About
The First Amendment, on the record.
ReligiousLiberty.TV has covered the free exercise and establishment of religion since June 2008: the cases, the statutes, and the arguments, reported by people who read the filings.
2008
Publishing independently since June 2008
501(c)(3)
A project of the nonprofit Founders’ First Freedom®
45
Words in the First Amendment. Our entire beat.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment I (1791)
I.
The Record
Who we are and how we got here
ReligiousLiberty.TV launched in June 2008 as an experiment in near real-time First Amendment journalism: could a small publication read the filings, follow the dockets, and explain religion-clause law faster and more plainly than the institutions covering it part time? Eighteen years of coverage later, the experiment continues.
Since 2017 the publication has operated under Founders’ First Freedom®, a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose roots reach back decades before the website existed. The organization exists to uphold the freedom to adopt, not adopt, or change a religious belief; the right to speak in the advocacy of ideas; and the separation of church and state and freedom of the press as the First Amendment defines them.
- 1981John and Cecil Hedrick set out to build an organization dedicated to educating the public about religious freedom.
- 1985The Council for Religious Freedom is formed, the direct ancestor of today’s nonprofit.
- 2005Founders’ First Freedom incorporates as a 501(c)(3) to carry the Hedrick family’s work forward.
- 2008ReligiousLiberty.TV publishes its first article and begins daily coverage of religion-clause law.
- 2017The publication joins Founders’ First Freedom, putting independent journalism on a nonprofit footing.
- 2024Founders’ First Freedom begins sponsoring the annual State of Religious Freedom Conference at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law.
II.
Questions Presented
What we cover
Free Exercise
Accommodation, RFRA, RLUIPA, and the long shadow of Employment Division v. Smith.
Establishment
Monuments, curricula, prayer, and public money, from the schoolhouse to the statehouse.
The Workplace
Title VII religious accommodation, from Sabbath schedules to conscience objections.
The Statehouse
Legislation and policy tracked while it is still a bill, before it becomes a case.
The World
Religious freedom beyond U.S. borders, from European courtrooms to persecuted minorities abroad.
The Church
Governance, accountability, and abstention doctrine, covered without fear or favor.
III.
Standard of Review
The principles our coverage answers to
- Independence. No denomination, party, or donor directs coverage. Views expressed are the author’s own.
- All faiths and none. Liberty of conscience covers the full spectrum of belief and non-belief, and so does our reporting.
- Primary sources. We read the filings, the statutes, and the opinions, and we link them so you can too.
- A fair hearing. We present the strongest version of the arguments on each side. We may not all agree on every issue; a climate of trust that supports meaningful dialogue is the point.
- Corrections. When we get something wrong, we fix it quickly and say so plainly.
IV.
The Parties
The people behind the publication
Michael D. Peabody, Esq.
Editor · President, Founders’ First Freedom®
Michael D. Peabody is an attorney based in Southern California who has spent his career at the intersection of law, faith, and the First Amendment. He has represented employees in religious accommodation cases under Title VII, testified before legislative bodies on workplace religious freedom, and provided legal analysis on landmark Supreme Court decisions involving the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses.
- Steve Allred, Esq.Attorney
- Rhonda BoltonNorthwest Religious Liberty Association
- Gregory W. HamiltonPresident, Northwest Religious Liberty Association
- Carolina Rose, Esq.Co-Founder, Legislative Research, Inc.
- Karen Scott, Esq.Trustee, Center for Liberty of Conscience
- Walter CarsonVice President, Founders’ First Freedom®
In Memoriam
We honor the advisory panel members who were instrumental in making ReligiousLiberty.TV a reality and who have passed to their rest: Dr. C. Norman Farley, Audray Johnson, Dr. Robert D. Moon, and Dr. Adrian Westney. Their contributions to the cause of religious liberty live on in this work.
This site features breaking news, observations, opinions, and commentary. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of advisory panel members or their employers.
Founders’ First Freedom® is a registered trademark of Founders’ First Freedom, Inc. All rights reserved.