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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Texas health care provider ordered to pay former employees for mandating prayer and religious discussions
Employees shouldn’t have to choose between remaining true to their faith and keeping their job.
State legislatures advance RFRA, other religious freedom legislation
Montana, South Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina are the latest states looking at various religious freedom legislation.
Federal Court upholds California’s COVID-related restrictions on singing, chanting in religious worship
A federal court in California declined to issue an injunction that would halt the state’s prohibition on singing and chanting during worship services, concluding that the regulations did not treat religion differently than secular activities.
Massachusetts Supreme Court rules not all professors at Christian college are ministers, allows employment discrimination case to proceed
In a potentially significant church-state decision, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that the “ministerial exception” does not extend to a social work professor.
Agriculture Department issues temporary reprieve for sacred Apache land after federal court rejected tribe’s religious freedom claim
Leaders of the Apache and other Native American tribes have urged against a transfer of land in Arizona to mining companies, in part because the conveyance includes land (“Oak Flat”) they consider sacred.
What does supporting public schools have to do with religious liberty? A lot!
February 22-26 is Public Schools Week, an occasion for advocates to celebrate the essential work of public schools in our communities and to call attention to the ongoing legislative efforts to undermine public schools.
President Biden reinstates Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, returns Melissa Rogers to helm
By executive order, President Joe Biden re-established the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (White House Partnerships Office).
U.S. Supreme Court sides with Alabama death row inmate, declines to lift stay of execution over state’s refusal to allow clergy in chamber
The appeals court halted the execution of Willie Smith over the state of Alabama’s refusal to allow Smith to be accompanied by his pastor in the execution chamber
U.S. Supreme Court halts some California worship restrictions, leaves others in place for now
By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court agreed to halt California’s total ban on indoor services in extremely high infection areas, but the Court left in place percentage-based capacity restrictions and the state’s ban on singing and chanting during indoor activities, which applies also to worship services.
Federal appeals court upholds nativity scene, citing memorial cross ruling
A federal appeals court held that the law has changed regarding how courts analyze whether a nativity scene on government land runs afoul of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.