Religious Liberty – Page 92

Atheists Groups Target Prayer at Public Meetings

Aug 20, 2013JerryReligious FreedomFreedom From Religion Foundation, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Continental_Congress_prayer The Freedom From Religion Foundation out of Wisconsin has teamed up with a California-based atheist organization to target public prayer at city council meetings in California, according to news sources.

Last June, FFRF sent a letter to the Chico City Council in Chico, California, instructing the council to “discontinue official, government prayers” at meetings.

Opening government meetings with an invocation is a longstanding practice in America that has been upheld as constitutional. Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter to the city council, asking them not to be bullied by these two atheist groups.

In the letter, ADF noted,

“There is simply no question that a public deliberative body may open its meetings with an invocation, even one that includes a prayer. Public prayer has been an essential part of our heritage since before this nation’s founding, and our Constitution has always protected the activity. Contrary to some recent claims, such prayer can also include distinctly Christian references without running afoul of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.”

Last year Freedom From Religion Foundation sent similar letters to public officials and government bodies who were celebrating Christmas with Nativity scenes and lighting ceremonies around the country.

Religious Liberty a Casualty of Efforts to Redefine Marriage

Jul 31, 2013JerryHomosexuality, Marriage, Religious FreedomHomosexuality, Marriage, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty, Same-Sex Marriage

Jerry Cox Recently, churches in states that have redefined marriage–such as New York and others–have wondered whether new marriage laws require them to permit same-sex weddings on church property.

Alliance Defending Freedom has the answer: In short, church property is private property, and the church is protected by the First Amendment when it comes to the activities it does and does not permit on its property.

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FRC Releases List of Threats to Religious Liberty in Military

Jul 26, 2013Jerry1 CommentReligious FreedomReligious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Family Research Council has collaborated with others to produce a list of encroachments of religious liberty in the military.

Increasingly, members of the armed services–especially chaplains–have found themselves at odds with their superiors over religious expression.

Examples of anti-religion activity include Rev. Billy Graham’s son Franklin being dis-invited to the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer event after criticizing Islam’s treatment of women; Christian prayers being banned at funeral services at the Houston National Cemetery; Walter Reed Medical Center banning Bibles; and an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity instructor labeling Catholics and Evangelical Christians as “extremists” alongside Al Quaeda, Hamas, and the KKK.

You can download the complete list, Clear and Present Danger, here.

Family Research Council has also put together a broader list of encroachments of religious liberty, The Survey of Religious Hostility in America. You can download that list here.