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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- Opinion
Why This Local Pharmacist’s Religious Liberty Case Could Go to Supreme Court
Can a state force pharmacists to prescribe abortion-inducing drugs at the expense of their religious beliefs? This is the central issue in a case the Supreme Court may agree to hear in its next term. In 2007, the State of Washington passed a law requiring all pharmacies to deliver “all lawfully prescribed drugs or devices”…Elizabeth Slattery -
- Opinion
Marching for Life 2016: The Pro-Life Movement’s Many Advances
Despite forecasts of historic snowfalls, large crowds are participating in today’s annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. Americans from across the country have come to the National Mall on the 43rd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which invented a right to abortion on demand across…Sarah Torre -
- Opinion
Obama’s Hypocrisy on Religious Freedom
President Barack Obama’s 2016 proclamation for Religious Freedom Day, which was celebrated Jan. 16, rightly stated that religious freedom has long been considered one of America’s “most cherished ideals.” He wrote: The United States stands for the protection of equal rights for all people to practice their faith freely, without fear or coercion, and as…Melody Wood -
- News
Meet 4 Pro-Life Lawmakers Who Chose to Adopt
In college, Tim and Angela would counsel women facing an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. And they always suggested adoption as an option. Some took their advice. Many didn’t. Tim praises those who did, the mothers who gave up their children and “made one of the toughest and most loving choices there is.” When Tim and Angela…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
Mike Pence Promises to Protect Religious Freedom in Indiana
Last March, Indiana became a hot zone in the culture wars when big business and the cultural left teamed up to water down Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). They alleged that RFRAs lead to rampant discrimination against gays and lesbians and, in a striking example of cultural cronyism, bullied the Indiana legislature into rolling…Roger Severino -
- News
Poll: 8 in 10 Americans Support Religious Freedom for Christians
A new poll shows that Americans prioritize protecting Christians’ religious freedom. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research’s poll found that 82 percent of Americans believe that religious liberty protections are important for Christians. Sixty-one percent of respondents said religious liberty protections are important for Muslims, “ranking Muslims as the least deserving of the…Leah Jessen -
- News
How This Governor Upheld Religious Freedom in Issuing Marriage Licenses
Acting to resolve a conflict between personal conscience and political duty on the subject of same-sex marriage, Kentucky’s new governor decided that marriage licenses don’t have to bear the name of the county clerk whose office issues the license. Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, announced his executive order last week along with four others. “To ensure that the sincerely…Leah Jessen -
- News
Pro-Life Group Says It Educates College Students About Planned Parenthood’s ‘True Nature’
Big, pink Planned Parenthood displays are popping up at college campuses across the nation. But it’s not what you think. The pro-life group Students for Life of America has organized a college tour where it puts up the displays to educate students about what it calls the “true nature” of the nation’s largest abortion provider. Students…Kate Scanlon -
- News
‘We Are Heartbroken’: Pro-Life Groups Condemn Shootings at Colorado Planned Parenthood
Pro-life leaders denounced the actions of the gunman who took the lives of three—a police officer and two civilians—and wounded nine others Friday in Colorado Springs, Colo. Police said Robert Dear, 57, gave up inside a Planned Parenthood clinic after a standoff that lasted hours. Here’s what leaders of pro-life organizations said in formal statements about Dear’s alleged…Kate Scanlon -
- News
This Pro-Life Group Targets Planned Parenthood’s Corporate Funding
A pro-life group say it has convinced more than 300 companies to stop donating to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. The organization, Life Decisions International, tracks corporate sponsors of Planned Parenthood in an effort to encourage them to stop donating. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Doug Scott, president of Life Decisions International, said his…Kate Scanlon -
- Opinion
Attacks on Religious Freedom: Coming Soon to a Church Near You
Assaults on religious freedom are becoming ever more common. Barely a day goes by without news of a baker punished for not catering a same-sex wedding, a Catholic adoption service banned from limiting its services to married couples, or companies that are run in accordance Christian values being forced to provide health insurance policies that…David Bernstein -
- News
Will Pro-Life Coalition Close Ranks for Second Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood?
If a House plan fails in the Senate, lawmakers seeking to defund Planned Parenthood see another opportunity in the upcoming budget battle. But it’s not clear whether a pro-life coalition would regroup to back such a second effort. A total of 33 state and national pro-life groups pledged their support for halting taxpayer funding of…Philip Wegmann -
- News
Why This Judge’s Ruling Against Pro-Life Protests Riles Free-Speech Advocates
Forbidding free speech on a public sidewalk may sound to many Americans like the mandate of some foreign despot in a faraway country. Such a law exists, however, in Pittsburgh. Oral arguments concluded Friday in the case of Bruni v. City of Pittsburgh, where attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom appealed a federal judge’s decision to deny the pleas…Joshua Gill -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Will Hear Obamacare Abortion-Inducing Drugs Case. Why That’s Important for Religious Freedom.
Today, the Supreme Court announced it will take up seven cases challenging the Obamacare requirement that non-profit employers offer their employees health care coverage that includes Plan B, ella, and other potentially life-ending drugs and devices, contraception, and sterilization. Plaintiffs in the cases the Court will decide include Little Sisters of the Poor; Priests for…Elizabeth Slattery -
- Opinion
What’s Religious Liberty Got to Do With the Common Good?
Few Americans oppose religious liberty in the abstract. But what should happen when a general law or policy aimed at advancing the common good unintentionally burdens people of faith? Historically, Democrats and Republicans alike have supported accommodating or protecting religious citizens. Alas, this one-time consensus seems to be collapsing. Over the past year, owners of…Mark David Hall -
- News
Pro-Life Nonprofit Says They Have Saved 3,500 Babies in America
Every day, 3,500 abortions take place in America. That’s approximately one abortion per every 25 seconds. The pro-life nonprofit Online for Life wants that statistic to change, and just celebrated a milestone of their own: 3,500 babies saved. It didn’t come easily. Brian Fisher, co-founder and president of Online for Life (OFL), has spent the past…Leah Jessen -
- News
Ralph Reed: Religious Freedom Needs to Be a ‘Priority’
Ralph Reed, the influential CEO of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, believes the issue of religious liberty will be front and center throughout the 2016 presidential campaign. “I think it’s important because of what are likely to be the consequences of the Obergefell decision,” Reed tells The Daily Signal. “I think the redefinition of marriage begins…David Brody -
- Opinion
The Murder of Mohammad Akhlaq: Concerns on Religious Freedom in India
The ordeal did not take long. The quiet of the evening in Bisara, India, was replaced by the clamor of a vicious mob and the screams of a terrified family. The mob came through the door into the home of Mohammad Akhlaq, a Muslim man rumored to have killed a cow and eaten the beef….Thomas Whittaker -
- News
After Principal Censors Pro-Life Posters, Student Seeks Legal Action
A Kentucky high school pro-life student organization has been denied the right to hang posters. Patrick Edwards, president of the club “Students for Life,” is ready to take legal action against his principal at Larry A. Ryle High School in Northern Kentucky. Edwards, 18, and his fellow Students for Life club displayed posters during…Leah Jessen -
- News
Group Challenges California Law Forcing Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers to Comply With ‘Pro-Abortion Agenda’
Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit legal organization that works to defend religious liberty, has filed a complaint in federal court against a California law that forces pro-life crisis pregnancy centers to promote abortion providers. The Reproductive FACT Act, recently approved by the California Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., requires pregnancy centers to…Kate Scanlon