Latest News
Written by Don Byrd, these updates bring together the latest news impacting the conversation around religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
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On a 4-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court leaves ban on religious charter schools in Oklahoma in place
What was expected to be a major Supreme Court decision thankfully fizzled in a 1-page, unsigned opinion this week that ended a recent push for a religious charter school.
Call to action: Federal voucher scheme, other troubling provisions in budget bill worry faith leaders ahead of vote
Now is the time for members of Congress to hear from their constituents on a number of concerning provisions in the budget reconciliation bill being hotly debated in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Apache Stronghold wins late reprieve as federal court halts transfer of sacred Oak Flat land to mining company pending Supreme Court review
The long-running legal dispute over the land known as Chí’chil Biłdagoteel — loosely translated in English as “Oak Flat” — has taken another turn. A federal court halted a planned transfer of the land, which was scheduled to take place as soon as June 16 of this year.
BJC, other faith leaders and religious organizations tell Congress to reject a proposed school voucher tax scheme
Hundreds of faith leaders and dozens of faith organizations -- including BJC -- are raising their collective voices this week against dangerous new legislation that would create a national school voucher system. Their urgent message? Keep the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) out of the budget.
SCOTUS hears arguments in pivotal religious liberty case involving the unprecedented creation of religious charter schools
Oklahoma v. Drummond is a critical case, testing whether longheld Establishment Clause principles in the public school context will endure under the current Supreme Court’s trend away from protecting the institutional separation of church and state.
In oral argument, U.S. Supreme Court wrestles with the limits of public school parents’ opt-out rights
In oral argument in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court probed the issue of whether and to what extent parents of young schoolchildren enjoy a right under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to opt their students out of curricular activities that conflict with their religious beliefs.
BJC urges U.S. Supreme Court to rule nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school unconstitutional
If the Court holds that states can or even must accept religious schools as charter schools, it would upend decades of Establishment Clause jurisprudence. As BJC's brief says, “The state may not directly fund religious instruction. That line has long preserved both faith and freedom. It should be respected here.”
Kentucky faith leaders urge Gov. Beshear to veto bill erecting Ten Commandments monument at state Capitol
In a letter to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, dozens of faith leaders – including Christian leaders – explained why returning an enormous, permanent Ten Commandments monument to the grounds of the Kentucky Capitol is a bad idea.
