Religious Freedom

PHOENIX — An effort to allow people to sue over potential violations of religious liberty cleared the Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday despite opposition from civil liberties groups who warn the measure will inspire waves of lawsuits over alleged First Amendment violations.

Former U.S. House Speaker, and failed GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, appearing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” falsely claimed that Catholic adoption agencies are being “outlawed” in some states where marriage equality laws take effect.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky state House is prepared to hold a vote Tuesday on overriding Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear’s veto of a bill that sponsors say is intended to protect the religious beliefs of Kentuckians from government intrusion.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Steve Beshear will have to decide Friday whether to veto a bill that supporters say would give stronger legal standing in Kentucky to people who claim their religious rights are being violated.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A former Tennessee state lawmaker turned anti-gay activist has helped draft a bill in the state legislature that would allow graduate student counselors to reject clients based on religious beliefs.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — LGBT advocates and civil rights groups have joined with the American Civil Liberities Union (ACLU) in calling on Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear to veto a religious freedom bill approved in the state Senate last week.

For fifty years, Bob Jones University, in Greenville, S.C., prohibited interracial dating and Bob Jones Jr. once claimed that Catholicism was a “satanic counterfeit” of fundamentalist Christianity.

Despite the ugly rhetoric and vile policies, Republican candidates regularly flocked to the school and groveled for its endorsement. The GOP luminaries who appeared at the university include Ronald Reagan, Dan Quayle, and Bob Dole.

This ignoble political ritual ended in 2000 after presidential candidate George W. Bush was excoriated for appearing at the school…

LONDON — More than 1,000 Roman Catholic priests have signed a letter voicing fears that legalization of same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom could threaten religious freedom in a way last seen during “centuries of persecution” of Roman Catholics in England. The letter, published Saturday in London’s Daily Telegraph, said marriage equality for gays and […]

When people see their own sons and daughters and friends and co-workers coming out, it creates a crisis of credibility for religious institutions. It leads to countless situations where mean-spirited men like Archbishop John Nienstedt demand blind, irrational obedience and say take it or leave it – and more people are now following their consciences and walking away.

What is up for vote in four states this November is civil marriage. A civil marriage is a legal contract within a state; it is not a religious marriage. Pastors will still be able to perform, or not, ceremonies at their will. No pastor will be forced to marry anyone. Period. It is true today and, no matter what the vote is on Nov. 6, it will be true then as well…