WASHINGTON (BP) – The Southern Baptist Convention’s religious freedom entity welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling (May 2) that the city of Boston violated the constitutionally protected right to free speech by prohibiting the flying of the Christian flag. In a 9-0 judgment that united the conservative and liberal wings of the high court, the justices found in Shurtleff v. City of Boston the city’s refusal to permit a Christian civic organization to raise the Christian flag … [Read more...]
USCIRF report: Religious liberty deteriorates in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (BP) — The Taliban’s return to control of Afghanistan headlined the examples of religious freedom deteriorating in multiple countries last year, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in its annual report issued April 25. For the first time in more than two decades, USCIRF – a bipartisan panel established by federal law in 1998 – recommended Afghanistan’s inclusion on a list of the world’s most egregious violators of the right to believe and … [Read more...]
Supreme Court considers coach’s post-game prayers
WASHINGTON (BP) – The U.S. Supreme Court weighed lengthy arguments April 25 regarding whether a high school football coach’s post-game prayer at midfield violates the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion. The justices questioned lawyers for Joseph Kennedy and the Bremerton (Wash.) School District during oral arguments that lasted more than one hour and 45 minutes in a case that involves the rights of public school teachers and coaches to exercise their religious … [Read more...]
‘We’re about God’s Kingdom,’ MBC’s Nelson says at Midwest March for Life
JEFFERSON CITY – Pro-life advocates should stand firmly on the Word of God as they strive to save lives, Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) President Jon Nelson told men, women and young people gathered for the Midwest March for Life in the Rotunda of Missouri’s Capitol building here, April 20. Praying that God would strengthen pro-life advocates for their task, Nelson told the crowd that public policy efforts and legislation can’t bring ultimate victory in the fight to defend unborn … [Read more...]
Christian witness to China camp horrors now in U.S.
WASHINGTON (BP) – A Christian who was imprisoned for 10 months in western China is now in the United States as a witness to the notorious “re-education” camps being operated by the Communist regime of the world’s most populous country. Ovalbek Turdakun, his wife and son arrived in the United States April 8 after a lengthy, successful effort to avoid deportation back to China that was aided by allies in the United States and other countries. Ovalbek is the first Christian to speak out … [Read more...]
ERLC applauds U.S. genocide designation in Myanmar
WASHINGTON (BP) – The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission welcomed the Biden administration’s determination that the Myanmar military has committed genocide against the Rohingya ethnic group. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday (March 21) the designation of “genocide and crimes against humanity” for the campaign against the Rohingya by Myanmar’s military forces, known as the Tatmadaw. It is the eighth time the United States has made a genocide … [Read more...]
Religious exemptions for foster care, adoption agencies challenged
WASHINGTON (BP) – Religious exemptions for Christian adoption and foster care agencies are still being challenged litigiously, despite favorable precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court and district courts, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) said, March 22. In the latest favorable ruling, Catholic Charities West Michigan won the right March 21 in a Michigan federal district court to operate according to its guiding religious principles without government punishment. At issue was the … [Read more...]
CBMW’s Denny Burk warns Bible’s ‘vision of manhood, womanhood, sexuality is under assault’
BOLIVAR – Denny Burk serves as professor of biblical studies at Boyce College, located on at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and as president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW). Burk will speak in Bolivar, Feb. 19-21, at Southern Hills Baptist Church and Southwest Baptist University, in conjunction with a conference highlighting biblical views of marriage, gender and sexuality. To learn more about the conference – called “The Gender Choice: Whose is it?” – … [Read more...]
Missouri ‘Equality Act’ jeopardizes Christians’ First Amendment rights
Missouri Non-Discrimination Act (MONA) introduced in Missouri House, Senate JEFFERSON CITY – A bill that threatens the First Amendment rights of Missouri Christians has been introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives and Senate. Senate bill 711 is sponsored by Sen. Greg Razor, a Kansas City Democrat who is a homosexual. State Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, is sponsoring a House version. Known as the Missouri Non-Discrimination Act (MONA), it is a state version of the highly … [Read more...]
SCOTUS vaccine mandate decision has mixed impact
WASHINGTON – The United States Supreme Court upheld one federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, while also halting another vaccine mandate in a decision released, Jan. 13. While the ruling was a blessing to many religious organizations across the nation, it may harm many healthcare ministries, including The Baptist Homes & Healthcare Ministries of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC). Last fall, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a vaccine mandate that applied … [Read more...]
‘Living inside the cage’: Afghanistan tops Christian persecution list
SANTA ANA, Calif. (BP) – The Christian refugee hopped on one of the last flights out of Afghanistan to save his life and family. Since the Taliban regained rule there, Christians are hunted down and killed. “It’s really hard when you want to have freedom of faith and freely read our Bibles, freely share our faith,” he said at a Jan. 19th press conference revealing Opens Doors’ 2022 Watch List of the top countries for Christian persecution. “It’s really dangerous because you know, you’re … [Read more...]
Eighth Circuit Court considers transgender mandate
ST. LOUIS (BP) – A federal appeals court is considering whether a lower court was correct in halting government regulations that require health care providers to perform or provide insurance coverage for gender-transition procedures. A three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis heard oral arguments Dec. 15 in a case involving a challenge by Catholic hospitals and other institutions, as well as an order of nuns, to what has been described as the transgender … [Read more...]
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