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…
Tag: Religion
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…
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…
Announcing and Enacting Peace in an Age of Empire
By Ryan Bell Introduction/Story Who are the children of God? Who will inherit the kingdom of God? These are the questions that are heavy on the minds of the Jewish people at the time Jesus begins his public ministry. There was a great debate between the various parties of the Jewish people about how…
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…
VIDEO: Barack Obama on Religious Pluralism – The Speech that sparked the Debate
Last week’s dispute between James Dobson and Barack Obama centered on this speech given on June 28, 2006. We posted the text previously.
OPINION: Patrick J. Buchanan: The Wars of Religion Return (HumanEvents.com)
Conservative commentator Patrick Buchanan, in a column published by Human Events, explores the conflict between those who want to achieve “social peace” between people regardless of their beliefs and the “duty” to “make God’s Law man’s law.” The full article is online at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27282&s=rcmp Last week’s clash between Dr. James Dobson and Barack Obama is…
VIDEO: Michael Newdow in Panel at Boston College on Religious Freedom and the Pledge of Allegiance
This is particularly relevant this election year. From http://frontrow.bc.edu/program/newdow/ October 18, 2006 – Boston College – Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life Every day millions of schoolchildren pledge allegiance to the American flag and “the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Michael Newdow…
Historical Profile: John Wycliffe – Morning Star of the Reformation (Excerpt from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs)
One of my favorite reformers has to be John Wycliffe, who translated the language of the Latin Vulgate into language that everybody could understand. This weekend, as part of our weekend inspirational series, we are pleased to present this excerpt from the classic, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, not because of any connection with a particular…
VIDEO: Increasing American Religious Comity (Pew Forum by way of Spectrum Magazine)
Thanks to Alexander Carpenter for finding this great video. Click here to watch and review the analysis: http://spectrummagazine.org/blog/2008/06/25/pew_video_increasing_american_religious_comity Although a majority of Americans say religion is very important to them, nearly three-quarters of them say they believe that many faiths besides their own can lead to salvation, according to a survey by the Pew Forum…