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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news
Same-Sex Marriage Bill Threatening Religious Freedom Heads to Biden’s Desk: Here Are the 39 Republicans Who Voted for It
The House of Representatives gave final approval to the Respect for Marriage Act Thursday. The bill, which passed 258-169, is now headed to President Joe Biden’s desk. Every single Democrat voted for the legislation, as did 39 Republicans. Most Republicans (169) voted against the measure, while 1 voted “present” and four did not vote. The… -
news
These GOP Senators Won’t Say Whether They Support Vital Religious Freedom Amendments
Ahead of another vote on the so-called Respect for Marriage Act, most of the 12 GOP senators who previously voted for the legislation are refusing to divulge whether they support Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee’s amendment protecting Americans’ religious freedom. Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the Senate will hold a procedural vote Monday on an amendment,… -
news
Second Key GOP Senator Announces Support for Religious Freedom Amendment to Respect for Marriage Act
A second senator who voted for the Respect for Marriage Act will support Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee's amendment protecting religious freedom, though she did not say whether she would insist on the amendment's adoption as a condition for supporting cloture on the legislation. Republican Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis will support the Lee amendment if… -
news
GOP Senator Who Voted for Respect for Marriage Act Supports Vital Religious Freedom Amendments
A Republican senator who voted for the so-called Respect for Marriage Act supports Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee's and Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford's amendments to the legislation, The Daily Signal has learned. Republican Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan is working hard to ensure that the necessary votes are attained to include the amendments, which aimed… -
opinion
What’s in Senate’s Same-Sex Marriage Bill, Why It’s Threat to Religious Freedom
The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that could have dire consequences for religious freedom. The so-called Respect for Marriage Act goes beyond codifying same-sex marriage in federal law to make the acceptance of gay marriage compulsory. “The so-called Respect for Marriage Act will just simply lead to more attacks on Americans’ religious liberty,” says Jay… -
news
Faith Leaders Warn So-Called Respect for Marriage Act Will Hack Away at Religious Freedom
Leaders of faith-based institutions warned The Daily Signal on Tuesday that the Democrat-led Respect for Marriage Act, which is expected to be voted on by the Senate Wednesday, would hack away at the religious freedom of faith-based groups. HR 8404 “provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages,” repealing provisions that define marriage as between… -
opinion
Jewish University Launches New Strategy Amid Religious Freedom-LGBT Conflict
An Orthodox Jewish school at the forefront of the battle for religious freedom has presented an interesting compromise: Rather than endorse the LGBT student club that is currently suing the school for recognition, it will launch its own club that it says will help LGBT students while obeying the Law of Moses. Yeshiva University announced… -
opinion
Since When Does Freedom From Discrimination Require Destroying Religious Freedom?
An op-ed Wednesday in The Washington Post laid out how the left is attempting to dismantle what Congress once unanimously recognized as “undergird[ing] the very origin and existence of the United States”: religious freedom. Specifically, Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, argues in the op-ed that the constitutional right to… -
opinion
Supreme Court Will Determine If Customers Can Sue Businesses for ‘Emotional Distress.’ This Has Serious Implications for Religious Freedom.
In Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, the Supreme Court will decide whether Congress meant to create a private right of action to sue for compensatory damages for emotional distress under existing federal civil rights laws. While this case has flown largely under the radar, it will have colossal implications for the ongoing legal battle to protect religious freedom,… -
news
After 8 Years, Barronelle Stutzman’s Court Fight for Religious Freedom Ends in Settlement
A great-grandmother’s eight-year court battle for her religious freedom finally has come to an end. “This week, I have put to rest the last legal considerations for a decision my husband, Darold, and I made nearly a decade ago,” Washington state florist Barronelle Stutzman said in a written statement Thursday. Stutzman, who describes herself as… -
opinion
Seattle Homeless Ministry Stands Up for Religious Freedom, Asks Supreme Court for Justice
Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission has been serving the homeless and needy of its community for nearly 90 years. But now, the Washington Supreme Court has given it the Hobson’s choice of changing its religious beliefs or closing its doors. “[O]ur beliefs are everything to us,” Scott Chin, president of Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, says, adding… -
opinion
7 Takeaways From International Religious Freedom Summit
More than 30 faith traditions were represented at the inaugural International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C., held between July 13 and 15. The aim of the summit was to create a coalition of organizations that fight for international religious freedom for everyone, everywhere, all the time. Here are seven takeaways from the summit: … -
opinion
Equality Act Slams the Door on Religious Freedom
The Supreme Court’s recent decision, Fulton v. Philadelphia, is justifiably getting mixed reviews. Catholic Social Services sued the city of Philadelphia, through the Philadelphia Archdiocese, for canceling its 50-year contract with the Catholic social services agency because it refuses to certify same-sex couples as foster families for the purpose of foster care. The Supreme Court… -
opinion
Biden Abandons Religious Freedom as First Among Rights
The Biden administration is making a stark departure from past administrations in how it talks about, and treats, religious freedom. In his remarks May 12 on the release of the 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom, Secretary of State Antony Blinken correctly asserted that “religious freedom is a human right,” one at the heart of… -
news
Indiana Court Delivers Religious Freedom Victory to Catholic School
An Indiana court delivered a religious freedom victory Friday to a school in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, confirming the school’s right to ensure that staff promote an authentic Catholic education. A former Catholic high school teacher, Joshua Payne-Elliott, sued the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in July 2019 in the case Payne-Elliot v. Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Payne-Elliot was… -
opinion
Equality Act Would Cancel Religious Freedom
To say that the Equality Act, which the U.S. Senate will soon take up after its passage in the House, has changed over the years is a huge understatement. The first version of this legislation, introduced in 1994, prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation, but did not apply to religious organizations. Today, however,… -
opinion
In Age of ‘Reality Czar,’ Preserving Religious Freedom More Important Than Ever
A recent New York Times column suggested, among other things, the appointment of a cross-agency government task force to deal with disinformation headed by a “reality czar.” Apparently, George Orwell’s “1984” is no longer considered a cautionary tale, but for some has become an instruction manual. Truth be told, a government that even considers the… -
opinion
How Americans View Religious Freedom at the End of a Trying 2020
There’s no denying that 2020 has been a trying year. Churches all over the nation closed their doors because of COVID-19. Rioters burned and looted businesses in cities from Portland, Oregon, to Kenosha, Wisconsin. And a contested election has left many Americans concerned for the country’s future. Amid the trials and tribulations of this year,… -
opinion
Here’s How COVID-19 Restrictions Curb Religious Freedom
Exactly how have COVID-19 restrictions on churches and other places of worship affected First Amendment freedoms? What happened when the Supreme Court last week blocked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s limits on religious gatherings? What about the situation in California, where Godspeak Calvary Chapel’s pastor, Rob McCoy, reportedly turned his church into a “strip club”… -
opinion
The Assault on Religious Freedom During COVID-19
During the course of the COVID-19 crisis, an ongoing, and very legitimate, national debate has continued about the wisdom of lockdowns. The decision to shut down social and commercial activity in the name of health is itself arbitrary. Then, the decision to decide what to shut down and what not to shut down, what activities…