Religious Liberty Commission Discusses Faith at Schools

Religious Freedom, ,

On Monday, our friends from Alliance Defending Freedom testified at the Presidential Religious Liberty Commission.

In May, President Trump signed an executive order establishing the commission. The commission is responsible for “producing a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, strategies to increase awareness of and celebrate America’s peaceful religious pluralism, current threats to religious liberty, and strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations.”

The primary purpose of Monday’s commission meeting was to discuss religious liberty in education.

During his testimony before the commission, ADF Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch said:

“Religious liberty in education should not be a partisan issue. It is a matter of human dignity, family rights, and national flourishing. Our nation will continue to benefit from generations of young people formed in both knowledge and virtue if faith-based schools are free to live out their missions and families are free to choose them.”

In recent years, news outlets and congressional testimony have alleged that government policies and government agencies have been weaponized against people of faith — especially conservative and Christian organizations.

More broadly, wedding venues, bakeries, photography studios, and florist shops all have been taken to court or targeted by government officials because their owners wanted to operate according to their deeply held convictions.

In March, the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 400, the Religious Rights at Public Schools Act of 2025.

This good law by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) affirms public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties.

Act 400 identifies and upholds religious freedoms that are already protected by state and federal law — such as the right to pray, discuss religion, or read the Bible during free time at school.

The measure also helps make sure that religious expression is treated equally to other types of speech at school.

This will help prevent schools from squelching anyone’s religious liberties.

People should be free to live and operate according to their deeply held religious convictions, and we must protect religious freedom at school. That is why it is so important for our laws — and the government agencies that enforce those laws — to protect religious liberty as much as possible.

When it comes to religious liberty, public schools have been a battleground for more than 60 years.

We appreciate our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom standing up for the free exercise of religion in America.

The Religious Liberty Commission says it will hold another hearing to discuss religious liberty issues in the military on November 17.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Church Ambassador Network of Arkansas Connects with Leaders at SBC

Church,

Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. Over ten thousand messengers represented their churches at the Convention to commission missionaries, vote, and fellowship with fellow believers.

You can read about some of the notable resolutions that were passed here.

The Church Ambassador Network of Texas had a booth in the exhibit hall, where Cade Daniel from our team represented Arkansas alongside Church Ambassador staff from Iowa. Collectively, we interacted with hundreds of attendees including many pastors from Arkansas.

Many Americans do not fully appreciate how much churches do for their communities. Nationwide, researchers estimate that churches, ministries, and religious charities provide hundreds of billions of dollars worth of services every year.

Our Arkansas Church Ambassador Network currently has about 400 churches in it. In the coming months, we want to help elected officials and churches work together to address issues like foster care, fatherless homes, addiction, and human trafficking in Arkansas.

If you help lead a church or similar ministry in Arkansas, we would invite you to join the Church Ambassador Network for free today.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Ministers, Church Leaders Gather for Pastors’ Day at the Capitol

Church Ambassador Network, ,

On Thursday ministers and church leaders from across Arkansas gathered for Pastors’ Day at the Capitol.

Family Council and its Church Ambassador Network initiative sponsored this excellent event.

Pastors’ Day at the Capitol gives church leaders and opportunity to worship in the capitol rotunda, hear from elected officials, and pray over the state’s policymakers — and it’s one of the best things we do all year.

The Church Ambassador Network is a nonpartisan initiative of Family Council designed to build relationships between ministry leaders and community leaders. Our goal is for elected officials to see churches as a resource that can address many of the problems that communities face. This year the Church Ambassador Network has hosted different meetings between ministers and elected officials to help further that goal.

We are pleased to bring ministers and elected officials together for this excellent event, and we look forward to hosting other gatherings with ministers and elected officials in the near future.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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