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
Not All Findings of Religious Freedom Index Are Encouraging
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a leading nonprofit law firm defending religious freedom, is taking an innovative approach to evaluate the current state of religious freedom in America. Most assessments in this area focus on government actions such as laws, regulations, or court decisions that affect religious freedom. Becket’s first-ever Religious Freedom Index instead… -
opinion
Celebrating Our Religious Freedom at Thanksgiving
I was in my room at the famed Metropol Hotel in Moscow, Russia, next door to Red Square. It was April 2005 and I was preparing for a training workshop in advanced communication skills the following morning for personnel at the U.S. Embassy. Built in 1905, this five-star, czarist-style lodging house historically had borne testimony… -
news
63% Support Religious Freedom at Work, Survey Finds
Most Americans support a broad definition of religious freedom and accommodation of minority religious beliefs in the workplace, despite a growing sense of polarization in the public square, according to a new study. The Religious Freedom Index reports that 63% of those surveyed said they support someone else’s freedom to practice religion at work or… -
opinion
Liberals Continue Fight Against Religious Freedom for Adoption Agencies
It’s hard enough to get the truth out on a level playing field—but in today’s news, it’s downright impossible. The left has disinformation down to a science, especially when it comes to LGBT issues. That’s dangerous in any situation—but on the president’s new adoption rule, it could mean the difference between a child finding a… -
opinion
Trump’s Focus on Religious Freedom at the UN Should Lead the Way
The United Nations will host its annual gathering in New York this week. But amid all the hubbub, President Donald Trump is setting aside time to speak on a pressing issue: religious freedom and persecution around the world. The president will keynote an event Monday called the Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom. This is… -
news
VA Lifts Ban on Bibles in Move to Support Religious Freedom
As a kid, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie recalls, he visited a VA hospital at Christmastime. “One of my fondest memories growing up, we used to sing Christmas carols at the VA hospital in Fayetteville, North Carolina,” Wilkie told The Daily Signal, sitting in a 10th-floor office at VA headquarters on Vermont Avenue Northwest, overlooking… -
opinion
How the Trump Administration Advances Global Religious Freedom
For Americans, religious liberty is in our DNA. The pursuit of that freedom is what brought the Pilgrims to our shores nearly 400 years ago. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, believed so strongly in religious liberty that he authored Virginia’s Statute for Religious Freedom, and when it became law, he called for… -
opinion
How America Is Boosting Religious Freedom Across the Globe
When people wonder if events like the State Department’s ministerial work, the evidence is sitting right in front of them. This time last year, Pastor Andrew Brunson was locked away under house arrest in Turkey—his fate completely uncertain. In fact, one of the most enduring memories of last July’s gathering was his daughter, Jacqueline, making… -
opinion
Religious Freedom: What’s at Stake If We Lose It
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution begins, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof … ” Fast forward almost 250 years and religious freedom is one of the most pressing issues in American culture today. Let’s take a look at some of the concerns… -
opinion
After San Antonio Blocks Chick-Fil-A, Texas Conservatives Reignite Fight for Religious Freedom
Chick-fil-A may cater, but not to the demands San Antonio liberals care about. Now, three weeks into the City Council’s decision to ban the restaurant from the local airport, Texas conservatives know: This case for their religious liberty bill was made to order. “Everyone has a place here, and everyone should feel welcome when they… -
opinion
Ilhan Omar’s Impoverished View of Religious Freedom
The House of Representatives voted on Thursday on a resolution condemning bigotry and hate. The resolution was spurred by the recent remarks of freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, which questioned the loyalty of Jews to the United States. Both her anti-Semitic statements and broader views of religious freedom deserve examination. The Center for American Progress… -
news
James Lankford: Defending Religious Freedom Means Living Your Faith
Not living one’s faith can become a threat to religious liberty, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said while speaking on a panel Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “One of the greatest challenges we have to religious liberty in this modern day is people that actually claim a faith and don’t live a faith,” Lankford… -
opinion
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Coach Kennedy’s Religious Freedom Case. Here’s Why There’s Still Hope.
The Supreme Court decided last week to not review the case of Joe Kennedy, a Washington state football coach who was fired for praying with his players. But the game isn’t over yet. We have reason to believe the Supreme Court might revisit the case and rule in Kennedy’s favor. Kennedy made headlines after he… -
opinion
2 Democrats Are Trying to Trample a Faith-Based Foster Care Provider’s Religious Freedom
We celebrated Jan. 16 as National Religious Freedom Day, an annual reminder of why religious freedom is so important to our country. This fundamental right means that everyone is free to pursue the truth without the threat of government coercion, and everyone is free to live by his or her conscience. This freedom precedes any law… -
news
Marking Anniversary of Religious Freedom Law, Acting AG Whitaker Laments Loss of Support From Left
In 1993, President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, signed broad consensus legislation to protect religious liberty, with support from religious conservative groups and the American Civil Liberties Union alike, which helped it sail through Congress. Twenty-five years later, however, religious freedom has become a highly contentious issue, and many Democrats and liberal groups have sought to… -
news
Envoy Says Trump Willing to ‘Stand Up and Push’ for Global Religious Freedom
President Donald Trump is committed to pushing for greater tolerance of different faiths by governments around the world and dismantling an “iron curtain of religious persecution,” his envoy for religious freedom said in an interview with The Daily SIgnal. “Most people in the world move by what their faith tells them,” Sam Brownback, the former… -
opinion
Podcast: Religious Freedom in Hard Places
Religious freedom is a legacy of the American founding, but unfortunately, on the world stage, religious freedom is often the exception rather than the rule. Today, our colleague Rachel del Guidice sits down with Sam Brownback, the former governor of Kansas who is now ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. They discuss some of his efforts… -
opinion
We Hear You: Remembering American History, Learning From the Russians, and Understanding Religious Freedom
Editor's note: Our audience responded to Jarrett Stepman's commentary on Americans' weakening grasp on their history. Some of that feedback leads off this week's collection of comments. Write us at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Excellent wake-up moment, Jarrett Stepman (“Americans Have Almost Entirely Forgotten Their History”). Now how do we correct this disparity? I agree… -
news
Colorado Baker Talks About New Religious Freedom Struggle With State
Jack Phillips, owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop, is confronting yet another struggle with the state of Colorado. This time, the state is investigating the Christian baker for declining to bake a gender transition cake that is pink on the inside and blue on the outside. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which lost in a 7-2… -
opinion
How Religious Freedom Erodes, One Step at a Time
Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the formation of a new Task Force on Religious Liberty at the Department of Justice. The action came on the heels of a ministerial summit on religious freedom, which explored how religious freedom is under attack around the globe. At the summit, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and…