religious freedom Archives - The Virginia Star

Religious Freedom Advocates Demand Answers on State Department’s Exclusion of Nigeria, India from Persecution List

January 21, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

A group of international religious freedom experts are calling for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to testify before a congressional hearing about the State Department’s decision to exclude Nigeria and India from a list of nations with severe violations of religious freedom.

In a letter sent Wednesday, first obtained by The Daily Signal, more than 40 religious freedom experts and organizations pointed out that since 2009, more than 50,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria, and 18,000 churches and 2,500 Christian schools attacked. They also cited India, where they say that between 200 and 400 churches and 3,500 Christian homes have been attacked just since last May.

Commentary: Americans Embrace Religion, Reject Religious Bigotry

January 14, 2024 RealClearWire

More than half a century ago, Time magazine famously asked, “Is God Dead?” The black and red cover, the magazine’s first to include only text, sparked countless angry sermons and thousands of letters from readers accusing Time of engaging in tasteless nihilism, Marxist pandering, and outright blasphemy.

The question, which typified the counter-culture movement and the intellectual radicalism of the 1960s, was far off the mark both then and now. The United States has always been and remains a very religious nation despite steep declines in attendance at churches, synagogues, and mosques – trends that have captured far more headlines in recent years than the nation’s enduring faith. America is also a majority Christian nation, though other religious groups and affiliations and those identifying as non-believers are growing.

Virginia Teacher Fired for Not Using Student’s Preferred Pronouns Wins Major Victory

December 16, 2023December 15, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

In a gratifying win for religious freedom and free speech, the Virginia Supreme Court concluded Thursday that embattled Virginia high school teacher Peter Vlaming, who had been fired over his refusal to use a student’s preferred pronouns because of his religious faith, was protected by the free exercise and free speech clauses of the Virginia Constitution.

In 2018, Vlaming, then a West Point High School French teacher, consistently referred to his transgender student (a biological female) by the student’s preferred name. However, he carefully avoided the use of third-person pronouns when referring to the student so as to not violate his religious beliefs. This wasn’t good enough for the West Point School Board, which ordered Vlaming to use the student’s preferred pronouns, too.

Parents of Student Urging Pro-Catholic Teachings Suspended from Their Teaching Positions, Under Investigation

May 13, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

The parents of internationally known Ontario high school student Josh Alexander have been suspended from their teaching posts in another board and placed under investigation over what appears to be their son’s outspoken views against his Catholic school board’s cave to the LGBTQ agenda.

“From the beginning, I understood the consequences my actions may have and I was willing to take that stand and face the consequences,” Alexander told The Epoch Times, according to a report Thursday.

New Jersey U.S. Rep. Chris Smith Rips Biden Administration for Canceling Franciscans’ Longstanding Contract to Provide Military Hospital Pastoral Care

April 18, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

A letter Friday from Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin condemned the Biden administration’s decision to end the contract for provision of pastoral care by a community of Franciscan clergy to service members and veterans at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“I write today with grave concerns regarding the provision of Religious Services at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, specifically Catholic pastoral care, and request you immediately provide access for Catholic priests who seek to offer pastoral care to service members and Veterans who are in the hospital,” Smith wrote, noting the cease-and-desist letter issued by the medical center to the Franciscans at Holy Name College.

Minneapolis First Big City to Broadcast Muslim Call to Prayer Five Times Daily Year-Round

April 17, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Minneapolis has become the first major city in the United States to allow the Muslim call to prayer to be broadcast over speakers five times per day, year-round, including in the early mornings and late evenings. The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously Thursday – during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan – to approve an amendment to the city’s noise ordinance that would allow the “adhan” – “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” call to prayer to be sounded every day, year-round, five times daily.

Catholic Advocacy Group Prepared to Sue FBI for Failure to Comply With FOIA on Targeting of ‘Radical Traditional Catholics’

April 12, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

A leading national Catholic advocacy organization says it is prepared to file a lawsuit against the FBI for failing to comply with its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that seeks communications information related to a leaked document that revealed the bureau was targeting so-called “radical traditional Catholics.”

Lawsuit: Oregon State Officials Deny Woman’s Adoption Application Because of Her Christian Religious Beliefs

April 11, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a federal lawsuit last week against the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) on behalf of a woman whose application to adopt siblings from foster care was denied because her Christian faith beliefs do not allow her to agree to support the “sexual orientation, gender identity, [and] gender expression” of children placed in her home. “Oregon’s policy amounts to an ideological litmus test: people who hold secular or ‘progressive’ views on sexual orientation and gender identity are eligible to participate in child welfare programs, while people of faith with religiously informed views are disqualified because they don’t agree with the state’s orthodoxy,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jonathan Scruggs, who runs the ADF Center for Conscience Initiatives.

