Thanks to the tireless efforts of many the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released new guidelines that make clearer recommendations regarding workplace religious discrimination and accommodation of religious practices. The full guidelines, available at http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/religion.html , are remarkable in that the EEOC has clarified definitions and provided clear examples of prohibited conduct that can…
Category: Legal Issues
OPINION: O’Connor’s 4th Circuit Ruling on City Council Prayer
On Wednesday, July 23, 2008, in Turner v. City Council of Fredericksburg, (4th Cir., July 23, 2008), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of appeals upheld the policy of Fredericksburg, Virginia’s city council requiring prayers which open its sessions to be non-denominational. In an opinion by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, sitting by designation on…
Proposal Would Deny Federal Money if Employees Must Provide Medical Care to Which They Object (WashingtonPost.com)
The Bush Administration has proposed new regulations which would deny federal money to medical facilities if they required employees to act against their religious conscience in providing certain health benefits. This raises a number of pertinent questions: Does this go too far, or is it just what religious employees need? Is the proposed regulation too…
Namibia: Divine Right and ‘Moron’ (namibian.com.na)
This is a fascinating article about the relationship between church and state in Namibia. http://www.namibian.com.na/2008/July/letters/08193A2750.html EXCERPTS: Churches were major driving forces in getting Namibia’s independence on the formal international agenda through resistive courage, a record that worldwide is, unfortunately, neither consistent nor unblemished; they do support the wrong side sometimes! But in Namibia’s case they…
Prof. Daniel Crane – “A Judeo-Christian Argument for Privatizing Marriage” (Cardozo Law Review)
In this law review article, Cardozo Law School professor Daniel Crane argues that marriage has traditionally been in the province of faith, not of the state, and that this should be taken into consideration when evaluating proposed marriage amendments. The full article is available in PDF format at http://www.cardozolawreview.com/PastIssues/CRANE.WEBSITE.pdf Here is a brief excerpt (citations…
John Stevens responds to Prof. Daniel Crane’s article on privatizing marriage
John V. Stevens, Sr., an experienced religious liberty advocate, responds to Professor Crane’s article “A Judeo-Christian Argument for Privatizing Marriage” from his perspective as a Seventh-day Adventist. He has provided his kind permission to reproduce it here. I hope that this can be a springboard for discussion on this important issue facing all Americans regardless…
VIDEO CLIP: Compulsion in religion and the freedom to disbelieve
Dr. Ravi Zacharias speaks out in support of religious freedom and against attempts to create theocracy. He also tells a couple of very interesting stories about religious freedom in other countries. It was recorded at a recent event at the Atlanta Civic Center and you might also recognize the event MC. Ravi Zacharias answers a…
J. Brent Walker – “Church and State in the USA: Promises and Challenges”
This thought-provoking address was given by J. Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty at the Congress on Religious Liberty in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 28, 2008. It was originally posted on the BJC website (bjcpa.org) and is reposted here in its entirety with permission. Good morning! I appreciate the kind…
Obama Sets Off a Debate on Ties Between Religion and Government (NY Times)
Religion and the politics are experiencing an interesting mix this election season. Peter Steinfels, of the New York Times, explores this mix in the following article: From the New York Times By Peter Steinfels Published: July 5, 2008 On Tuesday, Senator Barack Obama did his best to reclaim for Democrats the idea of partnerships between…
Registrar wins same-sex tribunal (BBC)
From the BBC – A marriage registrar was harassed for refusing to conduct same-sex ceremonies, a tribunal has ruled. Lillian Ladele, who said the civil partnership ceremonies went against her Christian faith, hailed the decision as a “victory for religious liberty”. The tribunal ruled that Miss Ladele was discriminated against on grounds of religious beliefs…