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
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 -
- News
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 -
- News
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 -
- Opinion
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 -
- Opinion
Violations of Religious Freedom Persist in Cuba
A State Department report on religious freedom released in July showed that repression of religious belief is still the norm in Cuba. The report explains that in Cuba “most religious leaders reported they exercised self-censorship in what they preached during services” because of fear of “government reprisals.” Moreover, while the State Department recognizes that established…Andrea Rodriguez -
- Opinion
Obama’s LGBT Executive Order Undermines Pluralism and Religious Liberty
Today President Barack Obama issued an executive order barring federal contractors from what it describes as “discrimination” on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Employers should respect the intrinsic dignity of all of their employees, but today’s executive order undermines our nation’s commitment to pluralism and religious liberty. Today’s executive order does not…Ryan T. Anderson -
- Opinion
Senate Considering Bill That Could Wipe Out Many State Pro-Life Laws
A sweeping bill that could eliminate many commonsense state laws protecting women from the harms of abortion was considered in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday. “Imagine the vast majority of pro-life laws wiped out with the enactment of a single piece of federal legislation. That is the purpose behind S. 1696,” summarizes Bill Saunders…Sarah Torre -
- Opinion
This Law Makes Sure Big Government Can’t Crush Religious Freedom
The pitch of public controversy surrounding cultural issues—especially those related to women and reproduction—can give the impression that we live in an intractably divided society with incompatible differences.But the Hobby Lobby decision suggests that such a tone is overwrought. The Supreme Court’s opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell correctly…Jennifer Marshall -
- Opinion
There Used to be Bipartisan Support for Religious Freedom. What Happened?
Kelsey Lucas -
- Opinion
The Religious Liberty Law That Protected Hobby Lobby From Government Coercion
This week an important religious– liberty law did what it was supposed to do. In Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) provided the Supreme Court with a mechanism for weighing competing claims in our pluralistic society. The Court determined that we can, in fact, balance seemingly conflicting interests without throwing out…Jennifer Marshall -
- Opinion
Today the Supreme Court Protected Religious Freedom
You don’t have to agree with Hobby Lobby or share its owners’ opposition to abortion to recognize that the government should not be able to force Americans to set aside their deeply held beliefs simply because they go into business. Thankfully, the Supreme Court agreed and upheld the right of Americans to live and work…Sarah Torre -
- News
Supreme Court Upholds Religious Freedom in Hobby Lobby Case
The government can’t compel a “closely held” business such as the Hobby Lobby chain to cover abortion-inducing drugs or devices in employee health plans if doing so would violate the employer’s moral and religious beliefs, the Supreme Court ruled today. In a much-anticipated decision, the justices decided 5-4 that the Obamacare provision mandating such coverage…Kelsey Bolar -
- News
What Do Millennials Think of Chris Christie’s Spin on Pro-Life?
Are millennials onboard with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s new definition of what “pro-life” means? Speaking today at the Road to Majority conference in Washington, the potential Republican candidate for president made the case for valuing life “from the womb to natural death”—and that includes providing non-violent drug offenders with tools and treatment to get…Kelsey Bolar