religious liberty - Page 5

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio supported mass protests this weekend on behalf of Black Lives Matter and the transgender cause, but the city is welding shut public parks used by the Orthodox Jewish community.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted China’s egregious violations of religious liberty, telling journalists on Wednesday the Chinese Communist Party has been waging a “decades-long war on faith.”

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) lifted the restrictions he placed on houses of worship in his state Thursday after two churches filed an emergency injunction pending appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has urged Christians to wear masks, practice social distancing, and forego singing and receiving communion during worship services to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) warned California Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday that his reopening plan discriminates against religion and must be modified to allow for religious services to reopen.

The Catholic bishop of Providence, RI, Thomas J. Tobin, has challenged the authority of the state to shut down the religious worship of its citizens.

Simply by taking a stand, Eric Dreiband said, the DOJ had encouraged several local governments to back down from extreme coronavirus measures that discriminated against religious institutions.

Both secularists and Christians have come out against a proposed hate crime law in Scotland, insisting that the loosely worded law poses a threat to free speech.

The United Kingdom’s Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) argued before the High Court that Christian groups should not allow their religious beliefs to influence their professional activities.

Attorney General William Barr has made it clear by his words and actions that civil liberties are “not suspended in times of crisis.” And for the sake of religious people everywhere, I pray that it continues.

Pakistan’s Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs has called for the beheading of people who commit blasphemy.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has designated India as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for the first time since 2004, declaring that the government engages in or tolerates “particularly severe” violations of religious freedom.

Law professor Maria Lucia Di Bitonto has written a scathing legal analysis of the Italian government’s ban on public worship, saying the state’s actions have been “unacceptable, illegitimate, and unconstitutional” and more closely resemble the measures adopted by Chinese communists than a democratic regime.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr issued a warning Monday to state and local governments not to infringe on fundamental freedoms and civil rights in their enforcement of coronavirus restrictions, specifically warning against religious discrimination.

When civil authorities go beyond safety guidelines and overreach, Christians should be ready for a fight by whatever legal means necessary.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue declared Monday that recent bans on religious activities to curb the spread of the coronavirus constitute “state overreach” that directly threatens religious freedom.

Italian law enforcement intervened at the end of a Palm Sunday Mass celebrated by Bishop Raffaello Martinelli with some 40 persons in attendance.

More and more Catholics in Italy are voicing their disappointment with Church leadership in the face of violations of religious liberty, including the classification of worship as a nonessential activity.

Italy’s Interior Ministry decreed Friday that going to a church to pray does not constitute a valid reason for leaving one’s home during the coronavirus lockdown, and violators are subject to heavy sanctions.

Several Christian groups and religious leaders have expressed concerns that sweeping government actions to combat the spread of coronavirus endanger religious liberty.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has dismissed the case of two Christian midwives who were denied jobs in Sweden for refusing to perform abortions, ruling that the violation of the women’s consciences as “proportionate.”

The Vatican’s delegate to the United Nations issued a strongly worded reproach to a U.N. report proposing that religious freedom must “surrender” to gender and reproductive rights.

President Donald Trump stressed Tuesday night during his State of the Union address that America is a faith-filled nation.

Catholic League President Bill Donohue said Friday that the Trump administration’s public policy reforms regarding religious liberty are “compelling and much needed.”

The chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty praised America’s rich tradition of religious freedom while calling for further strides.

HHS and DHS proposed rules that would implement Trump’s executive order that protects the religious freedom of faith-based organizations.

President Donald J. Trump has officially proclaimed January 16, 2020, “Religious Freedom Day” to commemorate “the foundational link between freedom and faith in our country.”

CT Attorney General William Tong has joined 22 other Democrat AGs in calling for the continuation of free birth control under Obamacare.

Twenty-seven of America’s state capitols will feature nativity scenes this Christmas as Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The Pew Research Center asserts that the Democrat Party is divided by race, especially where faith and marriage are concerned.

Legal institute Becket says religious freedom “has survived the culture wars,” as Americans support a “broad interpretation” of that freedom.

Pope Francis underscored the preeminence of religious liberty Friday, calling this freedom an “incomparable right” that must be respected for the sake of the common good.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said the decision of Chick-fil-A to end its charitable donations to Christian organizations such as the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes “does not win them friends” but will, instead, “cost them friends.”

The Trump HHS has proposed a rule that would end Obama-era regulations forcing faith-based adoption agencies to compromise their beliefs.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr observed America’s Framers believed in religious freedom “not just as a nod in the direction of piety,” but as “indispensable to sustaining a free system of government.”

One message resounding loudly and clearly from the latest televised Democrat debate is how hostile the party has become toward people of faith, Catholic League President Bill Donohue said on Friday.