By BJC Staff Reports
Since 2005, the Baptist Joint Committee’s Blog from the Capital has kept readers informed of the daily events, statements, decisions and commentary related to religious liberty and the separation of church and state. Written by Don Byrd, the blog is updated at www.BJConline.org/blog. Below are examples of issues the blog covers on a regular basis.
State religious freedom legislation
With the current wave of religious freedom legislation sweeping the country, Don Byrd has been updating the blog with recent developments in state legislatures. In an effort to help readers keep track of all of the states considering religious freedom bills that are in some way modeled on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), Byrd created a “State RFRA Tracker” post. It has three sections: section I monitors states with new RFRA bills currently filed, section II covers states with RFRA amendments proposed and section III lists the states with RFRA laws currently enacted. All sections have links to the referenced bills or statutes.
Visit BJConline.org/state-RFRA-tracker-2015 to keep up with the latest. And, if you see a proposal Byrd missed, let him know at [email protected].
Legislative prayer
The BJC blog keeps track of the impact of Supreme Court religious liberty rulings, such as the 2014 Greece v. Galloway decision allowing official prayers at local municipal meetings. The blog continues to share developments in communities across the country regarding government-sponsored prayer.
• Florida county commission votes to exclude atheists from giving invocations (08/20/2014)
• Commissioner walks out during pagan invocation: Is this the future of government prayer? (10/01/2014)
• Judge leaves injunction in place barring council-led prayer (08/06/2014)
Religion in public schools
The balance of religion in the public schools continues to be a tricky one for many districts. Whether it is too much restriction of religion or unconstitutional promotion of religion, you can keep up with the latest conflicts and discussions on the blog.
• Bible distribution in Oklahoma public schools draws letters of complaint (02/18/2015)
• After satanist coloring book controversy, Florida county schools to ban distribution of religious materials (02/11/2015)
• Complaints allege church-state violations in Ohio school district (12/3/2014)
Court rulings
Religious liberty cases come before a variety of courts and commissions, and the blog lets readers know about these rulings and their impact.
• Judge rejects Washington florist’s religious freedom argument (02/19/2015)
• 2nd circuit rejects religious liberty challenge to school vaccination policy (01/08/2015)
• EEOC rules for New Jersey teacher fired for giving a Bible to a student (01/07/2015)
• Dallas amends ordinance restricting homeless ministries after court ruling (12/12/2014)
From the March 2015 Report from the Capital. Click here to read the next article.
