Recent News & Columns
Here are recent columns and news items from the Baptist Joint Committee. Visit our blog and read our monthly magazine, Report from the Capital, to stay current on all religious liberty news. You can also read our press releases online.
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Cherilyn Crowe
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SCOTUS rules Philadelphia cannot require Catholic Social Services to certify same-sex couples for foster placement under its contract, majority declines to issue broader ruling
A unanimous decision in a case on such a controversial topic was entirely unexpected, but Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the opinion, focused the Court on a specific fact in Fulton v. Philadelphia.
BJC hosting Fierce Freedom, a free, online conversation on June 18
Religious freedom and racial justice are inextricably bound together.
Ohio Senate passes bill to protect right of student athletes to wear religious clothing after student disqualified for racing with hijab
The Ohio state senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 181, banning individual schools and the state Athletic Association from restricting an athlete’s right to wear religious clothing during competition.
Federal appeals court rules Vermont cannot exclude religious education from private school tuition program
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted the exclusion of religious schools from the state’s tuition program, despite Vermont’s constitution’s guarantee that “no person shall be compelled to support a place of worship.”
New BJC resources help facilitate conversations on race and religious liberty
To facilitate conversation at the intersection of Black freedom and religious liberty, BJC has companion study guides for group discussions on Religious Liberty Has Been White Too Long: Voices of Black Scholars.
Navy sailors sue for right to wear religiously mandated beards
Four servicemembers are asking the U.S. Navy for a religious exemption from requirements that they shave their beards in violation of their religious beliefs.
California ends litigation with agreement to lift all COVID restrictions on houses of worship
As a result of a permanent injunction, all churches in California can hold worship services without limitation.
U.S. State Department releases 2020 International Religious Freedom Report
The U.S. Department of State issued its latest report summarizing the status of religious freedom around the world, country by country.
In recent land cases applying RLUIPA, Baltimore County to pay $1.1 million for discrimination, Supreme Court asked to intervene in Minnesota
A church in Maryland and an Amish community in Minnesota are both involved in separate claims about RLIUPA (Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act).
Arkansas legislature refers troubling version of RFRA for public referendum in 2022 as amendment to state constitution
In 2022, Arkansas residents are poised to vote on a troubling referendum related to religious liberty that would amend the state constitution to add a version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).