By Jason Hines – n Illinois appellate court rendered an interesting decision last week.[1] The court upheld a lower court ruling that Illinois pharmacists do not have to sell “Plan B” pills to customers if they have religious objections to the use of the product. “Plan B” is the brand name of a drug that…
Month: September 2012
Vatican Walks A Fine Line On Trying To Combat Blasphemy In UN (RNS Excerpt)
EXCERPT: In recent years, the Vatican has gone to court to fight images that it considered “offensive” toward Pope Benedict XVI, such as an ad-campaign that portrayed the pontiff kissing a Muslim leader or, more recently, when a German satirical magazine published a photo-shopped image of the pope’s vestments stained with urine. Read the full article…
Celebrating California’s New Religious Freedom Law (Washington Post)
Rajdeep Singh writes in the Washington Post about AB1964, recently signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown. Excerpt: When my Sikh father immigrated to America in 1970 to practice architecture,employers told him that he could have a job only if he removed his turban and shaved his beard. He refused to abandon his faith…
Inside Interfaith Iran (Liberty Magazine)
Martin Surridge describes the status of religious liberty in Iran. EXCERPT: or the past few months the eyes of the believers around the world have been fixed on an Iranian death row “apostate” who has refused to recant his faith in Jesus Christ. Yousef Nadarkhani was first arrested in his hometown of Rasht, Iran, in…
A Document in Common: Leaders Reflect on the 225th Anniversary of the US Constitution
On September 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was signed by thirty-nine men who changed the course of history. This year as we celebrate the 225th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, we reflect on the impact this document has made on societies around the world. I would like to thank…
Definition of “Religious Liberty” Taking Center Stage This Election Cycle
he Diocese of Charlotte has posted two large banners near the site of the Democratic National Convention. One reads, “A message from the Catholic Church: Protect the Unborn, Defend Marriage, Safeguard Religious Liberty.” The other says, “A Message from the Catholic Church: Religious Liberty, The Soul of Democracy.” See CatholicCulture.org Whether these banners are promoting the…
Putin’s God Squad (The Daily Beast)
Excerpt: The church’s “Third Rome” legacy-reinforced by Soviet personality cults and a pervasive prison culture that celebrates strong leadership-underpins the concept of the ideal Russian leader as a divinely chosen autocrat. Thus Putin simply couldn’t afford a second-round runoff in the presidential elections. From a democratic point of view,a runoff-even if staged-would have helped confer…
BREAKING NEWS: Iran Pastor Nadarkhani Released from Prison
The American Center for Law and Justice announced this morning that Iranian Pastor Youcef Nardarkhani has been released after spending 1,062 days in prison for his Christian faith. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has reportedly been acquitted of apostacy (death penalty), and sentenced for time served for evangelizing Muslims. Pastor Nadarkhani is released from prison in Iran (ACLJ…
California Governor to sign workplace religious dress and grooming bill
California Governor Jerry Brown is expected to sign workplace religious accommodation legislation this weekend. AB 1964 will amend Section 12940 of the Government Code, which prevents employers from discrimination based on a person’s religious belief or observance. The existing code reads, “Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited…