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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Bill Would Protect Pro-Life Nurses Like These 3 Women
Pro-life members of Congress have introduced legislation to protect health care providers from being compelled to provide abortions under threat of losing their jobs. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., held a press conference on the House Triangle outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to promote the Conscience Protection Act. The bill is designed to “end discrimination…Ian Snively -
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Senate Confirms Barrett as Judge; Democrats Decline Cruz Dare to Defend Religious Liberty
Every Democrat in the Senate has an opportunity to stand for religious liberty this week in a vote to confirm a nominee for a federal appeals court, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Monday. But only three Democrats crossed over Tuesday afternoon to vote to confirm Notre Dame law professor Amy Coney Barrett as a federal appeals…Casey Ryan -
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Black Leaders Discuss Religious Liberty, Difference Between Civil Rights Movement and LGBT Movement
Black leaders, including a former Atlanta fire chief who was fired for his personal beliefs and an Emmy Award-winning video producer, reject the assertion of liberal activists that support for the traditional definition of marriage is the equivalent of racism. “It never crossed my mind that in the United States of America … the same…Casey Ryan -
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Gay Coffee Shop Owner Kicks Out Pro-Life Customers
The gay owner of a coffee shop in Seattle kicked a group of Christians out of his coffee shop Sunday after declaring in obscene terms that he would like to sodomize Jesus Christ. The owner heatedly tells the Christians to leave his shop immediately in a video posted to Facebook by Abolish Human Abortion, a…Amber Randall -
- Opinion
Promise Kept: Trump Administration Protects Americans’ Religious Freedom
The Justice Department fulfilled President Donald Trump’s promise to provide clear guidance on the administration’s commitment to restore robust protection of religious freedom across all federal agencies and executive departments Friday. This fix was sorely needed in the wake of actions by President Barack Obama’s administration that harmed Americans’ religious liberty. The May 4 executive…Emilie Kao -
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Trump Administration Undoes Obamacare’s Egregious Assault on Religious Freedom, Conscience Rights
The Trump administration issued interim final rules Friday that will provide much-needed relief to those with moral or religious objections to one of Obamacare’s most egregious assaults on rights of conscience and religious liberty: the HHS mandate. The mandate, from the Department of Health and Human Services, requires that nearly all insurance plans must cover abortion-inducing…Melanie Israel -
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Trump Administration Reverses Obama-Era Policies on Religious Freedom
The Trump administration came out strongly in defense of religious freedom Friday, with new legal guidance and a move to reverse one of the most controversial Obamacare mandates. “Every American has a right to believe, worship, and exercise their faith,” Jeff Sessions says. The Justice Department guidelines direct attorneys and agencies that freedom of religious…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Trump Should Defend Life and Religious Liberty at UN General Assembly
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump will address the General Assembly of the United Nations for the first time when it opens its 72nd session. While this General Assembly session opens before the backdrop of several ongoing international crises—such as North Korea’s nuclear provocations and continued conflicts in Syria and the Middle East—there are some other…Grace Melton -
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Judicial Crisis Network Launches Ad Against Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s ‘Religious Litmus Test’
The Judicial Crisis Network is launching ad campaigns against two Democratic senators who are blocking President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. The two campaigns are against Sens. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Franken is refusing to return the blue slip for Justice David Stras, nominated to serve on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of…Casey Ryan -
- Opinion
I’m a Descendant of Holocaust Survivors. Why I’m Appalled at the Comparison of Christian Bakers to Nazis.
It’s November 1938, and the Nazis have confiscated a silk factory owned by the same Jewish family for over a decade, arresting the owner. Fast forward to 2014, and a state official has compared a Colorado Christian baker to the same group that took away what belonged to the Jewish silk factory owner—the father of…Jackson Richman -
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Religious Freedom Advocates Rebuke Al Franken for ‘Hate Group’ Slur
One of the nation’s most respected champions of religious liberty draws a line at being called a hate group by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. During a confirmation hearing for Amy Coney Barrett, a Notre Dame law professor nominated by President Donald Trump to a federal judgeship, Franken said Alliance Defending Freedom is a hate group…Ken McIntyre -
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Sen. Mike Lee: Christian Baker Case About First Amendment, ‘Compelled Speech’
Sen. Mike Lee is warning that the case of a Colorado baker in legal peril for refusing to bake a specialty wedding cake for a same-sex couple’s commitment ceremony is about more than religious liberty or LGBT rights, but about whether the government can compel speech. “The government cannot force you to speak where you…Fred Lucas -
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Underreported: Christian Baker Reacts to Government Official Comparing Him to a Nazi
In 2014, Colorado Civil Rights Commissioner Diann Rice compared Jack Phillips, a Christian baker who was sued for declining to make a cake for a same-sex ceremony, to perpetrators of the Holocaust. She said: I would also like to reiterate what we said in … the last meeting [concerning Jack Phillips]. Freedom of religion and…Kelsey Bolar -
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Report Shows More Violations of Americans’ Religious Freedom
Hostility toward religion is on the rise in the United States, according to a new report. The report, recently released by the Family Research Council, shows an increase in the number of incidents involving “religious freedom violations” since the first report was released in July 2014. The original report spanned over a decade and contained 90…Christine Roe -
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Students File Lawsuit After School Denies Pro-Life Club Approval
A religious nonprofit organization is suing Parkland School District in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, after Parkland High School deemed a pro-life student club too controversial and subsequently refused to approve its charter. The national public interest law firm Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit against the school district, high school, and three administrators Tuesday after Elizabeth Castro and Grace Schairer submitted their proposal…Grace Carr -
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Lawyers Ask Supreme Court to Hear Second Religious Liberty, Same-Sex Marriage Case
Less than one month after the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would review the case of a Colorado baker who declined to make a cake for a gay couple’s wedding celebration because of his religious beliefs about marriage, lawyers asked the high court to combine it with a similar case involving a florist from Washington…Kelsey Bolar -
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Religious Freedom Advocates Fire Back After ‘Hate Group’ Smear Over Jeff Sessions Speech
The Southern Poverty Law Center, once revered but now often ridiculed, again attacked a prominent religious liberty organization as an “anti-LGBT hate group” after Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke at its conference in California. “The Southern Poverty Law Center is the real hate group here,” @Vadum says. The Christian legal aid group, Alliance Defending Freedom,…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Hawaii to Force Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers to Advertise Free Abortions
All five of Hawaii’s pro-life pregnancy centers will be forced to choose between advertising free abortions and defying the state’s demands starting Wednesday, after Gov. David Ige allowed a mandatory disclaimer bill to become law Tuesday night. Mirroring a 2015 California law, Hawaii’s edict forces locally funded pregnancy centers to post and distribute to each…Jay Hobbs -
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Pro-Life Leaders Rally to Support Charlie Gard
U.S. pro-life leaders are asking the British government to honor parental rights and allow the parents of a terminally ill infant to seek medical care abroad. “In the tragic case of Charlie Gard, the British government has unjustly decided that his life doesn’t have the value of others,” said Tina Whittington, executive vice president of Students…Rachel del Guidice -
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We Hear You: Bernie Sanders, Religious Freedom, and Fake News
Editor’s note: What could be more appropriate this Fourth of July weekend than to round up some audience comments on basic American freedoms such as freedom of religion, speech, and the press? Happy Independence Day.—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: There is a disconnect in the statement Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., put on his Senate website after…Ken McIntyre