Religious Liberty – Page 4

Governor Sanders Proclaims Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students

Sep 25, 2023Jerry CoxPrayerDay of Prayer for Arkansas Students, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Governor Sanders has proclaims a Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students this week.

Act 902 of 2021 establishes a Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students on the last Wednesday of September each year.

The governor’s prayer proclamation reads,

WHEREAS: Students, teachers, and parents in Arkansas enjoy the right to pray. Arkansas and its government acknowledge that we are all endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them freedom of religion;

WHEREAS: As the Gospel of John tells us, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him;”

WHEREAS: Knowing the power of prayer, we ask God to provide Arkansas students with wisdom and guidance in this new schoolyear;

WHEREAS: We pray that our students see the benefits of the most sweeping education reforms — Arkansas LEARNS — to be implemented in our schools in decades so that no child is trapped in a lifetime of poverty;

WHEREAS: We unite with our fellow Arkansans to thank God for our great schools and the opportunities they provide; and

WHEREAS: We make a commitment to always protect the right to pray in our schools, knowing the power God holds over our state and her people.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, Governor of the State of Arkansas, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Arkansas, do hereby proclaim September 27th,2023 as

“A DAY OF PRAYER FOR ARKANSAS STUDENTS”

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 6th day of September, in the year of our Lord 2023.

We want to thank Governor Sanders for recognizing September 27 as the state’s third annual Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students — and we want to encourage Arkansans everywhere to pause this week to pray for our students, our teachers, and our school administrators. There truly is tremendous value in taking time to pray.

CBN Highlights How Family Council and Others Affected by “De-Banking”

Sep 18, 2023Jerry CoxReligious FreedomBanking, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Last week the Christian Broadcasting Network reported how banks in America have been weaponized against conservative organizations. This is especially true of Christian groups that have been “de-banked” by JPMorgan Chase and others.

The CBN story — which you can watch above or read here — cites Family Council among the groups who have had their bank accounts closed.

At 10:29 AM on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, our office received a terse email from our credit card processor — a company owned by JPMorgan Chase — saying, “Unfortunately, we can no longer support your business. We wish you all the luck in the future, and hope that you find a processor that better fits your payment processing needs.”

Within sixty seconds, our account was terminated and and Family Council could no longer accept donations online.

Just like the CBN story highlights, eventually we learned the company had designated Family Council as “High Risk.” According to their Terms of Service, High Risk companies include:

Astrology and psychic services
Career placement services
Cyberlockers and file sharing or storage services
Companies that conduct research or testing on animals
Companies known to have issues with labor or working conditions
Companies involved in land acquisition and involuntary resettlement
Companies who have been subject to allegations related to human rights violations
Pawn shops
Private prison operators

The list goes on, but it’s unclear how what prompted the bank to decide Family Council fit under the “High Risk” category. All we can do is speculate that our conservative principles and our public policy work might have had something to do with the decision.

However, the Terms of Service also let the banking service terminate our account at any time for any reason or no reason at all. Apparently that’s what they decided to do with us.

It’s frustrating that one of the largest banks in the nation would treat its customers so unfairly and unprofessionally. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior may be more common than many people realize.

You can find the full story from CBN here.

Banning Christian Adoptions

Aug 28, 2023John StonestreetAdoptionAdoption, Child Welfare, Religious Liberty

Massachusetts is rejecting would-be adoptive parents if those parents are Christian and thus denying a home to children in need, according to a new lawsuit. Mike and Kitty Burke went through all the classes, background checks, and home assessments required to become adoptive parents, and scored highly. Yet, they were rejected because, as state officials wrote in their report, the couple’s Christian faith meant they are “not supportive” of kids who identify as LGBTQ.

Right now, in Massachusetts more than 1,500 kids are in need of a foster home. Not only do advocates deny biology and sexualize children by suggesting their sexual preferences are their identity, but they also deny kids loving parents as if it is better to not have a home than to be in a home with a religious mom and dad.

This is not an isolated incident. A mom in Oregon was also rejected from fostering kids for the same reason. Again, it’s the children who are harmed.