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
Trump Administration Undoes Obamacare’s Egregious Assault on Religious Freedom, Conscience Rights
The Trump administration issued interim final rules Friday that will provide much-needed relief to those with moral or religious objections to one of Obamacare’s most egregious assaults on rights of conscience and religious liberty: the HHS mandate. The mandate, from the Department of Health and Human Services, requires that nearly all insurance plans must cover abortion-inducing… -
news
Trump Administration Reverses Obama-Era Policies on Religious Freedom
The Trump administration came out strongly in defense of religious freedom Friday, with new legal guidance and a move to reverse one of the most controversial Obamacare mandates. “Every American has a right to believe, worship, and exercise their faith,” Jeff Sessions says. The Justice Department guidelines direct attorneys and agencies that freedom of religious… -
news
Religious Freedom Advocates Rebuke Al Franken for ‘Hate Group’ Slur
One of the nation’s most respected champions of religious liberty draws a line at being called a hate group by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. During a confirmation hearing for Amy Coney Barrett, a Notre Dame law professor nominated by President Donald Trump to a federal judgeship, Franken said Alliance Defending Freedom is a hate group… -
news
Report Shows More Violations of Americans’ Religious Freedom
Hostility toward religion is on the rise in the United States, according to a new report. The report, recently released by the Family Research Council, shows an increase in the number of incidents involving “religious freedom violations” since the first report was released in July 2014. The original report spanned over a decade and contained 90… -
news
Religious Freedom Advocates Fire Back After ‘Hate Group’ Smear Over Jeff Sessions Speech
The Southern Poverty Law Center, once revered but now often ridiculed, again attacked a prominent religious liberty organization as an “anti-LGBT hate group” after Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke at its conference in California. “The Southern Poverty Law Center is the real hate group here,” @Vadum says. The Christian legal aid group, Alliance Defending Freedom,… -
opinion
We Hear You: Bernie Sanders, Religious Freedom, and Fake News
Editor’s note: What could be more appropriate this Fourth of July weekend than to round up some audience comments on basic American freedoms such as freedom of religion, speech, and the press? Happy Independence Day.—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: There is a disconnect in the statement Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., put on his Senate website after… -
news
Defender of Religious Freedom Sues Nonprofit Tracker GuideStar Over ‘Hate Group’ Labels
A conservative organization dedicated to upholding religious liberty has sued the leading tracker of U.S. nonprofits for publicly listing it as a “hate group.” “It is dangerous to label organizations as hate groups when they’re not, [and] people have used that information to commit acts of violence.”—@MatStaver Liberty Counsel is taking GuideStar to court after… -
opinion
Circuit Court Win for Religious Freedom on Gay Marriage
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Thursday that a Mississippi law that protects religious liberty and the rights of conscience in light of the redefinition of marriage may go into effect. In the decision, the circuit court overruled a previous judgment from a district court judge who had declared the Mississippi… -
opinion
Blasphemy Conviction for Christian Governor Could Be Sign of Deteriorating Religious Freedom in Indonesia
Jakarta’s Chinese Christian governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, more popularly known as Ahok, was found guilty of blasphemy by a panel of five judges in Indonesia and sentenced to two years in prison. This latest application of blasphemy laws calls into question the commitment to religious freedom in a country often held up as an example… -
news
Trump to Sign Executive Order on Religious Freedom
President Donald Trump will reportedly be celebrating the National Day of Prayer by signing an executive order to boost America’s first freedom. Trump is meeting with religious leaders for a dinner at the White House Wednesday night and is expected to sign the executive order Thursday morning in a Rose Garden event marking the National… -
news
Religious Freedom, Infrastructure Among Trump’s Plans for Next 100 Days
After wrapping up his first 100 days in the White House on Saturday, President Donald Trump plans to hit a new set of issues, including religious liberty, tax reform, and school choice, a White House official told The Daily Signal. “We want to have legislation that has a profound impact on religious liberty, one that… -
news
4 Big Questions About the Supreme Court’s New Religious Freedom Case
Missouri’s new governor introduced a fresh dynamic into what was set to be the leading religious freedom case argued before the Supreme Court this year, and the first major case that new Justice Neil Gorsuch will hear. “We have hundreds of outstanding religious organizations all over the state of Missouri,” @EricGreitens says. The Supreme Court… -
news
Gorsuch Credits Liberal Democrats for ‘Very Strict Law’ Defending Religious Freedom
Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, deftly paid respect to liberal Democrats in remarks Tuesday on protecting religious liberty in cases such as the Hobby Lobby decision. “Hobby Lobby came to court and said, ‘We deserve protections too. We’re a small, family-held company … ,’” Gorsuch said of the retail chain in a… -
news
Conservative Leaders Call on Trump to Protect Religious Freedom
Conservative leaders are calling for President Donald Trump to move forward on an executive order to protect the exercise of religious beliefs by rolling back Obama-era regulations that targeted Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, a military chaplain, Christian business owners, and others. “[Americans] are about to suffer under Obama-era anti?religious regulations,” a CNP letter says…. -
opinion
Misleading Report Exaggerates ‘Harmful Effects’ of Religious Freedom on Texas Economy
The Texas Association of Business—the state’s largest business advocacy organization—cites economic studies of dubious quality in projecting a loss of $964 million to $8.5 billion of gross state product if Texas were to strengthen its Religious Freedom Restoration Act in its current legislative session. In reality, the economic impact of changes to this law is… -
news
Little Sisters of the Poor Respond to Draft of Trump Religious Freedom Executive Order
After a draft of a religious freedom executive order from President Donald Trump was leaked to the media, a group of Catholic nuns have once again found themselves in the spotlight. “I am aware of the draft executive order that seems to be circulating as of the last couple of days,” Sister Constance Veit, director of communications for… -
news
Religious Freedom Advocates Urge Trump to Sign Executive Order
Conservatives and religious groups are calling on President Donald Trump to stand firm on a draft executive order asserting the federal government recognize religious freedom as not only the right to worship but the right to express one’s religion. The draft of the executive order, reportedly called “Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom,”… -
opinion
Mr. President: Don’t Cave to Liberal Fearmongering. Protect Religious Freedom.
Liberals are up in arms over a possible executive order from President Donald Trump protecting religious freedom. A draft copy of the executive order was leaked to LGBT groups and liberal media outlets in an attempt to prevent the president from issuing it. But the president should not cave. He should stand up to the… -
opinion
Religious Freedom in Pakistan Takes 1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back
The Pakistani government took a positive step forward earlier this month in renaming the National Center for Physics after the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Abdus Salam—a member of the Ahmadi community, a minority sect of Islam. Even though Salam received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, his achievement was largely ignored in Pakistan because of the… -
opinion
Trump on Life, Conscience, and Religious Freedom in His Own Words
As my colleague Ryan T. Anderson and I have argued, it’s time to act to defend innocent human life and make religious freedom great again. President-elect Donald Trump has made encouraging statements regarding these important issues, including: “I am committed to nominating pro-life justices to the U.S. Supreme Court.” (Pro-Life Coalition Letter, SBA-List.org) The Heritage…