Posts tagged religious liberty
What The History Of Religious Freedom In America Can Teach Us Today

(ANALYSIS) Some 79 countries around the world continue to enforce blasphemy laws. And in places such as Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, violation of these measures can result in a death penalty. While the U.S. is not among those countries, it also has a long history of blasphemy laws.

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New Report Spotlights Immigration Struggle For Persecuted Christians

The nonpartisan groups reported the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers the U.S. has accepted in recent decades, including Christians and others fleeing religious persecution, and explored how U.S. presidential platform policies will impact the ability of those persecuted for their faith to find refuge here after the November elections.

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Right To Food: Is Eating What The State Says A Religious Freedom Issue?

Illegal bans on nonvegetarian food are increasingly being introduced in towns that attract Hindu pilgrims, like Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and Haridwar in Uttarakhand. Since it is perceived as a manifestation of tradition and culture, it is difficult to challenge it in a court of law.

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How Global Religious Freedom Is Being Harmed By Government Lies

Government-fostered misinformation and disinformation are hindering religious liberty in several places globally, USCIRF said in an August factsheet, and spreading societal religious persecution including violence. USCIRF defined misinformation as a claim that is false or inaccurate, and disinformation as a false or inaccurate claim that the government deliberately disseminates.

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Rwanda Closes Thousands Of Houses Of Worship After Claiming Code Violations

In a move widely seen as a major blow to religious freedom, the government of Rwanda has closed more than 4,000 houses of worship over the past month for various infractions that include operating in substandard structures, “unhygienic conditions,” not meeting noise pollution standards and not having formally trained preachers.

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Equatorial Guinea’s Decree Forcing Worship Registration Threatens Religious Freedom

Equatorial Guinea has a history of infringing on religious freedom dating back to the 1950s. The country is at it again using legislation to forcefully close numerous churches and deny thousands the freedom to worship. Six Pentecostal and evangelical churches were shut down by the government last year alone due to their failure to abide by registration regulations.

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ERLC Executive Committee Tries To Clarify Leadership Confusion

Members of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s executive committee acknowledge the events of the last 24 hours have brought confusion and frustration as conflicting press releases have tried to clarify that Brent Leatherwood is still at the helm of the SBC entity.

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Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit: Advocates Spotlight Growing Global Tensions

The theme of the conference, which took place at the school’s campus in South Bend, Indiana, was “Depolarizing Religious Liberty,” which still depends too much on one's race, faith or nationality. The highlight of the summit was an awards program and gala where the Religious Liberty Clinic was named after Lindsay and Matt Morun, who have supported such efforts financially since its inception.

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Religious Freedom: New Report Paints A Grim Global Picture

Millions continue to suffer religious persecution globally, with wars and civil conflicts exacerbating already existing ills in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the U.S. State Department documented in its 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom. The report attempts to present an overview of persecution by governments, extremists and members of society, relying on information from government officials, religious groups, nongovernmental organizations, journalists, human rights monitors, academia and the media.

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On Religion: Southern Baptists Wade (Once Again) Into Religious Liberty Waters

(ANALYSIS) In the midst of heated debates about female pastors and the morality of in vitro fertilization, the national Southern Baptist Convention recently passed a religious liberty resolution that — in terms of Baptist history — was rather ordinary. But these are not ordinary times in American life.

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SBC Clarifies New IVF And Religious Liberty Resolutions

A flurry of traditional and social media discussion surrounding two SBC resolutions (one on in vitro fertilization, the other on religious liberty) has provoked clarifications among Southern Baptists following the Convention’s Annual Meeting June 11-12 in Indianapolis.

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City Closes Church-Operated Temporary Shelter in Colorado

Castle Rock, Colorado, has closed the on-site temporary shelter hosted by The Rock, according to a complaint filed on behalf of the church by First Liberty, a legal defense fund that defends religious freedom.

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The Murder Of A Catholic Priest Highlights Rising Violence Against Clerics In South Africa

The murder last month of a Catholic priest is the latest in a spate of attacks against Christian clerics. Overall, South Africa’s crime rate has spiked to its highest levels in two decades. At the same time, many see these recent attacks against clerics as an infringement on their religious freedom to worship since Christians are increasingly fearful of going to church as a result of the increased violence.

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On Religion: Yes, Most Southern Baptists Support Religious Liberty For All

Neighborly Faith studied academic publications addressing this issue and created a detailed, 14-point compromise definition stating, in part: “Christian Nationalism is a movement advancing a vision of America's past, present, and future that excludes people of non-Christian religions and non-Western cultures. Christian Nationalists romanticize Christianity's influence on America's development, attributing the nation's historical provenance to God's special favor.”

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US Watchdog Group Recommends Adding 15 Nations To List Of Religious Freedom Violators

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its 2024 report urged the U.S. State Department to add 15 nations to the current list of egregious religious freedom violators, and recommended key policy guidance for the Biden administration. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Nigeria and Vietnam should be added to the 12 Countries of Particular Concern.

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Pastor Rearrested In Myanmar Just Hours After Being Freed

A Baptist pastor and religious freedom advocate in war-torn Myanmar was rearrested by junta leaders after mere hours of freedom. Hkalam Samson, former head of the Kachin Baptist Convention in Myanmar and a civic activist, had been released April 17 from a six-year prison sentence alongside 3,300 other prisoners in a mass amnesty customarily granted at Myanmar’s New Year, celebrated April 13-16 this year.

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Supreme Court Upholds Idaho Ban On Gender Transition Meds For Minors

A law criminalizing gender transition care for minors in Idaho can be applied while two anonymous teenage plaintiffs’ challenge to the law continues in court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 15.

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WATCH: The Struggle For Equality Among India’s Dalits

Bhupat Bhai Sekhaliya, a rickshaw driver from Gujarat, a state in western India known for its economic progress and as the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, faces significant challenges due to his background. He belongs to the Dalit community, which is at the bottom of India’s caste system.

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Jewish Plaintiffs Claim Religious Exemption To Indiana Abortion Ban

Hoosier Jews for Choice and four others can proceed in a class action challenge to Indiana’s abortion ban, claiming it violates their individual rights under the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), an appeals court has ruled.

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