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
Pro-Life Group’s Graphic Signs Spark Debate Over Images of Abortion
A recent pro-life protest in Columbus, Ohio, drew a heated response from a neighbor upset by the group’s graphic depiction of aborted fetuses on signs across from his house. It’s also sparked questions of how far is too far when it comes to showing images of abortion. The signs of demonstrators, led by pro-life group…Kate Scanlon -
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How This Christian Group Promotes a Pro-Life Message Through Running
It was a cold and cloudy day with poor visibility on the side of a mountain in Colorado when Dr. Pat Castle first encountered Padre Pio, the canonized Roman Catholic priest from Southern Italy, who was known for his healing powers and connection with supernatural occurrences. It was 2006, and Castle was about 10 minutes…Kevin Mooney -
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‘It’s a Two-Way Street’: What Americans Think About Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty
A new Associated Press-GFK poll shows that more Americans favor legalizing same-sex marriage, but a majority believe businesses that provide wedding services shouldn’t have to participate in a same-sex marriage if they have a religious objection. According to the poll, 44 percent of Americans favor legalizing same-sex marriage, 39 percent oppose it, and 15 percent…Kate Scanlon -
- Opinion
Congress Can Fix New D.C. Bills That Force Pro-Life Groups to Pay for Abortion, Religious Schools to Violate Beliefs
Over the weekend, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law two pieces of bad legislation. These policies will saddle religious organizations and employers with a choice of complying with coercive laws that force them to violate their religious beliefs and organizational missions, or staying true to their beliefs in defiance of unjust laws….Ryan T. Anderson -
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How Pro-Life Is Your State? This Map Holds the Answer
How does your state regulate the abortion industry? One pro-life group has released a map to help you find out. “The abortion industry should … not be allowed to keep profits high and standards low,” says @CharmaineYoest. Americans United for Life released the “2015 Life List” this week, ranking all 50 states based on their…Kate Scanlon -
- Opinion
Texas Pro-Life Law Prompts Judges to Weigh Health Risks of Abortion to Women
In the latest challenge to Texas’ so-called “pro-life law of the century” (passed as H.B. 2), last week a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case Whole Woman’s Health v. Lakey. Abortion providers, including Whole Woman’s Health Clinic in McAllen, Texas, sued the state to keep key provisions of…Josh Shepherd -
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This Photo Inspired a Book, Film and Pro-Life Message Across the Globe
For the Armas family, one picture meant much more than a thousand words. In August 1999, doctors diagnosed Samuel Armas—who was still in his mother’s womb—with spina bifida, a congenital disorder that causes deformation of the spinal cord. To prevent her future son from suffering severe neurological damage, Armas’s mother, who was 21 weeks pregnant…Gabriella Morrongiello -
- Opinion
BJP Can Do More to Protect Religious Freedom in India
The state of religious freedom in India is in question after a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of parliament declared that on Christmas Day he would host a Hindu conversion ceremony, a ceremony where Christians and Muslims are publicly pressured to abandon their faith. While the conversion ceremony has since been temporarily called off after the BJP…Olivia Enos -
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D.C. Passes Bill That Could Force Pro-Life Organizations to Pay for Abortion Coverage
Today, the Council of the District of Columbia passed a bill that could force employers in the nation’s capital to cover elective abortions in their health plans and require even pro-life organizations to hire individuals who oppose their views on abortion. The bill will now go to Mayor Vincent Gray for approval. This latest attempt…Sarah Torre -
- Opinion
Here’s How the Media Got the Latest Religious Liberty Bill Wrong
Finishing off a week that was pretty bad for the media, CBS News is now spinning a story about a Michigan religious freedom bill. Their headline reads: “Bill would let Michigan doctors, EMTs refuse to treat gay patients.” But the bill does nothing of the sort. The bill, passed by the Michigan House last week,…Ryan T. Anderson -
- Opinion
How Being Pro-Life Boosted These 9 Candidates to Victory
Clearly the conservative “wave” election last week favored one party over another. Yet on policy issues, is there a unifying thread among newly elected leaders at the federal and state level? Listening in to the winning candidates and their stories, a strong commitment to one cause stands out: protecting life. Young, vibrant and diverse, these leaders…Josh Shepherd -
- Opinion
Sexual Liberty and Religious Liberty Can Coexist. Here’s How.