Catholic Civil Rights Group Condemns State Legislation to Force Priests to Break Seal of Confession

March 13, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Bills in the states of Vermont, Delaware, and Washington would include in mandatory reporting laws information about child sexual abuse a priest learns during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a move the Catholic League states lacks sound reasoning.

Last week Catholic League President Bill Donohue warned the “seal of confession” is “under fire” in Vermont, noting the Catholic civil rights organization is once again “doing battle with lawmakers who want to violate” the priest-penitent privilege, mostly in legislation concerning the sexual abuse of minors.

Watchdogs Press JPMorgan Chase Bank for Answers on Cancellation of Religious Freedom Group’s Account

February 27, 2023 Admin

JPMorgan Chase & Co. wants to exclude shareholder resolutions from two conservative watchdog groups that relate to the bank’s closing of the account of a religious-freedom nonprofit founded by former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.

Brownback, a former U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom during the Trump administration, is also a Republican former member of the House and Senate from Kansas. He founded the National Committee for Religious Freedom.

Candace Cameron Bure: Christian Message of ‘Traditional Marriage’ at Core of Great American Family Channel

November 17, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Christian actress Candace Cameron Bure says in her new top-level role at the Great American Family Channel, she will place faith and “traditional marriage” at the core of its Christmas movies.

In April, Bure became chief creative officer at Great American Family, a channel that is aiming to become the faith and freedom alternative to Hallmark, where the actress once served as the chief representative of the romantic comedy Christmas channel.

Senate Advances Bill Enshrining Same-Sex Marriage Agenda in Federal Law with Significant Republican Support

November 17, 2022November 16, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) moved for a procedural vote Wednesday on legislation that would enshrine same-sex marriage in federal law and block any states refusing to recognize such marriages.

The bill also would provide federal protection for interracial marriage.

Faith Leaders Warn So-Called Respect for Marriage Act Will Hack Away at Religious Freedom

November 17, 2022November 16, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

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 a man and a woman.

Commentary: Religious Freedom Wiped Out in Afghanistan

August 31, 2022August 30, 2022 RealClearWire

Two months ago, explosions and gunfire tore through a Sikh house of worship in Kabul, Afghanistan. Seven attackers, reportedly part of ISIS-K, the Afghanistan affiliate of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, tried to storm the temple on a Saturday morning, throwing grenades at security guards standing at the entrance. One gunman began firing on those worshipping inside; another attacker detonated a vehicle parked outside the temple.

Biden Plan to Restore Obamacare’s Protection of Transgender Rights in Federal Healthcare Programs Poised to Stoke Religious Freedom Lawsuits

July 27, 2022July 26, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

The Biden administration will once again sow its seeds of division by proposing a rule to “protect” those claiming “gender identity” discrimination in federal healthcare programs, a move that is expected to generate religious freedom disputes.

The Biden Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Monday its proposed rule will implement Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) to affirm that “protections against discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity” are “consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Bostock v. Clayton County,” and to reiterate “protections from discrimination for seeking reproductive health care services.”

Callista Gingrich Commentary: Protecting America’s First Freedom

January 23, 2022January 23, 2022 Admin

On January 15, during a Sabbath service at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, four worshipers were taken hostage by Malik Faisal Akram. Thankfully, all four hostages were freed, but that does not erase the evil and hate surrounding this terrorist attack.

Using Jewish worshippers as hostages to force the release of an imprisoned convicted terrorist was the explicit motive of Akram, as made clear by his statements during the attack. The Washington Post reported, “Akram chose this place, according to people who heard him on the live stream, because it appeared to be the closest assemblage of Jews to a federal facility in Fort Worth where an American-educated Pakistani convicted terrorist is serving an 86-year sentence for shooting at U.S. soldiers and FBI agents.”

Ironically, the day after this horrific attack, the United States observed National Religious Freedom Day, which commemorates the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786. This law later inspired and shaped the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

University Ordered to Pay Almost $2 Million After Students Win Religious Freedom Lawsuit

December 20, 2021 Admin

A federal judge ordered the University of Iowa (UI) to pay $1.9 million in fees and damages after two student groups won a series of religious discrimination lawsuits against the university.

The Becket Fund, which represents Business Leaders in Christ, will receive $1.37 million while Intervarsity Christian Fellowship will get $533,000, Crux reports.

