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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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).
Religious liberty updates: U.S. House passes NO BAN Act; Texas reverses course on clergy in execution chamber, more
In addition to the passage of the NO BAN Act, here is a quick roundup of bills progressing in state legislatures and other state actions that caught my eye.
Supreme Court’s COVID rulings raise questions about wider religious liberty impact, emergency procedures
In Tandon v. Newsom, the court ruled that home Bible studies are exempt from the state’s regulations limiting gatherings in homes to three households.