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
GOP Lawmakers Warn Trump That Obama Health Bureaucrat Could Hamper Pro-Life Agenda
Forty-one members of Congress sent a letter Monday to President Donald Trump asking him to replace the head of the National Institutes of Health, citing the current director’s support of embryonic stem cell research. The lawmakers, all Republicans, said the priorities of Dr. Francis Collins, appointed as NIH director in 2009 by President Barack Obama,…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
Kentucky Court Ruling Protects Artist’s Free Speech, Religious Liberty
When should a business owner’s decisions be condemned as illegal discrimination? Imagine a print shop owned by a devout atheist. A Muslim woman, wearing a hijab, walks into the shop and orders a sign saying, “Allahu Akbar! Allah is greater than all!” Scenario A: The shop owner sees the woman’s hijab when she walks through…Samuel Green -
- News
Students Sue Professor for Rubbing Out Pro-Life Chalk Messages
Students at the University of California, Fresno sued a professor Thursday for wiping away pro-life chalk messages that were approved by the university. The Students for Life group at Fresno and the group Alliance Defending Freedom are suing Dr. Gregory Thatcher, who teaches public health at the university, for scrubbing out pro-life messages the group had chalked…Rob Shimshock -
- Opinion
Blasphemy Conviction for Christian Governor Could Be Sign of Deteriorating Religious Freedom in Indonesia
Jakarta’s Chinese Christian governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, more popularly known as Ahok, was found guilty of blasphemy by a panel of five judges in Indonesia and sentenced to two years in prison. This latest application of blasphemy laws calls into question the commitment to religious freedom in a country often held up as an example…Olivia Enos -
- Opinion
Trump’s Executive Order Fails to Address Most Pressing Religious Liberty Threats
President Donald Trump said he’d promote commonsense policies that would “Make America Great Again” and would stand up to politically correct bullying from the left. So why isn’t he doing that in the case of religious freedom? Twice now, he has failed to stand up for commonsense policy on religious liberty when liberal opponents lashed…Ryan T. Anderson -
- News
Trump to Sign Executive Order on Religious Freedom
President Donald Trump will reportedly be celebrating the National Day of Prayer by signing an executive order to boost America’s first freedom. Trump is meeting with religious leaders for a dinner at the White House Wednesday night and is expected to sign the executive order Thursday morning in a Rose Garden event marking the National…Fred Lucas -
- News
Religious Freedom, Infrastructure Among Trump’s Plans for Next 100 Days
After wrapping up his first 100 days in the White House on Saturday, President Donald Trump plans to hit a new set of issues, including religious liberty, tax reform, and school choice, a White House official told The Daily Signal. “We want to have legislation that has a profound impact on religious liberty, one that…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
The Key Questions, Comments From Supreme Court Justices in Religious Liberty Case
On Wednesday morning, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trinity Lutheran Church’s case against the state of Missouri—a case involving discrimination by the state in giving out publicly funded grants. Missouri has a grant program to offset the cost of resurfacing playgrounds with rubber surfaces made from recycled tires. This helps the state reduce the…Elizabeth Slattery -
- News
4 Big Questions About the Supreme Court’s New Religious Freedom Case
Missouri’s new governor introduced a fresh dynamic into what was set to be the leading religious freedom case argued before the Supreme Court this year, and the first major case that new Justice Neil Gorsuch will hear. “We have hundreds of outstanding religious organizations all over the state of Missouri,” @EricGreitens says. The Supreme Court…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Religious Liberty Increasingly Under Threat in India Amid Surge of Hindu Nationalism
Last week on April 5, a mob of Hindu vigilantes beat a man to death for transporting cattle in northern India. Cows are sacred in the Hindu religion, but India is a multicultural country with many non-Hindu citizens. This incident, along with the recent appointment of Hindu nationalist priest Yogi Adityanath as chief minister of…James Di Pane -
- Opinion
Charges Against Pro-Life Investigators Show Government’s Double Standard on Investigative Journalists
The undercover Planned Parenthood videos published in 2015 made one thing abundantly clear: Big Abortion skirts the law for its own gain, going to great lengths to hide its illicit activities not only from the public, but even from its own employees. After such revelations, it seems like common sense that the government would defund…Kevin Theriot -
- News
Pro-Life Activist Who Filmed Planned Parenthood Responds to ‘Bogus’ Charges
The pro-life activists who created undercover videos that triggered multiple state and congressional investigations into Planned Parenthood’s abortion practices are facing more than a dozen new felony charges in California. The charges, brought by the state’s attorney general, allege Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden and his partner, Sandra Merritt, unlawfully recorded people without…Kelsey Bolar -
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Gorsuch Credits Liberal Democrats for ‘Very Strict Law’ Defending Religious Freedom
Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, deftly paid respect to liberal Democrats in remarks Tuesday on protecting religious liberty in cases such as the Hobby Lobby decision. “Hobby Lobby came to court and said, ‘We deserve protections too. We’re a small, family-held company … ,’” Gorsuch said of the retail chain in a…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
We Hear You: Religious Liberty, Same-Sex Marriage, and Wedding Cakes
Editor's note: We got a big reaction with our report on the appeals court date for the husband-and-wife Oregon bakers ordered by a state agency to pay $135,000 for declining to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. Here's a sampling to lead off our latest roundup of mail. —Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: How can Aaron…Ken McIntyre -
- Opinion
India’s New Restrictions on Religious Liberty Threaten Critical Aid to the Poor
In a sad development, the government of India is clamping down on religious liberty, and impoverished children stand to lose the most. Compassion International, a Christian organization that partners with local churches around the world to improve the lives of children in poverty, began shutting down its operations in India due to financial restrictions imposed…James Di Pane -
- News
Pro-Life Groups Sound Caution on Obamacare Replacement Bill
Pro-life leaders are voicing concerns over elements of the Obamacare replacement plan unveiled Monday evening by House Republicans. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative policy organization, issued a statement Tuesday noting that money from refundable tax credits provided by the plan could be used to pay for abortions. House Speaker Paul…Rachel del Guidice -
- News
Conservative Leaders Call on Trump to Protect Religious Freedom
Conservative leaders are calling for President Donald Trump to move forward on an executive order to protect the exercise of religious beliefs by rolling back Obama-era regulations that targeted Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, a military chaplain, Christian business owners, and others. “[Americans] are about to suffer under Obama-era anti?religious regulations,” a CNP letter says….Fred Lucas -
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Activists Discuss What Can Be Done to Advance Pro-Life Cause in Trump Era
Panelists told attendees of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, that President Donald Trump has reset the tone of the pro-life movement for the better. “President Trump … has put an end to the failed Republican strategy of … personally professing our adherence to the pro-life cause and then equivocating when it came time…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
The Pro-Life Legacy of Norma McCorvey, the ‘Roe’ of Roe v. Wade
Jane Roe did not live out her life by the script. As the “Roe” of the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, she would have been expected to be a staunch pro-choice advocate for the rest of her life. She wasn’t. Roe, whose real name was Norma McCorvey, died Saturday in Texas of a heart…Katrina Trinko -
- News
This Federal Agency Is Targeting a Family Business. A Religious Liberty Organization Is Calling on Trump to Protect It.
A religious liberty organization is asking President Donald Trump to sign a proposed executive order that would protect the religious freedom of a family-owned business and others like it from the punitive actions of an executive agency. “The Vander Boons are at risk of having their plant shut down and their employees left jobless because…Rachel del Guidice