In the past few months there has been a renewed debate about the principles surrounding the first amendment, and especially about what scholars call the religion clauses – “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Prior to the midterm elections in November, Christine O’Donnell asserted that…
Category: Current Events
Religious Liberty 2010 – A Year in Review
By Jason Hines – 2010 has been an interesting year in the area of church-state relations, both at home and abroad. While we cannot cover every event of magnitude that took place this year in this forum, we will touch on some of the more important events have taken place over the last 365 days….
Greg Hamilton’s Book Shelf – 2011
Greg Hamilton, President of the Northwest Religious Liberty Association and advisory panel member of ReligiousLiberty.TV presents his book list for 2010-2011. Amazon.com Widgets 1) Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 by Pauline Maier 2) Decision Points by George W. Bush 3) The Second Disestablishment: Church and State in Nineteenth-Century America by Steve Green 4)…
Secrecy v. Transparency – Wikileaks and the Gospel
The keywords for today are “Secrecy” and “Transparency.” There are good secrets and bad secrets. Things to be concealed and things to be revealed. Some people want to know, others want to hide. Secrecy is an valuable commodity. From universities that want to protect professors’ academic freedom by keeping their controversial viewpoints from public criticism…
Respecting the Religion of Your Brother
By Rajmund (Ray) Dabrowski – Authentic religion calls for a respect, sensitivity and acceptance of another’s beliefs and practices. Do unto others ? the saying goes. It really did not matter which one of the muezzins woke me up. The melodic reciting of a call to prayer from one of the minarets at 4:45 in…
In Peru, ‘historic’ religious liberty legislation passes (ANN)
Law recognizes religious pluralism; all faiths to enjoy same ‘rights, obligations and benefits’ 7 Dec 2010, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States Adventist News Network Staff Members of Peru’s congress voted last week to approve legislation guaranteeing the religious liberty of all citizens, a freedom already recognized by the South American country’s constitution. The act comes…
What Wall? (Alison Agins)
A guest editorial by Alison Agins. It was originally published on her blog “Progressive Christian on the Wall” at http://aliagins.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/what-wall/ Our Founders in the late 1700′s were very familiar with what happens when the church runs the state. They were not ignorant of the Puritans fleeing to the new country to practice their brand of…
Residents, Church Vie For History-Rich Russian Isles (NPR)
Russia’s Solovetsky Islands, less than 100 miles from the Arctic Circle, have become a popular tourist destination. Originally an outpost of the Orthodox Church, they later became home to a brutal prison. Now, islanders and church officials are battling for control.
Karen Scott to Present Eight Week Seminar on Religious Freedom in Walla Walla, Washington
Karen Scott is a member of the ReligiousLiberty.TV Advisory Panel. Freedom FROM Religion or Freedom FOR Religion? A Seminar Covering Eight Sundays at Pioneer United Methodist Church Time: 9 AM Sundays Room 102 Dates: October 17, 24, 31, November 7, 14, 21, 28, and December 5, 2010 209 E Birch St Walla Walla, WA 99362…
The case against legalizing marijuana in California (Philadelphia Inquirer)
EXCERPT: Prop 19 pushers argue that by taxing and regulating marijuana, the state will reap a tax windfall. But the act would let every landowner grow enough marijuana to produce 24,000 to 240,000 joints a year for “personal consumption.” Who would pay the $50-per-ounce tax on marijuana (a 100 percent tax) when he could grow…