https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to hobby lobby en https://religiondispatches.org/2023/01/10/celebrating-religious-freedom-day-taking-back-revolutionary-meaning-religious-freedom Religious freedom has been at the center of American history since the founding. (And by the founding , I mean of the United States of America , not including the roughly century-and-a-half of colonial era.) There’s a story of religious… Tue, 10 Jan 2023 12:09:48 EST Frederick Clarkson 53ffc929-a1d7-4534-854e-e4b4545b0011 https://religiondispatches.org/2021/09/07/bill-mill-ennialism-arkansas-end-times-politics-may-be-coming-state-near-you It was the best of the end times. It was the worst of the end times. It was the age of Trump. It was 2019. Trump was compared with the greatest of God’s biblical champions. Things would never be the… Tue, 07 Sep 2021 02:43:35 EDT Frederick Clarkson 77201a1d-2b34-4fdf-a065-5f9e082fb830 https://religiondispatches.org/2021/07/26/updated-turning-catholic-schools-anti-mask-theology-faith-argument-just-fine-religious UPDATE, July 27: The Catholic journalist Tony Spence points out that the Diocese of Lansing Schools have their own masking requirement, in keeping with Michigan state law. In an F.A.Q., the district notes that “Faith-based schools must follow State issued… Mon, 26 Jul 2021 02:43:43 EDT Daniel Schultz 74594c75-91fd-4361-9376-e757aad5099f https://religiondispatches.org/2021/05/20/first-roe-then-contraception-unless-action-taken-supreme-court-about-strike-down Sixteen days before Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, the Supreme Court scheduled a conference on a case that could end the reproductive freedom of 170 million American women. Ginsburg died on Sept. 19, 2020, and the conference, set for Sept. 29… Thu, 20 May 2021 12:59:34 EDT Andrew L. Seidel 37c17d42-2690-4b2e-a762-6b0883e79b83 https://religiondispatches.org/2020/09/29/can-democrats-question-amy-coney-barretts-faith-yes-should-they-well Let’s cut right to the paper chase, as it were. Amy Coney Barrett’s faith is potentially problematic, and ought to be subject to the same kind of critique as any other belief, sacred or secular. Whether or not critics of… Tue, 29 Sep 2020 11:32:35 EDT Daniel Schultz c0dd77a4-0c26-4223-8230-de1956f06aba https://religiondispatches.org/2020/04/13/new-book-olivier-roy-argues-aggressive-attempts-christianize-west-actually-hasten How completely de-Christianized and secularized has Western Europe become? Data from the EU tell a tale of radically declining Christian belief and participation. The numbers of those attending Sunday services have tumbled into the single digits, and roughly the same… Mon, 13 Apr 2020 03:34:53 EDT Ivan Strenski 51c09a36-adce-49af-a06e-4a986284d1dc https://religiondispatches.org/2019/10/08/dinos-and-demons-and-swedes-oh-my-it-may-be-cartoonish-evangelical-radicalism-isnt-just Evangelical authoritarianism is a problem that the American mainstream as a rule fails to treat with the seriousness it demands, in part because it’s easy to laugh at the antics of a Robert Jeffress while assuming that more respectable conservative evangelicals are more moderate and more numerous. Tue, 08 Oct 2019 04:24:01 EDT Chrissy Stroop 52498094-4cca-4c2c-93a4-00a8e289db09 https://religiondispatches.org/2019/01/03/religious-freedom-battle-far-over-heres-what-look-2019 While the issues are piling up, the Supreme Court—and U.S. society more broadly—will have to face the questions ducked in Masterpiece Cakeshop, or else be willing to settle for a level of uncertainty that serves no one. Thu, 03 Jan 2019 03:17:20 EST Patrick Hornbeck ec27ae95-8ca8-4bd4-ac5d-245f46891eb8 https://religiondispatches.org/2018/12/06/religious-freedom-manifesto-calls-compromise-and-civility-whats-so-wrong Behind earnestly worded appeals for religious freedom and respect is a pretense that the Framers of the Constitution and the First Amendment somehow intended to justify discrimination against others. Thu, 06 Dec 2018 09:49:32 EST Frederick Clarkson 96e043fc-f63c-4c2b-a5a5-951a9f71510f https://religiondispatches.org/2018/10/25/religious-freedom-may-now-include-discrimination-against-jews-and-muslims South Carolina governor Henry McMaster moved to protect Miracle Hill and other agencies that want to to discriminate against Jews and others and continue to receive government funding. Thu, 25 Oct 2018 03:12:20 EDT Heron Greenesmith ea855e3e-0adf-48d2-924c-302338c16c59 https://religiondispatches.org/2018/10/08/unreleased-religious-freedom-manifesto-isnt-culture-war-compromise-it-hopes-be Given the institutional backing and the generous rhetoric, many well-intentioned people will consider signing on. But before they do, there are a few things they might consider. Mon, 08 Oct 2018 05:23:37 EDT Frederick Clarkson aa8d5d85-65e2-42e6-9bfc-7817a8a7961c https://religiondispatches.org/2018/01/08/historian-john-ragosta-discusses-context-and-inspiration-religious-freedom-us Historian John Ragosta details some of the strikingly similar issues over the proper place of religion and religious expression in a secular nation compromised of mostly religious individuals. Mon, 08 Jan 2018 03:13:41 EST Frederick Clarkson 58683e65-016d-4270-afef-3b1ad9ce4b03 https://religiondispatches.org/2018/01/08/religious-freedom-historian-john-ragosta-religious-freedom To listen to the Christian Right, which has been busy seeking religious exemptions