Religious Freedom – Page 27

Federal Government Sues Conway Kroger For Religious Discrimination

Sep 21, 2020Jerry CoxLGBT, Religious FreedomLGBT, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Last week the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced it has filed a lawsuit against a Kroger store in Conway over religious discrimination against two employees.

The lawsuit centers on two employees who were fired after they declined to wear a rainbow-colored heart at work; rainbow insignia generally are worn to show support for LGBT causes and lifestyles.

The EEOC writes,

According to the EEOC’s suit, the Conway Kroger implemented a new dress code, which included an apron depicting a rainbow-colored heart emblem on the bib of the apron. The women believed the emblem endorsed LGBTQ values and that wearing it would violate their religious beliefs. According to the EEOC, one woman offered to wear the apron with the emblem covered and the other offered to wear a different apron without the emblem, but the company made no attempt to accommodate their requests. When the women still refused to wear the apron with the emblem visible, the EEOC charged, Kroger retaliated against them by disciplining and ultimately discharging them.
Such alleged conduct violates the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Central Division, Civil Action No. 4:20-cv-01099, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The suit seeks monetary relief in the form of back pay and compensatory damages, as well as an injunction against future discrimination.

The Kroger store in question is the one located at 855 Salem Rd, Conway, AR 72034.

In recent years we’ve seen a number of major corporations try to use their influence to advance the LGBT agenda.

For example:

In 2014 Chase Bank surveyed its employees’ loyalty to LGBT causes.

In 2015 Kroger announced it soon would begin offering “trans-inclusive” employment benefits.

The following year, Target unveiled a new policy to let men use women’s restrooms — and vice versa — in its stores. Walgreens rolled out a similar policy in 2018.

And last year Gilette released a pro-transgender ad that ended up costing the company an estimated $8 billion in lost sales.

In the midst of all of this, it’s good to see the federal government taking a stand for religious liberty right here in Arkansas.

You can read the EEOC’s press release about the lawsuit here.

October 1 is Bring Your Bible to School Day

Sep 16, 2020Jerry CoxReligious FreedomBring Your Bible to School, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Bring Your Bible to School Day is coming up in just a few weeks on Thursday, October 1.

The event is promoted by our friends at Focus on the Family.

Each year it is estimated that more than half a million students across the United States participate by bringing their Bibles to school with them on this day.

Focus on the Family writes,

#BringYourBible is a nationwide, student-led movement to read and treasure Scripture as God’s Holy Word, to encourage others with the hope we have in Christ Jesus, and to celebrate our religious freedoms in the United States. It all culminates with Bring Your Bible to School Day on the first Thursday of October. (This year, the celebration will be October 1, 2020!) This event empowers Christian students of all ages to speak God’s grace and truth into the culture around them, starting with two simple steps — bringing their Bibles to school and sharing what God’s Word means to them.

School may be different for some kids this year, but students everywhere still can participate in Bring Your Bible to School Day. It’s a fun and easy way to exercise religious liberty.

Learn more at BringYourBible.org.

Trans-Targeting Catholic Hospitals

Aug 7, 2020John StonestreetLGBT, Religious FreedomLGBT, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty, Transgender

*John Stonestreet, Radio Host and President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview.*

A Catholic hospital in Baltimore is being sued by a woman for refusing to remove her perfectly healthy uterus. She claims the hospital discriminated against her because she identifies as a man.

No hospital should remove healthy organs, of course, and this Catholic hospital refused because of their faith commitments. Even if a non-transitioning woman wanted her healthy uterus removed, the Catholic hospital would refuse.

Catholic and other religiously based hospitals have been fighting this kind of absurd targeting for years, first over abortion and now over various levels of so-called sex-reassignment treatments.

This is no isolated case. A California court will hear a similar lawsuit soon, as well. As Wesley J. Smith warns at National Review, “Many Catholic hospitals will close before being forced to practice medicine in ways that violate Catholic doctrine.”

Our country’s health system is already strained, so this would be a disaster. Let’s pray religious freedom, public health, and common sense wins out over trans ideology.