birthday Party He Threw - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Weekend Inspiration: Bill Hybels Interviews Bono - ReligiousLiberty.TVBill Hybels of Willowcreek interviews Bono, lead singer of U2, about how churches should respond to the AIDS crisis in Africa.
- Weekend Inspiration: Third Day "This is My Offering" - World Vision - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe band Third Day discusses the AIDS crisis in Africa and how YOU can help.
- What Wall? (Alison Agins) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- What's Wrong with Conspiracy Theories? - Michael PeabodyThe other day someone sent me a link to an “Antichrist Decoder” that has been posted online by an otherwise reputable Christian ministry. You can type in anybody’s name and the program will calculate the value of the name in Roman numerals. After checking my name to make sure that I was not the Antichrist I looked at the other names that people had plugged into the decoder and learned that Barack Obama is not the Antichrist, neither is Barack Hussein Obama. Ronald Wilson Reagan’s name doesn’t add up to 666 even if you type in two “v”s to make the W. People were having fun with the decoder and for the uninitiated it would be at home in a carnival next to the “Love Meter” or “Magic 8 Ball.” Perhaps an “antichrist decoder” made the rounds on the county fair circuit in years gone by, or a 666 Decoder Ring was the cheap plastic treat in the box of Cracker Jacks.
- When work and religion collide - Jim Evans
- Why America should not be declared a "Christian Nation" - Michael PeabodyHistory tells us that it would not be a debate between Christians and atheists. If Christianity won predominance over every other religious system in the nation, it would be a debate between Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists, Pentacostals, and any other denomination you could name. Then it would be between the liberals and conservatives, and ultimately between conservatives or between liberals, the powerful - not the faithful - would control.
- Why Communities Must Support Public Education - Danielle PeabodyBy Danielle Peabody - "If society expects to reap the benefits of educational improvements, society needs to be willing to step in and contribute its time, talent, and support to making education work. It is not something that schools alone can be expected to achieve – parents, neighbors, taxpayers, and future employers have the opportunity to take an active involvement at the local level through their volunteer efforts and supportive work. This is not so much an issue of money as it is a dedication to make sure that society will benefit from education and that education will benefit from society."
- Why Do Gingrich and Obama Agree on the Supreme Court? - Michael Peabody
- Why Do They Hate Us? - Monte SahlinHate and terrorism ends when I decide to quit hating those with whom I disagree on the most profound topics, the most cherished truths.
- Why Using "Landmark Status" to Block the NY Mosque is a Threat to Religious Land Use Rights - Michael Peabody
- Wisconsin: Freedom from Religion Foundation Asks State to Halt Assembly Prayers - Michael Peabody
- Worker wins $6.5 million in reverse religious discrimination suit - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Workplace Discrimination Claims On the Rise (BeliefNet - RNS) - ReligiousLiberty.TVThe proposed Workplace Religious Freedom Act would provide greater protections but has languished in Congress for more than a decade, despite broad bipartisan support and support from an unusually diverse range of religious groups.
- Workplace Religious Accommodation: Man Refuses to Drive 'No God' Bus (BBC) - ReligiousLiberty.TVA Christian bus driver has refused to drive a bus with an atheist slogan proclaiming "There's probably no God".
- Workplace Religious Freedom Bill Finds Revived Interest (Religion News Service) - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- World Trends in Religious Freedom - Hudson Institute - ReligiousLiberty.TV
- Youth Ministry and the Church - Administrator
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