Eric Baxter, a senior VP and counsel at The Becket Fund, told Campus Reform targeting students of faith “comes at a price.”

SCOTUS to Consider Maine Religious School Tuition Case

December 6, 2021December 5, 2021 The Center Square

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in a Maine lawsuit that challenges a state law prohibiting the use of tuition funds for religious education.

A lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice and First Liberty Institute on behalf of several Maine families seeks to overturn a state law that prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars for students to attend religious-based schools.

Washington Florist Who Declined to Arrange Flowers for Same-Sex Wedding Settles Lengthy Lawsuit

November 21, 2021November 21, 2021 Admin

A Christian florist in Washington settled a legal case Thursday centering around her refusal to provide custom floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding.

“I have put to rest the last legal considerations for a decision my husband, Darold, and I made nearly a decade ago,” Barronelle Stutzman said in a release from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

The public-interest law firm that represented Stutzman stated that the legal battle that started in 2012 will end with a $5,000 payment to Robert Ingersoll, the customer she turned down.

Commentary: Biden Targets the Religious Freedom of Federal Contractors

November 15, 2021November 14, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Joe Biden is systematically eliminating the religious freedom protections that Donald Trump established. The latest example of Biden’s secularist program comes from his Labor Department, which is planning to undo Trump’s policy of defending the religious freedom of federal contractors.

Trump’s Labor Department protected federal contractors who “hold themselves out to the public as carrying out a religious purpose.”

“Religious organizations should not have to fear that acceptance of a federal contract or subcontract will require them to abandon their religious character or identity,” said Trump’s Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia.

Facebook Courts Religious Groups, Religious Leaders Remain Skeptical

August 7, 2021August 6, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Facebook has been courting partnerships with religious groups in hopes of becoming their virtual home, the New York Times reported in late July. Experts and religious leaders told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the social media platform’s interest in shaping the future of religious experience should be closely monitored to protect religious freedom.

Though it is unlikely that a virtual religious experience will replace in-person religious services, the Times acknowledged, Facebook’s partnerships with religious groups expose Facebook’s plans to shape the future of the religious experience — as it has done with both political and social life.

“I just want people to know that Facebook is a place where, when they do feel discouraged or depressed or isolated, that they could go to Facebook and they could immediately connect with a group of people that care about them,” Nona Jones, a nondenominational minister and Facebook’s director for global faith partnerships, told the Times.

American Center for Law Sues Virginia County for Unlawful Discrimination for Requiring Church to Obtain Liquor License

August 4, 2021August 3, 2021 Cooper Moran

The American Center for Law and Justice filed a lawsuit on Tuesday on behalf of a local church against Prince William County, Virginia, due to the government requiring a church to obtain a liquor license in order to use its own property.

The group alleges the county is discriminating against Alive Church of the Nazarene because of the regulation and the church’s belief against obtaining the license.

Supreme Court Unanimously Sides with Catholic Adoption Agency in Religious Freedom Case

June 18, 2021June 17, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

The United States Supreme Court has unanimously sided with a Catholic adoption agency in a religious freedom case regarding same sex unions.

The court ruled 9-0 that the city of Philadelphia’s refusal to contract with Catholic Social Services (CSS) unless CSS agreed to ‘certify same-sex couples as foster parents” violates CSS’s free exercise of the First Amendment.

Trump’s Spiritual Advisor Criticizes Biden Policies

May 28, 2021May 27, 2021 Cooper Moran

Paula White, President Trump’s spiritual advisor, took aim at President Joe Biden’s policies since taking office.

In an interview with Dr. Gina Loudon on the Real America’s Voice news network on Wednesday, Pastor White criticized the Biden Administration for enacting policies that are “totally out of alignment” with the Christian faith. Specifically, White pointed to Biden’s attempts to undo much of the progress made by the Trump administration in efforts to protect religious freedom and the right to life.

Legal Group Intervenes After University Bars Christian Student from Classes over Refusal to Take Vaccines

May 25, 2021May 24, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

A Christian nonprofit legal group has sent a letter to the University of Alabama-Birmingham after the public university blocked a student from registering for classes because she would not take vaccines.

The letter from First Liberty Institute asks university officials to follow the religious exemption it granted Jackie Gale for her first year at school. The university does not currently mandate the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Due to Ms. Gale’s religious beliefs, she cannot receive the childhood immunizations UAB requires under its immunization policy,” Christine Pratt, counsel for First Liberty, wrote in a May 13 demand letter.

