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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Cell: 202-670-5877
Retired Justice Stevens, Establishment Clause champion, dies at 99
As the strength of the Establishment Clause continues to recede today, voices like Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court are more important than ever.
San Diego jury awards $300K in workplace religious discrimination suit
In a workplace discrimination suit, a federal jury required San Diego to pay Rasean Johnson, a city employee who faced continued religious harassment and proselytization at the hands of his supervisor, Sheila Beale.
Federal lawsuit challenges surveillance of pastor for immigrant ministry
A pastor in New York says the government infringed upon her religious freedom rights through government surveillance targeting her ministry to immigrants.
Veterans Administration cites cross ruling to support new religious display policies
New policies issued by the Veterans Administration regarding religious displays at VA facilities suggests the Supreme Court’s Bladensburg Cross ruling is already having a substantive impact, less than two weeks later.
11th Circuit affirms: Brevard County (Florida) prayer practice unconstitutional
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Florida’s Brevard County Board of Commissioners’ haphazard process for prayers to open their meetings violates the First Amendment, finding they violate the no-discrimination rule set in 2014’s Town of Greece v. Galloway ruling.
Vaccination refusal disputes in Michigan and Kentucky
Two different vaccine refusal disputes led to two different outcomes. Michigan’s Memorial Healthcare agreed to allow employees with religious objections to receiving the flu vaccine to wear a mask during flu season, while Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s ruling in favor of the Northern Kentucky Health Department’s exclusion of an unvaccinated high school student from school and extracurricular events during a chicken pox.
BJC Fellows Featured Prominently at Annual BYU Religious Freedom Conference
Four BJC Fellows—Tanner Bean, Jaimie Crumley, Sabrina Dent and Sofi Hersher—were among the presenter at the Annual Religious Freedom Review at Brigham Young University. This conference offers the opportunity for important dialogue across religious and cultural divides about current issues related to religious liberty.
Lead the Conversation
Who is she? She is everyone because everyone has a part to play. Ensuring faith freedom for all will take all of us. Together, we are up for the challenge. We are excited to introduce you to BJC’s new look.
Race, religion, resistance and rage
Rev. Dr. Aidsand Wright-Riggins challenges audiences to see the connections between race and religion and how we can move toward a more just future
Sex, race and civil discourse
Today, religious communities must lead by example to engage in civil dialogue and mediate deep differences of opinion and belief.
