On Friday, March 22, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (D) vetoed a religious freedom Bill (HB 279) claiming that the bill would “cause serious unintentional consequences that could threaten public safety, health care, and individuals’ civil rights.” The legislature is expected to override the veto.
Residents of a Christian community in eastern Pakistan, among them Seventh-day Adventists, are reeling after a mob torched their homes and businesses in response to alleged insults against Muhammad.
New Hungarian legislation will limit religious freedom by giving parliament the sole right to decide which religious organizations are considered ‘churches’ for the purpose of domestic legislation. (Human Rights Watch)
The Human Rights Council, an organization of people who reject religion, has issued a report that indicates atheists face severe discrimination and persecution because of their beliefs in many nations around the world.
[fblike style=”standard” showfaces=”true” verb=”like” font=”arial”] By John Todd, D.D. [dc]N[/dc]othing but an imperative sense of duty could induce me to pen what I am about to write. Letters from different sections of the country, and from physicians too, are so urgent that I should write on this subject, that I may choose. I have no…
[fblike style=”standard” showfaces=”true” verb=”like” font=”arial”] La Sierra University has responded to concerns regarding its naming of the Edward C. Allred Center of Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship that have circulated in recent days with the following press release. Websites covering the story include Christianity Today, WorldNetDaily, The Christian Post, Advindicate, Life Site News, California Catholic Daily,…
[dc]I[/dc]ncoming U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry called for the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini, American citizen who was sentenced last week to eight years in an Iranian prison on charges of threatening Iran’s national security because of his Christian activities in Iran. During the Senate Confirmation hearings yesterday, Kerry said that working for Abedini’s…
Some people believe that their religion obligates them to not only control themselves, but to control others as well. I believe that it is possible to make religious freedom as expansive as possible, and truly allow people to follow the dictates of their hearts as God (or whatever they believe in) leads them. Not only do I think that this is the solution that works best for our democracy, but I also happen to think that this is the solution that gets us closer to what God wants as well.
The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled two days of oral arguments on two separate but related cases beginning on March 26, 2013. The Court will be hearing arguments on California’s Proposition 8 which amended the state constitution to disallow same-sex marriage is constitutional and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
The Act, written by Thomas Jefferson, allowed Virginia to become the first state to separate church and state and remains part of Virginia’s constitution. It was later used as a model for other state constitutions as well as the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.