An eight-year conflict has left a Pennsylvania family struggling to practice their faith against a sewage ordinance in Sugar Grove Township, Pennsylvania. Joseph and Barbara Yoder, an Old Order Amish family, have been ordered by local courts to install an electric pump in their outhouse, an action that directly contradicts their religious beliefs.
Last summer, Hurricane Harvey created a wake of destruction across southeast Texas, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) stepped in to provide disaster-relief grants to some organizations. Under FEMA’s policy at the time, churches could receive funding to repair only those portions of their facilities where less than 50 percent of the space was used for religious purposes. As a result, schools or church-run hospitals and community centers could receive aid, but not church sanctuaries.
A brief outline of America’s top religious liberty issues in 2017.
Early Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate passed its version of a major tax bill. Although there are a number of indirect ramifications for religious institutions, the Senate bill keeps the Johnson Amendment intact.Â
Next Tuesday, December 5, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a difficult case that pits the free exercise of religion and free speech rights of a wedding cake maker against the anti-discrimination rights of a same-sex couple. The couple demands the cake; the baker refuses because he thinks he will be sinning. The question is – can the state of Colorado make him bake the cake?
Approximately 500 years ago, Martin Luther sparked a “Reformation” within the Roman Catholic Church that shook Europe. Slumbering minds awoke. Controversy erupted. An unstoppable movement was born. The Pope trembled. When the dust […]
“This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, […]
When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the doors of the Wittenberg church, it began a radical transformation of western thought and culture. But it wasn’t until the Bible was printed in […]
By Shawn D’Abreu – Some suggestions for your life as an activist.
Los Angeles, California – On September 19, 2017, the board of directors of Founders First Freedom, a non-profit organization that promotes religious liberty, voted to merge with ReligiousLiberty.TV, a website […]