Excerpt: The church’s “Third Rome” legacy-reinforced by Soviet personality cults and a pervasive prison culture that celebrates strong leadership-underpins the concept of the ideal Russian leader as a divinely chosen autocrat. Thus Putin simply couldn’t afford a second-round runoff in the presidential elections. From a democratic point of view,a runoff-even if staged-would have helped confer…
BREAKING NEWS: Iran Pastor Nadarkhani Released from Prison
The American Center for Law and Justice announced this morning that Iranian Pastor Youcef Nardarkhani has been released after spending 1,062 days in prison for his Christian faith. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has reportedly been acquitted of apostacy (death penalty), and sentenced for time served for evangelizing Muslims. Pastor Nadarkhani is released from prison in Iran (ACLJ…
California Governor to sign workplace religious dress and grooming bill
California Governor Jerry Brown is expected to sign workplace religious accommodation legislation this weekend. AB 1964 will amend Section 12940 of the Government Code, which prevents employers from discrimination based on a person’s religious belief or observance. The existing code reads, “Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited…
GOP Platform Includes War on Religion Claim (BJC)
The Republican Party platform adopted yesterday includes a section on religious liberty, repeating the claim that the Obama Administration has engaged in a “war on religion.” The problem is, it ignores the facts… read more here >>> http://bjcmobile.org/gop-platform-includes-war-on-religion-claim/
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on International Religious Freedom (Carnegie Endowment)
A transcript of the event is available at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace website.
Why Liberty of Conscience Is the Most Important Issue in 2012
By Stephen N. Allred – [dc]W[/dc]hen it comes to discussing political viewpoints with fellow church members silence is often eloquence. After all, haven’t we been wisely counseled to check our political viewpoints at the door when we come together as believers in Christ?[i] Besides, most of us have learned this from experience. I’ve been “un-friended”…
Kmiec: Is Paul Ryan Romney’s New Religion Problem? (Huffington Post)
Constitutional law scholar Douglas Kmiec shares his views on how the Paul Ryan pick will affect the Catholic vote in an article published today in the Huffington Post. Read the full article at the Huffington Post.
Judge Allows Muslims to Use Murfreesboro Mosque (NYTimes.com)
Excerpt: “What the judge did was wrong in that he held the mosque to a much higher standard than any other institution applying for a land-use permit in Rutherford County,” said Eric Rassbach, a lawyer with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit law firm that helped file the lawsuit on behalf of the…
Publisher Pulls David Barton’s Controversial Thomas Jefferson Book, Citing Loss Of Confidence. (NPR)
Citing a loss of confidence in the book’s details, Christian publisher Thomas Nelson is ending the publication and distribution of the bestseller, The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You’ve Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson. The controversial book was written by Texas evangelical David Barton, who NPR’s Barbara Bradley Hagerty profiled on All Things Considered Wednesday….
Hawaii Judge Upholds Same-Sex Marriage Ban (Honolulu Civil Beat)
Excerpt: A U.S. District Court judge in Honolulu has rejected arguments from two lesbians who said that Hawaii’s 1998 ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. According to court documents released Wednesday, Judge Alan Kay dismissed the lawsuit, Jackson v. Abercrombie, saying that a decision like this should be left to the Legislature – not the…