from laws governing reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights, one might think that armies of secularists are swarming like locusts over the land, seeking to snuff out the… Mon, 08 Jan 2018 02:48:52 EST Frederick Clarkson c26e0365-5546-4ffd-a909-ff7f1ab47ef7 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/12/01/what-justice-gorsuchs-record-suggests-about-masterpiece-cakeshop-case When the Supreme Court hears oral arguments December 5 in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, it will be the first time the Court has taken up a major gay-rights case since its historic June 2015 ruling in Obergefell… Fri, 01 Dec 2017 12:20:54 EST Patrick Hornbeck 62c422a2-42bc-485a-b81b-12598b6c3710 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/11/30/how-ruling-masterpiece-cakeshop-could-embolden-white-nationalists While deploying “religious freedom” arguments to push back on progressive social change is hardly new, the explicitly anti-LGBT premise of the upcoming Masterpiece Cakeshop suit is a relatively novel iteration of this bedrock principle’s adjudication at the high court, according… Thu, 30 Nov 2017 12:34:05 EST Sunnivie Brydum dab00b59-b194-4419-ac2b-76dc904e0155 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/11/14/evangelical-author-why-christian-conservatives-supported-trump Though he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million ballots, the Electoral College carried Donald Trump across the line with razor thin victories in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Nationally, he relied very heavily on support from a base few… Tue, 14 Nov 2017 01:42:11 EST Eric C. Miller 27eb82ac-de61-4f79-b544-639e9b9ab0f9 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/10/03/its-preposterous-we-cant-question-nominees-religion For the second time since her contentious hearing for an appellate court slot, the religious practice of Amy Coney Barrett has come into question, unleashing a firestorm about what what many call an unconscionable questioning of her faith and religious… Tue, 03 Oct 2017 01:55:33 EDT Patricia Miller a8c76d54-ccf8-473d-9113-0133ca4ba82b https://religiondispatches.org/2017/07/13/3-reasons-catholic-bishops-are-holding-their-tongues-gop-health-care-debacle When President Obama proposed requiring health plans to cover common contraceptives without charge, the Catholic bishops howled like the world was coming to an end. Dire warnings about the future of religious liberty were issued on a regular basis by… Thu, 13 Jul 2017 07:30:15 EDT Patricia Miller 8203fa98-a9f8-4309-b9d2-0655edb7c3a9 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/06/06/can-i-get-some-birth-control-pills-slushie-unpacking-contraceptive-mandate-rollback A roundtable discussion with RD’s Sunnivie Brydum, Patricia Miller, and Anita Little. Tue, 06 Jun 2017 05:22:27 EDT Sunnivie Brydum 92ec58ea-4813-4f68-964d-757b800faacf https://religiondispatches.org/2017/05/30/five-signs-atwoods-handmaids-tale-dystopia-may-be-nigh Pending dystopia, it appears, is in the eye of the beholder. Here at RD, Diane Winston notes that Vice President Mike Pence makes a chilling stand-in for the “Commander” in Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, a representative of what “quiet, white… Tue, 30 May 2017 10:58:45 EDT Patricia Miller c1240db4-876a-4fff-a1f8-b90eca0f4d3c https://religiondispatches.org/2017/05/17/religion-front-tyranny-roundtable-timeliness-hulus-handmaids-tale Are we worse off than when “The Handmaid’s Tale” was first published? Wed, 17 May 2017 06:58:26 EDT Anita Little d0036e25-1192-4e04-853b-31171eb79e6b https://religiondispatches.org/2017/05/04/why-trumps-religious-liberty-order-whole-lot-nothing This morning’s presidential signing of an executive order “promoting free speech and religious liberty” isn’t the broad license to discriminate against LGBT people that many activists feared. Instead, it’s a vague, largely symbolic gesture that seems intended to appease the… Thu, 04 May 2017 06:47:36 EDT Sunnivie Brydum 081ec1d1-7c23-4ddd-92a8-871317920a62 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/04/07/gorsuch-confirmed-dont-get-too-bent-out-shape Well, it’s done. Moments ago the Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch as the newest associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. His ascension to the high court was, of course, incredibly contentious, though not for the reasons it should have been… Fri, 07 Apr 2017 12:05:52 EDT Sunnivie Brydum deb8ba9c-3f49-40ff-a8ea-97d8cf1e9fd3 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/02/16/if-its-really-about-religious-freedom-why-mention-just-one-belief For the past week or so, the National Review’s Alexandra Desanctis and I have been debating some of the finer points of both “religious freedom” and religious freedom. On Monday she published a response to my piece critiquing her analysis… Thu, 16 Feb 2017 11:10:04 EST Sunnivie Brydum d611a616-c0d9-47bc-b57f-a1ec201cef84 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/02/09/irony-watch-trumps-travel-ban-violates-religious-freedom-act-according-aclu-lawsuit Tearing a page from the “religious liberty” playbook, the ACLU contends that Trump’s travel ban violates core constitutional principles—and, crucially, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Thu, 09 Feb 2017 05:54:44 EST Sunnivie Brydum d0d6e4bf-7e62-4e23-aa08-6ca7d25baf3b