Religious Freedom News
The Daily Signal provides coverage of religious freedom issues in the United States and around the world, with reporting on policy, legal challenges, persecution, and the impact on people of faith.
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opinion
Peter Xu: The Billy Graham of China
This is an adapted excerpt from “China’s War on Faith” by Sam Brownback with Michael Arkush, released May 12 from Republic Book Publishers. Peter Xu never lost faith in his Lord and Savior. Not even when death was near. In 1997, Peter hung from the metal bars of a sliding prison door for nearly four hours…. -
exclusive
GOP Leadership Announces Nomination of Religious Freedom Commissioner
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise have nominated a new commissioner to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Gene Mills, a religious leader and president of the Louisiana Family Forum, will serve alongside eight others to ensure religious freedoms are protected around the world. “I am… -
news
Key Health Agency Protects Conscience Rights, Combats Anti-Christian Bias
The federal agency devoted to health care has reorganized its civil rights office to restore key conscience protections and reverse the alleged anti-Christian bias under former President Joe Biden. “Faith-filled Americans should not be forced to choose between their profession and their conscience, and faith-based organizations should be able to operate on the same level… -
news
What Xi Said to Trump About Imprisoned Christians in China
President Donald Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping is hesitant to release imprisoned Christian Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy newspaper publisher. Trump told reporters he spoke with Xi during the Beijing state visit about imprisoned Christian Pastor Ezra Jin and said Xi was “giving very serious consideration” to his release. Jin, the pastor of Zion Church,… -
opinion
Faith, Fairness, and the Front Lines: Protecting the American Tradition
The National Day of Prayer reflects the enduring American tradition of turning to faith by seeking God’s protection and favor on our country, leaders, and communities. As early as 1668, the Virginia House of Burgesses passed an ordinance declaring a day of “Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, to implore God’s Mercy.” Days of prayer have evolved since then. Congress passed an… -
news
Christian Trump Supporters React to Post Slamming Pope
President Donald Trump slammed Pope Leo XIV for being “WEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” drawing backlash from conservative Catholics. Trump’s comments followed the pope’s criticism of the war in Iran. “I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on… -
news
Rubio Announces Visa Restrictions on Anyone Carrying Out ‘Violations of Religious Freedom’
The State Department has announced new restrictions on visas for anyone who is seen to be supporting or conducting violations of religious freedom. “The United States is taking decisive action in response to the atrocities and violence against Christians in Nigeria and around the world,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday. The department “will restrict U.S. visas for those… -
news
Haircut in the High Court: How Justices Respond to Latest Religious Freedom Case
The Supreme Court heard a religious freedom argument Monday out of Louisiana concerning whether individual government officials may be forced to pay legal damages for violations of a primary First Amendment protection. In Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections, the court is considering whether a prisoner can sue a prison official in his personal capacity… -
opinion
Religious Freedom Around the World: Rhetoric vs. Reality
For many countries, rhetoric surrounding religious freedom does not match reality. For example, look no further than Nigeria. There, the country ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1993, agreeing that everyone has the right to both the expression and exercise of religion. Those same rights are guaranteed in the Nigerian Constitution…. -
opinion
News of Religious Freedom’s Demise Might Be Exaggerated After All
It’s no secret that religion in America has seen better days. The percentage of Americans who say religion is “very important” in their lives is at its lowest point in decades. The percentage who express confidence in the church or organized religion is half what it was in the 1980s. And more than three-quarters say… -
opinion
Steep New Tariffs on Algeria Give the US Leverage to Press on Religious Freedom
Last week, the United States implemented a new set of reciprocal tariffs on imports from dozens of countries around the world. As part of this broader trade realignment, Algeria will face a 30% tariff on its exports to the U.S., one of the highest rates assigned. While these tariffs are intended to address global trade… -
news
Supreme Court Rules on Parents’ Religious Freedom in LGBTQ School Book Opt-Out Case
The Supreme Court upheld the religious freedom of Maryland parents who challenged a school district policy that prevented them from opting their children out of lessons involving LGBTQ+ books. The court ruled, 6-3, that the Maryland parents were entitled to a preliminary injunction. The case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, involved Maryland parents of various faith backgrounds—Protestant, Catholic, Jewish,… -
opinion
Education Freedom Meets Religious Freedom
Two important developments in education occurred over the last week. One was a sign of the problem we have. The other was a sign of the solution. The sign of the problem, to which hopefully the U.S. Supreme Court will provide the correct answer, falls under the headline of sex education. The court has just… -
news
Supreme Court Clash Over Parents’ Religious Freedom and Schools’ Gender Curriculum
The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on an important case involving the intersection of the rights to exercise religion and to direct the upbringing of children. The court’s decision, expected by the end of June, may advance or curtail an expanding recognition of the fundamental right to exercise religion. In October 2022, the Montgomery County,… -
news
Georgia’s GOP Scores Victories on Religious Freedom and Defunding Trans Procedures
On Wednesday, Georgia’s State Capitol was the stage for a “heated debate” over legislation aimed at sparing taxpayers from funding gender transition procedures for inmates—including “sex change surgeries, hormone replacement therapies, and cosmetic procedures designed to alter sexual characteristics.” While the measure garnered strong support from Republicans, Democrats voiced their displeasure with the bill and… -
opinion
The Trump Administration Is Already Actively Defending Religious Freedom
The Trump administration, not yet two months old, is making clear it wants a better reading of the First Amendment’s protection for religious freedom. And it’s taking concrete steps to make that happen. In October 2022, the school board in Montgomery County, Maryland, approved certain “LGBTQ-inclusive” books for use in in the public school curriculum… -
opinion
Washington State Is Attacking Religious Freedom. And It Won’t Stop There.
Everyone agrees that those in certain positions, from teachers to doctors, should report instances of child abuse and neglect. Democrat lawmakers in Washington state, however, are advancing legislation that would require clergy members to report, even in circumstances that would violate the Sacrament of Confession, a central tenet of the Catholic faith. Washington legislators have… -
opinion
Trump and Rubio Should Come Out Swinging on International Religious Freedom
In the first week of February, Washington, D.C., will play host to the International Religious Freedom Summit, the largest annual nonprofit-led gathering of religious freedom advocates globally. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio should take the opportunity to quickly reorient religious freedom policy so that it is once again an American foreign… -
opinion
Attacks on Religious Freedom Continue Despite Washington’s Rhetoric
Thomas Jefferson’s resume is hard to beat. At 23, he was serving in the Virginia Colonial Legislature and, within a decade, he was in the Virginia governor’s mansion. He followed that up as ambassador to France, secretary of state, vice president, and a two-term president. From a lifetime of profound accomplishments, he chose three to… -
opinion
EXPOSED: Far-Left Group Tried to Blackmail Biden-Harris Official Into Ditching Religious Freedom Summit
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-leaning nonprofit, pressured a well-known figure in the Biden-Harris administration not to attend a bipartisan summit to promote religious freedom around the world, documents uncovered by The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project show. According to the documents, first published by The Daily Signal, multiple SPLC staff…