Within the next week, it is expected that the President will nominate Kennedy’s replacement. The following is a brief inventory of Justice Kennedy’s positions on some key religion clause issues from his appointment in 1988 until his retirement in 2018.
Category: Legal Issues
The Romans 13 Crisis- A pastor looks at the authoritarian use of Scripture
To be fair, perhaps Jeff Sessions did not mean to act against years of religious liberty and separation of church and state. Perhaps, they felt cornered, or even pressed by the media, or as Christians serving in higher office to defend their own faith because of what people were saying about their current immigration policy[20], but as gracious as I can be about the motivations of their actions, I cannot excuse the great danger in which they have placed all of America.
Who really won the wedding cake case?
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court surprised a lot of us and issued a ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case that not only avoided making a real decision, but avoided it with great style.
Florist asks Supreme Court for remand in wake of cake decision
Attorneys for a Washington florist who refused to make a flower arrangement a same-sex wedding filed a supplemental brief in the wake of Monday’s Masterpiece Cakeshop decision which left the question of balance between free exercise of religion and non-discrimination statutes unanswered.
Breaking: Court issues 7-2 decision in cake case finding bias in tribunal decision
The Supreme Court issued a 7-2 ruling this morning in favor of the baker in tbe same-sex wedding cake case. The Court’s ruling is narrow but essentially says that the arguments of both sides needed to be treated with respect and neutrality and that the Colorado commission had failed treat Phillips’ beliefs with respect. This…
Parties gearing up for 7th Circuit challenge to clergy housing tax exemption
The 7th Circuit will decide whether a tax rule that allows only members of the clergy to deduct housing costs including rent, mortgage, furnishing, utilities, maintenance, and other associated costs is constitutional.
Weaponized Intercession: The Dangers of Using Prayer to Win at Politics
All this fight over prayer should give Christians pause for thought. Have we misused prayer in our zeal to bring America back to God? Whether intended or not, many have viewed the forceful efforts of Christians to preserve public prayer as motivated by the desire to exploit it for purposes of proselytizing, promoting Christianity, or disparaging other religions.
Moves by both sides make citizen journalism an endangered species
Regulation of online speech is marching forward from both the left and the right, and it may only be a matter of time until free expression on the Internet becomes a thing of the past.
Trump administration forms office to protect doctors’ religious beliefs
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has announced the creation of a Conscience and Religious Freedom Division in their Office for Civil Rights. The division aims to address concerns over sensitive subjects such as birth control, abortions, and treatment of the LGBTQ community. In addition to providing a center for complaints regarding religious discrimination, the division is pushing for the approval of a motion that seeks to protect medical personnel who refuse to perform treatments that violate their personal beliefs. The move has caused concern from human rights groups, who believe this office could be used to discriminate.
Supreme Court hears public sector union compulsory speech case
Today the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case involving whether it constitutional to require government employees who do not join their respective unions to still pay fees to the unions for the cost of negotiating and administering their employment contracts.