Houston Mayor Subpoenas Church Sermons

Religious Freedom, ,

Increasingly, I find myself telling people, “If you don’t believe religious liberty is under attack, try exercising it sometime. You’ll see what happens.”

We have written repeatedly about the so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinance passed in Fayetteville a few weeks ago and its unintended consequences. The ordinance creates special legal provisions for certain people based on sexual orientation and gender-identity at the expense of religious freedom and sound public policy. Fayetteville voters will have an opportunity to decide whether or not to repeal the ordinance at a special election on December 9 thanks to a petition drive carried out by local residents and church leaders.

However, nothing in Fayetteville compares to what Houston ministers are facing right now as a result of their city’s efforts to pass new “nondiscrimination” legislation. In a bizarre series of twists and turns, Houston city officials have ordered several local pastors to turn over sermons and other pastoral communications. Any pastor who fails to comply could face “fine or confinement, or both.”

In other words, the city is telling ministers they could be fined and imprisoned if they fail to turn over their sermons.

How did this happen? Isn’t this America? Doesn’t the First Amendment recognize and protect the freedom of speech and the exercise of religion?

According to different news sources, the Houston City Council, in the face of much opposition, passed a “nondiscrimination” ordinance last summer that, among other things, permits men to use the women’s restrooms and vice versa. To bring the ordinance up for citywide vote, local citizens began collecting petition signatures. They needed about 17,000 signatures; they collected more than 50,000. However, the city disqualified the petitions due to alleged inconsistencies.

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Referee Flags Player for Endzone Slide and Prayer

Religious Freedom,

The NFL has been in the limelight a good bit lately for its poor handling of domestic violence. The organization seems to be struggling in another area as well, however: Religious liberty.

Last night Kansas Chiefs free safety Husain Abdullah scored a touchdown against the New England Patriots. When he reached the endzone Abdullah slid on his knees and prayed. As a result, the referees threw a yellow flag, and the Chiefs were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Kansas City Star describes Abdullah as a devout Muslim who promised himself if he ever scored a touchdown he would bow in prayer.

The NFL does have a rule which states, “players are prohibited from engaging in any celebrations or demonstrations while on the ground.” However, the NFL typically makes exceptions for prayer–which is why players like Tim Tebow and others were able to drop to the ground and thank God in the endzone.

Some are alleging the penalty was a result of Abdullah’s slide on the ground–not the prayer. It seems difficult to distinguish the two, however.

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ASU Football Team 1-0 on Religious Liberty

Religious Freedom,

We have been following the story out of Jonesboro surrounding ASU’s decision to ban its football players from wearing crosses memorializing two students who died in the past year.

University officials told the football players they had to remove the cross-shaped decals bearing the initial of the two students from the backs of the players’ football helmets. One player, however, contacted attorneys at Liberty Institute who sent a letter to the school explaining the rights of the students.

ASU has since released a statement about the controversy, and while the university seems to be standing by its initial actions, it has agreed that the players may place NCAA-compliant decals on their uniforms memorializing their teammates.

In other words, the crosses can come back.

Attorney Hiram Sasser who represented the unnamed ASU football player released a statement, saying,

“The University officials and the Arkansas Attorney General did the right thing restoring the religious liberty and free speech rights of the players to have the original cross sticker design if they so choose and we commend them for doing so.”

When it comes to First Amendment freedoms, the ASU Red Wolves are undefeated this season.

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