Faith & Culture News
News and commentary on faith, religious freedom, family values, marriage, parenting, and the cultural trends shaping American life.
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opinion
2 Democrats Are Trying to Trample a Faith-Based Foster Care Provider’s Religious Freedom
We celebrated Jan. 16 as National Religious Freedom Day, an annual reminder of why religious freedom is so important to our country. This fundamental right means that everyone is free to pursue the truth without the threat of government coercion, and everyone is free to live by his or her conscience. This freedom precedes any law… -
news
Ukraine’s Leap of Faith Is a Step Toward Ditching Russian Influence
KYIV, Ukraine—Orthodox Christians celebrated Christmas on Jan. 7, according to the Julian calendar. This year’s holiday was the first for Ukraine’s newly unified, national Orthodox Church, independent from Russian control for the first time since the 17th century. Monday’s milestone marked a major step forward in Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to diminish Russian influence, highlighting an… -
opinion
New York’s War on Faith-Based Adoption Providers Is Only Hurting Children
State officials have issued New Hope Family Services in Syracuse, New York, an ultimatum: Violate your religious beliefs, or stop serving kids in need. Unless the faith-based adoption provider stops placing children only in homes that have a married mother and father, the state has threatened to stop its adoption services immediately. New Hope has… -
opinion
What Faith-Based Efforts Can Do to Help Prevent Veteran Suicide
I don’t often quote sources from The New York Times, but in mid-November, David Brooks wrote a piece called “Fighting the Spiritual Void.” He stated without equivocation that “[t]rauma is a moral and spiritual issue as much as a psychological or chemical one.” He could not be more correct. The Heritage Foundation convened a panel… -
opinion
Liberals Aren’t Losing Faith in Our Constitutional System. They Just Don’t Like Its Results.
In liberals’ imaginations, there are only four ways to lose elections—and none has to do with their leftist turn, their hysterics, or their one-dimensional identity politics. Democrats say they lose because of gerrymandering, voter suppression (sometimes known as asking for ID), Russian mind-control rays deployed by social media, and our antiquated and unfair Constitution. That… -
opinion
The Left’s Response to the Mass Shooting of Jews Was an Act of Bad Faith
After the horrific massacre of 11 Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue, many of the same liberals who had recently fought to prop up Iran, the world’s most powerful Jew-hating terror state, lectured us on the importance of combating anti-Semitism. The same Voxers who had long rationalized, romanticized, and excused the Jew-killing terror organization… -
news
Atlanta Paying Fire Chief It Fired Over His Christian Faith $1.2M Settlement
The city of Atlanta said Monday it will pay $1.2 million to a former fire chief following a federal court ruling in December that found some city policies that led to his firing are unconstitutional violations of First Amendment freedoms. Kelvin Cochran, a former fire chief who was fired in 2015, said he was dismissed from his… -
news
‘This Innocent Man of Faith Will Soon Be Home!’: Turkey Releases Jailed Pastor
An American pastor who was held for two years in Turkey for alleged terror and treason charges was released Friday. “Pastor Andrew Brunson is coming home! Thanks to the strong leadership of [President Donald] Trump and the steadfast prayers of millions of Americans, this innocent man of faith will soon be home!” tweeted Vice President… -
opinion
How Faith-Based Organizations Are Helping Communities Recover After Hurricane Florence
Lorraine Jenkins returned to her home of 34 years to find it flooded with 18 inches of water. Thankfully, volunteers from Samaritan’s Purse were nearby and ready to help. While speaking with the president of the organization, Franklin Graham, Jenkins shared her story and mentioned that she “had faith but needed a little more strength.”… -
news
Ben Carson Takes Jab at Andrew Cuomo in Discussing Faith, Poverty, and Opportunity
Up-from-poverty stories such as his own are a rebuke to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s statement that America “was never that great,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson told an audience of social conservatives. “There are so many people who have forgotten … who don’t cherish the America that we live in,” Carson said… -
opinion
The Daily Signal Podcast: A Faith-Based Alternative to Obamacare
Obamacare’s heavy requirements have hit businesses hard. They’ve also burdened the consciences of religious Americans who cannot in good faith pay for certain drugs and products. It’s no surprise, then, that thousands of Americans are turning to an alternative to mainstream insurance called Liberty HealthShare. We sit down with the founder and chairman of the… -
opinion
I Was Adopted Through a Faith-Based Adoption Provider. LGBT Groups Want Them Shut Down.
When it comes to adoption, I’m incredibly biased. Although I was conceived in rape, my birthmom chose to be stronger than her circumstances. She rejected the further violence of abortion, and gave me life and the gift of adoption. I grew up in a family of 15; nine of my 12 other siblings were also adopted. We were all… -
opinion
A Faith-Based Adoption Agency Helped Me in Crisis. Now, These Agencies Are Under Attack.
The minutes on the hospital clock dwindled as I swaddled my infant daughter one last time before she was placed in the arms of her adoptive parents. In those final moments, I thought my heart might shatter. I was broken. Then I felt a hand placed on top of mine and looked into the face… -
opinion
States Must Stop the War on Faith-Based Adoption Agencies
Yet another adoption agency is closing its doors, at a time when thousands of young victims of the opioid crisis flood America’s foster care system. This time, it’s Catholic Charities of Buffalo, New York. The agency can no longer cooperate with the government there because the state will not allow Catholic Charities to operate consistently… -
opinion
Sessions: ‘This Department of Justice Is Going to Court Across America to Defend the Rights of People of Faith’
On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered a speech on religious liberty. Here are his remarks, as prepared for delivery, about the new task force on religious liberty, the Justice Department fighting for the rights of religious Americans, and what the Trump administration has done to promote religious freedom. Let us be frank. A dangerous… -
opinion
Podcast: Growing Threats to Faith-Based Adoption Providers
Eric Teetsel, president of the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, joins us to discuss the LGBT crusade against faith-based adoption agencies across the nation. Plus: We discuss the heated reception an Atlantic article on children and transgenderism received. -
opinion
How Faith Communities Can Push Back the Darkness of Suicide
Some recent celebrity suicides have sparked much discussion about depression and mental illness. There was, however, little talk of spiritual health. That’s unfortunate. Even as the suicide rate rises, a growing body of research testifies to a positive relationship between faith and mental health. The help so many need may be as close as the… -
news
Ben Carson Discusses Role of Faith in His Career as Neurosurgeon
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson addressed the annual Road to Majority conference Friday, emphasizing the importance of faith in people’s lives and his own. The neurosurgeon-turned-politician told the assembled crowd at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s conference that during his time as a neurosurgeon, he used to think he alone was accomplishing… -
news
Ted Cruz Touts Conservative Victories at Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference
Lab rats, lawyers, conservative legislative victories, and Jimmy Kimmel were all part of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s remarks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference Thursday in Washington, D.C. The Republican senator told the crowd at the annual Road to Majority conference many conservative victories that had been obtained since the election of Republican majorities… -
news
Adoption Forum Calls for Faith Communities to ‘Do More’ for Foster Children, Families
Religious leaders, scholars, and government officials are challenging the nation’s Christian communities to “do more” for foster care families and children. A series of panel discussions hosted by the National Review Institute late last month focused on the role of communities of faith in helping children in the adoption and foster care system. The issue…