Here is how some members of our Facebook community responded to the question, “What does religious freedom mean to you?” William Brooks: I once heard a pastor speak on religious liberty and its meaning, and since then, I have claim this meaning for myself.”Religious liberty means, I am free worship as I please, or to go fishing.” To…
Tennesee governor signs Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law
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…
Arthur Caplan – The Bioethics of Engineering Children
First religious liberty festival in Jerusalem draws hundreds (ANN)
Source: Adventist News Network Hundreds of religious liberty proponents from Israel and the Palestinian Territories gathered in Jerusalem Sunday for the symbolic city’s first festival of religious freedom. The event generated a “climate of good understanding” among attendees that organizers hope will spur increased tolerance in the region, said John Graz, secretary-general for the…
Baptists Mark 400th Anniversary, Celebrate Religious Freedom (BeliefNet)
EXCERPT: UTRECHT, Netherlands — (RNS/ENI) Four hundred years after the first Baptist congregation was established, followers have been challenged to continue championing religious liberty. “We as Baptists must continue to defend religious freedom for all peoples and all religions,” said Denton Lotz, the former general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, at a special service…
When work and religion collide
Because religious beliefs are protected and there is a more diverse workforce, religious accommodation issues have increased. This article was written by originally published in the July 19, 2009 Zanesville TimesRecorder and is reprinted here with the permission of the author. By Jim Evans This is not your father’s workplace. A snapshot of today’s workforce looks dramatically…
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,…
Justice Department Files Religious Discrimination Lawsuit Against Essex County, New Jersey (DOJ Release)
The Department filed a lawsuit today against Essex County, N.J., alleging that it discriminated against a Muslim corrections officer on the basis of her religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The suit alleges that the county refused to permit Yvette Beshier to wear a religiously mandated headscarf while working as a corrections officer.
SB 786: Workplace Religious Freedom Act
Speaker Dave Hunt delivers a floor speech on the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act.
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…