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.
For press inquiries, contact:
Cherilyn Crowe
Director of Communications
[email protected]
202-544-4226 x 305
Cell: 202-670-5877
BJC joins diverse group of religious leaders to mourn victims of 9/11, promote religious freedom
The religious leaders mourned victims of the attacks in New York and recognized families of Muslims killed on September 11, 2001. The coalition, called Shoulder to Shoulder, also highlighted religious organizations that have led grassroots efforts to unite religious...
Religion in political campaigns — An interfaith statement of principles
This is the full text of the statement released February 21, 2012, by the Baptist Joint Committee and other organizations.
From the March 2012 Report from the Capital
Supreme Court lets prayer decisions stand
Written by K. Hollyn Hollman, BJC General Counsel
Recent decisions reflect a proper application of religious liberty case law, recognizing that sectarian prayers by public officials undermine religious liberty and degrade religion by entangling it with government. The Supreme Court was right to deny the public officials’ request for review — in one case, a school board, and in another, a county board of commissioners.
Update: New rule addresses religious freedom, contraception concerns
WASHINGTON – Responding Friday to opponents of the administration’s rule requiring most health insurance plans to cover contraceptive services, President Obama announced a new policy that expands the religious accommodation and requires insurance companies to offer...
Walker comments on recent HHS rule regarding contraception
Note: this story was UPDATED on February 10. Click here to read the update. Feb. 8, 2012 The Department of Health and Human Services issued a new rule that requires most health insurance plans to cover contraceptive services starting August 1. While churches are...
The significance of Supreme Court review
Written by K. Hollyn Hollman, BJC General Counsel
So far this term, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review lower court decisions in two high-profile religious liberty disputes, one involving cross displays erected along Utah’s highways and another concerning a New York church’s long-term use of a public school building for its weekly Sunday worship services. In the former case, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a 19 page dissent — atypical at the petition stage — expressing his disagreement with the Court’s decision not to grant review.
Is Administration’s Contraception Coverage Policy Constitutional?
Written by Don Byrd
Lawsuits have been filed challenging the Obama Administration’s decision to include certain types of religious organization in the general requirement that health insurance plans must cover contraception. The policy, announced last week, does exempt houses of worship and religious organizations that employ primarily those of the same faith
What ‘secular’ really means
Written by J. Brent Walker, BJC Executive Director
“Secular” is not a bad word as many religious people and some politicians believe. In fact, it is a good word and, properly understood, is useful to describe our political culture and church-state configuration.
BJC lauds High Court decision protecting religious entities’ right to hire ministerial personnel
In unanimous decision, justices rule ‘ministerial exception’ grounded in First Amendment FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jeff Huett 202-544-4226Cherilyn Crowe 202-544-4226 January 11, 2012 WASHINGTON – In a unanimous decision today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a...
Campaign for politics in the pulpit is flawed
As citizens we are called to work toward a just society. It should be no surprise, then, that people of faith have been engaged in virtually every social reform movement throughout American history. Religious individuals and houses of worship have the right and...