Sexual liberty and religious liberty need not be in tension. Indeed, most Americans don’t want them to be in tension. It’s true there are bad stories out there where people have been victimized by intolerance. Some of this has been at the hands of market leaders. Consider Brendan Eich, who six years ago made a…Ryan T. Anderson -
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Rick Santorum on Religious Liberty, the LGBT Agenda and ‘Very Clear’ Plans for 2016
Will Rick Santorum run for president again? The former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania doesn’t waste time denying his interest. In between campaigning for fellow Republicans in the midterm elections, Santorum stopped Friday in Washington, D.C., to speak at The Heritage Foundation’s semiannual President’s Club meeting. Afterward, in an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal, Santorum discussed the…Kelsey Bolar -
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Q&A: Couple Look to Paul’s Example in Resisting Order to Perform Gay Marriages
Perform same-sex wedding ceremonies or pay tens of thousands of dollars in fines and spend months behind bars. That’s the choice their Idaho town gave one Christian couple who have made marriage ministry their life's work. Donald and Eyelyn Knapp, ordained Pentecostal ministers, are married to each other. Together, they have run Hitching Post Lakeside Wedding Chapel in…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
Justin Bieber’s Mom Helps Propel a Pro-Life Film to Successful Release
Following over a year of rave reviews and prestigious awards at film festivals worldwide, this week the short film “Crescendo” attracted attention thanks to a release on YouTube for free viewing (above). Based on the true story of Ludwig van Beethoven, “Crescendo” touches on issues ripped from today’s headlines—notably, sex trafficking, rape and the prevalence…Josh Shepherd -
- Opinion
Is Next Step in War on Religious Liberty Inspection of Religious Schools? That’s Happening in the UK
There is no doubt that the rights the First Amendment protects–freedom of speech and freedom of religion–are increasingly the most attacked. Some of the most recent high profile cases have revolved around the ongoing attempts by the government via Obamacare to force religious groups to provide contraception coverage in their health plans and taxpayers to…Genevieve Wood -
- Opinion
Lessons From Pro-Life Victories
First the bad news. When it comes to opening the doors to opportunity, a number of cultural trends are not heading in the right direction. The marriage rate is declining. Teen drug use has increased. In fact, a majority of the cultural indicators reported in The Heritage Foundation’s “2014 Index of Culture and Opportunity” are…Jennifer Marshall -
- Opinion
Don’t Buy the Lie That Freedom to Worship Is the Same as Religious Freedom
The right to live, work and worship according to one’s faith is a freedom foundational to the United States. Many of the first settlers, having faced religious persecution in England, sought a place where they could freely worship and live according to their conscience without interference from the government. The Founders were clear, and the…Sarah Torre -
- Opinion
This Makes No Sense: Democratic Senator Wants to Make International Religious Freedom Agency More Partisan
With large-scale attacks against Christians by groups such as ISIS in Iraq, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and Al-Shabab in Somalia, religious intolerance has been much in the news lately. Christians, of course, are not the only religious group subjected to persecution. Whether it is Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims and Falun Gong in China, Baha’is and…John G. Malcolm -
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Cosmo Marginalizes Pro-Life Women in a Demeaning Way
Cosmopolitan magazine is getting serious this year. For the first time ever, the racy women’s reader will be endorsing candidates for office in their #CosmoVotes campaign. .@Cosmopolitan spits in the face of democracy & insults readers’ intelligence. As a dedicated subscriber of women’s magazines from Marie Claire to Women’s Health, I’m well aware of how…Ericka Andersen