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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U.S. Supreme Court strengthens workplace religious freedom standard in unanimous ruling
In the Groff v. DeJoy decision, the Court explained that co-workers’ feelings about religion, or their personal objection to religious practices, are not sufficient to deny an employee’s religious accommodation request.
A pair of Supreme Court decisions we’re waiting for as the term winds down
More than a dozen cases remain undecided at the Supreme Court for this term, including not one but two cases with issues related to religious liberty.
Oklahoma faces likely legal challenge after board approved first religious charter school in the U.S.
The Oklahoma Charter School Board approved a Catholic school’s application for charter school funding, making it the first religious charter school in the country and setting the stage for a likely legal battle.
Ten Commandments bill fails, chaplain in schools measure passes as legislative session in Texas ends
Bills that don’t get passed by the end of the Texas Legislature’s session expire and can’t be reintroduced until the next session — here’s an update on the outcome of some Texas legislation related to religious liberty we have been following.
BJC applauds White House announcement of unprecedented national initiative to combat antisemitism
The White House rightly noted that, while “antisemitic incidents most directly and intensely affect the Jewish community, antisemitism threatens all of us.”
Biden administration affirms core religious liberty principles in new guidance on religion in public schools
The Department of Education issued new guidance on prayer and religious expression in public schools, emphasizing that although school officials “may not promote or favor religion or coerce the consciences of students,” schools are not “religion-free zones.”
U.S. commission warns of deteriorating international religious freedom conditions
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) highlighted worsening conditions for religious freedom in many parts of the world in its annual report.
Bills promoting religion in public schools are advancing in the Texas legislature
The Texas state Senate passed four measures in April related to religion in public schools, some of which are raising significant religious liberty concerns for public school students and their parents.
Supreme Court hears oral argument in dispute over workplace religious accommodations
Justices questioning Groff’s attorney explained their concern about overturning a previous court ruling interpreting a statute that Congress could change if it desired. In other words, they seemed more interested in defending the principle of statutory stare decisis than they were defending the “more than de minimis” standard established in Hardison.
Appeals court rules emotional harm to students and disruptions in learning are ‘undue hardships,’ justifying a refusal to accommodate a teacher’s religious beliefs
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an Indiana high school music teacher’s claim that his dismissal for refusing to use transgender students’ preferred names and pronouns violated his religious liberty rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.