On July 1, 2009, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law. Introduced in February, House Bill 1598 requires Tennessee courts to apply the “compelling state interest” test to cases in which a law substantially burdens one’s right of free exercise of religion. The state now has the burden of…
Category: Civil Rights
Governor signs Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act
Northwest Religious Liberty Association Press Release – July 21, 2009 The Stage Was Set On a sweltering Friday summer evening, and just two minutes prior to going on stage before approximately 2,000 Seventh-day Adventist Christians at the Gladstone, Oregon Campmeeting, the Honorable Representative Dave Hunt (D), Speaker of the House of Representatives for the Oregon Legislature,…
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signs the Workplace Religious Freedom Act
Breaking News: We have received word that Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski has signed the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act (SB 786). SB 786 requires employers to make credible attempts to accommodate religious holy day observance and religious dress. Prior to SB 786, employers in Oregon could make only the bare minimum effort to meet accommodation…
Law Professor Alan Brownstein on California marriage debate (Liberty Magazine)
Religious liberty and equality is predicated on the right to be different. Its underlying principle is that we do not have to accept the truth or value of someone else’s religious beliefs in order to agree that those beliefs and practices deserve protection against discriminatory treatment.
Canada: Fundraisers planned for Alberta pastor punished for expressing beliefs
You may recall that Pastor Stephen Boissoin got himself in hot water with the Alberta Human Rights Commission when he wrote a letter to the editor of the Red Deer Advocate that was critical of the “homosexual agenda.” The community newspaper published the letter and the pastor was promptly sued. Limits on free speech can…
Obama makes plans to remove ‘conscience clause’ for health-care workers
The Catholic Culture blog has posted a link to a set of articles about Obama’s plans to rescind the “conscience clause” that protects health-care personnel from pressure to participate in procedures they regard as immoral, such as abortion.
VIDEO: California Supreme Court Oral Arguments on Prop 8
Watch the March 5, 2009 proceedings and read the briefs on both sides of this contentious issue.
Embracing Exclusivity: How civic religion at inauguration abridges religious freedom
By Michael Newdow – EXCERPT: “Two months ago, when the American people chose Barack Obama to serve in the highest office in the land, it seemed that Homer Plessy’s dream had finally been realized. America, we thought then, truly stands for the justice and equality guaranteed in its Constitution. Yet, in a few days, as our new president steps up to the inaugural podium, the reality will be that government-sanctioned favoritism – now for religion, instead of race – will continue.”
Workplace Religious Accommodation: Man Refuses to Drive ‘No God’ Bus (BBC)
A Christian bus driver has refused to drive a bus with an atheist slogan proclaiming “There’s probably no God”.
U.S. Muslims worry about new federal rules (MSNBC)
The revised guidelines going into effect Monday will allow agents to use undercover sources to gather information, interview people without identifying themselves and spy on suspects without evidence of wrongdoing.
Critics say the rules will allow for abuses, including more racial and religious profiling.