SCOTUS Allows Enforcement of Birth-Sex Passport Policy While Case Continues
The Supreme Court on November 6, 2025, granted a stay allowing the Biden administration’s successor to enforce a revised State Department policy requiring all newly issued U.S. passports to display a person’s sex assigned at birth, not their self-identified gender. This decision reverses a lower court’s injunction that had blocked the rule’s implementation nationwide. The […]
Read MoreThe Great Project 2025 “Sabbath Overtime” Panic: Faith, Fairness, and the Reality
The uproar over Project 2025’s “Sabbath overtime” reads like a scene straight out of America’s current political fever dream. Online pundits warn of creeping theocracy. TikTok prophets insist the blue laws are coming back. Cable commentators toss around words like “control” and “Christian nationalism” until they lose meaning. Take a deep breath. The truth, like […]
Read MoreChurch or Wedding Venue? Group Says Township Broke Federal Law by Curbing Wedding Ceremonies
Dimondale church fights occupancy limits after wedding fines, citing federal protections Property marketed as “The Tarrington” for ceremonies while congregation seeks full worship rights under the First Amendment and RLUIPA Seats filled for three September weddings at a longtime church site in Dimondale. Days later, Windsor Township posted nine citations totaling 4,500 dollars, according to […]
Read MoreThe Final Word Belongs to God
All Saints’ Day, the Capuchin Crypt, and the Promise That Death Cannot Break Capuchin Crypt. Photos by the author. June 2025 There is a church in Rome that does not hide from death. It doesn’t cover it with flowers or soften it with marble. It meets death face to face, and dares to speak of […]
Read MoreTexas Appeals Court Blocks Methodist Conference’s Lawsuit Over Disaffiliating Churches
Court says judicial review of church governance violates First Amendment protections A Texas appeals court has ruled that the United Methodist Rio Texas Conference cannot sue dozens of churches that disaffiliated from the denomination without completing formal procedures, saying the case raises questions of church governance that secular courts have no authority to decide. The […]
Read MoreSupreme Court to Hear Mississippi Street Preacher Case Testing Limits of Heck
I. The Scene in Brandon In 2018, Brandon, Mississippi—a growing suburb east of Jackson—opened its gleaming new amphitheater, complete with food vendors, traffic cones, and country music stars on tour. Not long after, Gabriel Olivier, a Christian evangelist, saw the crowds as a mission opportunity. He and several others arrived before concerts to preach, carrying […]
Read MoreWhy We Sometimes Cannot Report Certain International Stories
Many readers have written to ask why we do not report more on persecution and suffering overseas. You see reports, photos, and messages online. You send them to us asking, “Why aren’t you covering this?” We understand that question. We feel the same burden. There are people right now enduring violence, hunger, and imprisonment because […]
Read MoreProperty and Faith: Why Socialism Endangers Both Ownership and Belief
The right to own and the right to worship have long stood together, and both weaken when the state controls property. When Roger Williams fled persecution in the 1600s, he sought not only liberty of conscience but also land beyond the reach of state power. By founding Providence on principles of private ownership and voluntary […]
Read MoreWashington Permanently Blocked from Enforcing Clergy Confession Law After Federal Court Agreement
Judge affirms First Amendment protections for Catholic confessions in stipulated injunction resolving months-long litigation A federal court in Tacoma will permanently bar the State of Washington from enforcing a 2025 amendment to its mandatory reporting law that would have required Catholic priests to report information learned in the Sacrament of Confession. The injunction, issued on […]
Read MoreCourt Denies Lance Shockley’s Bid to Have Daughters Serve as Spiritual Advisors During Execution
Judge rules Missouri’s refusal to admit family members into execution chamber does not substantially burden inmate’s religious rights under RLUIPA or the First Amendment In the final days before his scheduled execution, Lance Shockley asked a federal court to allow his two daughters, both ordained ministers, to accompany him into the execution chamber and administer […]
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