Commentary: A Critical Tool for Advancing and Defending International Religious Freedom

May 22, 2021May 21, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

American flag in front of large crowd of people

The United States recognizes religious freedom as an unalienable right and is committed to its advancement and protection for all.

As the world’s leading defender of the right to worship freely, the United States strongly condemns and holds accountable those nations and non-state actors who reject and violate this fundamental freedom.

In support of this mission, on May 12, 2021, the United States Department of State released the 23rd annual Report on International Religious Freedom as required by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). This report describes the status of religious freedom in every country, government policies violating religious beliefs and practices, and U.S. policies to promote religious freedom around the world. Each year, the report is presented to the U.S. Congress.

Commentary: Championing America’s First Freedom

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

The right to worship freely is often called America’s first freedom. Our founding fathers understood religious freedom not as the state’s creation but as an unalienable right from God.

This universal right is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.”

Today, however, religious freedom is threatened or restricted entirely for millions of people around the world. Over 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries with high or severe restrictions on religious freedom. In far too many places across the globe, governments and others prevent individuals from living in accordance with their beliefs.

LGBT Legal Group Sues to Strip Religious Universities of Civil Rights Protections

April 28, 2021April 27, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

A group of Christian college students is suing the U.S. Department of Education, alleging that Title IX’s religious exemption allows federally-funded religious colleges and universities to discriminate against LGBTQ students.

The Religious Exemption Accountability Project filed the lawsuit in an Oregon federal court on March 29. The suit aims to prohibit any students from using federal tuition grants, student loans, and any other federal financial aid at post-secondary schools that uphold biblical beliefs on gender and sexuality.

“REAP’s lawsuit asserts the constitutional and basic human rights of LGBTQ+ students, seeking to end the sexual, physical and psychological abuses perpetrated under the religious exemption to Title IX at thousands of federally-funded schools, colleges and universities across America,” according to the organization’s website.

Commentary: India’s Anti-Religious Freedom Laws

April 17, 2021April 16, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Three state governments in India have recently passed new “freedom of religion” laws, also known as anti-conversion laws. The new laws are an attempt to suppress the alleged “love jihad” – an attempt by Muslim men to marry Hindu women with the intention of converting their wives to Islam.

Historically, India’s anti-conversion laws differ slightly by state, but as the U.S. Library of Congress noted, “All of the laws seek to prevent any person from converting or attempting to convert, either directly or otherwise, another person through ‘forcible’ or ‘fraudulent’ means, or by ‘allurement’ or ‘inducement.’”

Commentary: Trump Administration Protects Patients’ Religious Freedom From COVID Lockdowns

October 24, 2020October 23, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

When hospitals in Maryland and Virginia recently denied patients access to their priests, the Trump administration stepped in to protect the patients’ religious freedom from Covid lockdown overreach.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), it took government intervention to resolve the cases, one involving MedStar’s Southern Maryland Hospital Center (MSMHC) and the second one involving Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC) in Virginia.

Christian Wedding Photographer and Ministries Sue Virginia Over Law Banning LGBTQ Discrimination

October 1, 2020September 30, 2020 Corinne Murdock

A Christian wedding photographer and two churches, three Christian schools, and a pro-life ministry sued Virginia for its LGBTQ discrimination law. The plaintiffs argue that the law is a violation of religious freedom in the First Amendment.

The Christian plaintiffs say the state law forces their hand. If they don’t forsake God’s commandments, they could endure hundreds of thousands or more in fines and litigation fees. And, they could face a court order to adhere to the law. These individuals are also prohibited from expressing any religious beliefs that may be perceived as discriminatory.

Conservatives Praise Supreme Court for Ruling States Can’t Discriminate Against Religious Schools

July 1, 2020June 30, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday that states can’t cut religious schools out of programs that send public money to private education in a 5-4 ruling.

Hailed as a victory for religious freedom, the justices upheld a Montana scholarship program that allows state tax credits for private schooling in which almost all the recipients attend religious schools.

Commentary: The Church Collaborates in Its Own Destruction

June 22, 2020June 21, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

One might think the Catholic Church would stand against the orgy of iconoclasm that we are witnessing across the country — toppled statues, defaced churches, and the like. But, no, the feeble voices of priests and bishops join the creepy chorus of the mob. In California, the mob has targeted statues of Junipero Serra, the saintly Franciscan who spread the faith through a system of missions. Where is the Church to protect the statues? Nowhere. In Ventura, where the mob demands the removal of a Serra statue in front of its city hall, the Church has gone along with it.