Religious Freedom – Page 45

Rebuilt Ten Commandments Monument One Step Closer to Capitol Lawn

Dec 5, 2017Jerry CoxReligious FreedomReligious Freedom, Religious Liberty, Ten Commandments

In 2015 Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Bigelow) sponsored a law authorizing a monument of the Ten Commandments on the Arkansas State Capitol Grounds. It was placed on the Capitol lawn on June 27, 2017.

Less than 24 hours later, a man plowed a vehicle into the monument, completely destroying it.

In late October we learned the monument had been reconstructed and would be placed on the Capitol lawn in the near future.

Today a subcommittee of the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission approved a proposal to reinstall the monument and make it more secure by adding concrete barriers to prevent a vehicle from destroying it again.

The Associated Press reports a public hearing on the proposed changes will be held this week before they go before the full commission next week.

Meanwhile, the ACLU has said it plans to file a lawsuit against the State of Arkansas as soon as the monument is back on the Capitol Grounds. They say the monument is unconstitutional and has no place on public property — even though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled an identical monument constitutional in Texas.

Federal DOJ Files Brief in Support of Religious Liberty at Supreme Court

Sep 25, 2017Jerry CoxReligious FreedomReligious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Earlier this month the federal Department of Justice filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a baker in Colorado in an important religious liberty case.

Jack Phillips is a baker and cake designer. He is also a Christian. In 2012 he was asked to design a custom cake for a same-sex ceremony. Phillips declined and was promptly sued for discrimination under the state’s public accommodation law.

It’s important to note that Mr. Phillips sells cakes and baked goods to people regardless of their sexual-orientation. However, he does not prepare cakes for every occasion, based on his Christian beliefs. For example, according to documents filed with the court, Mr. Phillips does not operate his business on Sundays; does not sell products containing alcohol; and does not provide goods related to Halloween.

His case has gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and earlier this month the federal Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in the case supporting Mr. Phillips.

Attorneys at the DOJ write, “Forcing Phillips to create expression for and participate in a ceremony that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs invades his First Amendment rights . . . . Colorado has not offered, and could not reasonably offer, a sufficient justification for that compulsion here.”

Mr. Phillips’s case highlights a growing threat to religious liberty: State and local “nondiscrimination” policies. While these laws are often touted as ways to protect people from discrimination, they can run roughshod over religious liberty and force people to say or do things that violate their deeply-held religious beliefs.

Fortunately the federal government is standing with Mr. Phillips, but ultimately this case rests in the hands of the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Teacher Tells First-Graders Not to Talk About God

Sep 20, 2017Jerry CoxReligious FreedomReligious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Last month a public school teacher in Indiana sent notes home informing families that her classroom was not the “appropriate time or place” for students to talk about religion.

The truth is, students have a constitutionally-protected right to talk about God and share their faith at school as long as they are not being disruptive. That means students can talk about their faith, read the Bible, or pray during free time.

It also means they can tie their faith into class assignments; for example, many students assigned essays along the lines of, “What person has influenced you the most?” have written about Jesus Christ.

Fortunately in this case the school district informed the teacher that the school cannot squelch students’ free speech or religious liberty.

You can download a handy flyer about students’ religious liberties here.

And don’t forget October 5 is Bring Your Bible to School Day. We are partnering with our friends at Focus on the Family to encourage students across Arkansas to take their Bibles with them to school on this day.

This is a simple way students can exercise their religious liberty and celebrate God’s Word at the same time.

This October, don’t go to school without your Bible. You can find out more about Bring Your Bible to School Day by clicking here.