Religious News
The Daily Signal reports on faith and religion in America, covering Christian, Jewish, and other faith communities, with analysis and commentary on cultural trends, religious liberty, and moral issues that influence public life.
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- News
‘Have You Apologized?’ Congressman Grills DOJ Official About Targeting of Catholic Father Mark Houck
Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy grilled the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice on Tuesday over the DOJ’s targeting of pro-life activists like Catholic father Mark Houck. Kristen Clarke, who oversees investigations into violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, came before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Transgender Activist Threatened to Target Christian Girls in Bathrooms and Rape Them to Death
“Transgender” people pose no threat to girls in girls’ restrooms, they say. Gender ideology is not a threat to Christianity, they say. The rhetoric of “trans genocide” does not inspire hatred or violence, they say. One grand jury indictment debunks that entire narrative, however, and news about it appears to have gone under the radar….Tyler O’Neil -
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‘Are You Going to Fire These People or Not?’ Hawley Demands Answers on FBI Catholic Memo
FBI Director Chris Wray admitted to Sen. Josh Hawley that he has not fired anyone at the FBI’s Richmond office over the memo urging the FBI to investigate “radical traditional Catholics.” “You haven’t fired anybody,” Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said to Wray in a Senate hearing Tuesday. He pressed Wray on the FBI Richmond office’s…Tyler O’Neil -
- Opinion
Nicaraguan Regime Continues to Imprison Catholic Bishop
Nicaragua has been in a state of turmoil since 2018. The leadership and actions of President Daniel Ortega’s regime have created an eruption of violence, civil unrest, and mass protests against the government. Defenders of human rights across the globe have strongly condemned the repressive actions of the regime. Amid this human rights crisis, the…Kristina Hjelkrem -
- Opinion
Why Are Federally Funded University Centers Pushing Antisemitism?
The federal Department of Education spends $75 million annually on foreign language and culture educational programs in the United States, but much of that funds academic centers that side with America’s antagonists and enemies. Just look at funding to study the Middle East. Beginning Oct. 20, university Middle Eastern studies centers have co-organized a weekly…Adam Kissel -
- Opinion
After 30 Years of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Law—and Our Liberty—Are Under Attack
Thirty years ago today, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA, to protect what he called “the most precious of all American liberties.” Presidents of both parties have declared religious freedom to be one of our most fundamental freedoms, a “critical foundation of our nation’s liberty,” and “a fundamental…Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
The Antisemitism of the University Double Standard
A central feature of antisemitism is the application of a double standard by treating Jews differently from how other groups would be treated in similar circumstances. By this definition, antisemitism is a common practice at universities. My recent experience at the University of Arkansas helps illustrate the problem. When Donald Trump was elected president in…Jay Greene -
- Opinion
The Ideas Behind the Surge of Antisemitism on America’s Campuses
On the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Eric Schmitt delivered a speech about the recent wave of antisemitism from college students, and the ideologies driving it. Watch the speech, above, or read his remarks, lightly edited: I rise to bring attention to a problem that’s plaguing our great country. Americans and the rest of the world…Eric Schmitt -
- Opinion
Reporting of Antisemitism, Anti-Israel Bias Gets Short Shrift From Media
On the morning of Oct. 21, a 40-year-old synagogue president in Detroit named Samantha Woll was found stabbed to death outside her home. It appeared she had been attacked inside, and stumbled outside before being discovered the next morning. In the wake of the horrific Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, it was inevitable…Steve Krakauer -
- News
‘End the Occupation!’ Chants Derail House Hearing on Antisemitism
Anti-Israel protesters briefly derailed a House Judiciary Committee hearing on free speech and antisemitism on college campuses Wednesday morning. Right after committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, swore in the witnesses, a protester shot up, holding a sign reading “Pro-Palestine [doesn’t equal] antisemitism.” The protester shouted something about “genocide,” adding, “Over 10,000 people have been…Tyler O’Neil -
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Christian Wedding Photographer Who Refused to Celebrate Same-Sex Marriage Wins Settlement
Virginia state officials agreed to settle a lawsuit with a Christian wedding photographer after he refused to use his business to celebrate same-sex marriage, according to a press release. Bob Updegrove filed a lawsuit against then-Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring in September 2020 after a state law required him to affirm same-sex marriage in his photography business,…Kate Anderson -
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The ‘Christian Duty’ to Call Out Antisemitism
Roman Catholics and all Christians must push back against antisemitism, especially now because of the rising violence and threats around the world directed against Jewish people, declared Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts. “This ultimately is the plea: to lean into our institutions in which there is truth and beauty and goodness and to use those…Lucy Gilbert -
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5 Takeaways as Senate Grills FBI, DHS Chiefs on Terrorism, Antisemitism, Border, Big Tech
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray at times painted a scary picture during their Halloween testimony on Capitol Hill. The two Biden administration officials fielded questions Tuesday from members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Wray warned about possible terrorist attacks on U.S. soil by Hamas or other…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Department of Ed Bending Rules to Try to Bring Down One of America’s Largest Christian Universities
It is rare to see a university publicly complain about regulatory harassment, but Grand Canyon University has good reasons to do so. One of the largest universities in the country, GCU has 25,800 students in person and 92,000 online. It’s a Christian university, but in the eyes of intolerant federal regulators, its brief period as…Adam Kissel -
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Biden Admin Takes Steps to Combat Antisemitism on College Campuses
President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled a new plan Monday to combat the “alarming” rise in antisemitic rhetoric and violence on college campuses since the brutal Hamas attacks on Israel. Across the nation, pro-Palestinian students (often affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine groups) have held protests that support the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel and call for the…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Leftists Try, and Fail, to Smear Speaker Johnson as ‘Christian Nationalist’
Democrats are trying to make Halloween extra spooky this year by exhuming the boogieman of Christian nationalism. The news hook is the election of a conservative Christian as speaker of the House. Rep. Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, won the election last week. In the left-wing media’s lexicon, Christian nationalism doesn’t refer to the handful…Gillian Richards -
- Opinion
On 25th Anniversary, Religious Freedom More Important Than Ever
As the Biden administration pleads with Hamas to release more than 220 hostages, including 10 Americans, and Israel readies for a ground invasion of Gaza, a bipartisan group of more than a dozen current and former members of Congress spent Monday underscoring the continued need to promote religious freedom at home and abroad as a…Susan Crabtree -
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Religious Liberty Succeeds Because It Taps Into America’s ‘Live and Let Live’ Instincts
There is still hope religious liberty will prevail in America even though many wish to tear it down, including some in government, according to the president of the religious freedom law firm the Becket Fund. Many religious liberty cases succeed because they tap into the “live and let live instinct” of Americans, Mark Rienzi told…Lucy Gilbert -
- Opinion
Does White House Have Antisemitism-Phobia?
There are times when the Biden administration expresses categorical, unequivocal support for Israel’s war of survival against the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas. “Enough is enough should have been the case with Hamas two weeks ago,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday. “It would be good to hear the entire world speaking clearly and with one…Joshua Arnold -
- Opinion
How God Used ‘Average Joe’ to Defend Religious Freedom: Coach Kennedy Explains in New Book
“Average” is not the adjective that comes to mind when talking about an American who took a religious freedom case all the way to the Supreme Court, but football coach Joe Kennedy says he identified with the word. “I’ve always looked at myself actually [as] below average,” Kennedy says. “I really had no idea that…Virginia Allen