Religious Freedom – Page 100

What Churches Who Charter Boy Scout Troops Need to Know

Sep 18, 2013JerryHomosexuality, Religious FreedomHomosexuality, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

There are some potential legal problems churches need to know they could now face if chartering a Boy Scout troop.

Earlier this year the Boy Scouts of America changed their membership policy, choosing to allow openly gay Boy Scouts to participate in scouting. According to a memo circulated by the Alliance Defending Freedom, churches who charter Boy Scout troops could now be at serious risk due to the BSA’s decision.

According to ADF, a church chartering a Boy Scout troop could:

See its teaching on sexual morality curtailed. According to ADF, “Under threat of litigation, a church that chooses to maintain ties with BSA could face forfeiting the ability to teach biblical principles of sexual morality to its Scouts and to require them to adhere to those principles.”
Find itself unable to speak out against homosexuality in other contexts. According to ADF, “Affirming the ‘good conduct’ and ‘moral straightness’ of youth of any sexual orientation or preference—which is the effect of a church chartering a BSA troop—could limit a church’s ability to make a convincing showing [in court] that its beliefs opposing homosexuality should be constitutionally protected because of the internal inconsistency created by the charter.” This has the potential affect everything from hiring staff to church policies on facility-use.

What Does ADF Recommend?

(more…)

Government Denies Aid to Ministry, But Supports Abortionists

Sep 12, 2013JerryReligious FreedomAbortion, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

A government official in Florida has told an outreach ministry, Christian Service Center (CSC), that serves the poor it can no longer distribute USDA food the government allocates for private charities—unless, of course, the ministry agrees to take down its portraits of Christ, hide its copy of the Ten Commandments, and remove a banner that reads, “Jesus is Lord.” The ministry also has to stop handing out Bibles, quit offering to pray with the needy, and agree not to refer people to its chapel.

Basically, this ministry—which previously had been given USDA food by the government to distribute to the poor—was told in the future it could distribute food only if it did so without mention of religion.

There are two obvious problems here: (more…)

ADF Reaffirms Gideons’ Right to Distribute Literature

Sep 6, 2013JerryReligious FreedomReligious Freedom, Religious Liberty

Alliance Defending Freedom has sent letters to Kentucky public schools reaffirming the rights of Gideons International to distribute literature in public schools the same way other groups are permitted to do so. According to ADF,

“Alliance Defending Freedom sent 174 school districts in Kentucky a follow-up legal letter Wednesday after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened them for the second time with litigation if they have refused to ban literature distribution by the Gideons at their schools. The letter notes that Alliance Defending Freedom’s previous letter to the school districts forced the ACLU to reluctantly admit that there are constitutionally permissible ways in which Gideons Bibles may be distributed on campus.”

If public schools permit outside groups to distribute material legally on campus through certain means, they cannot discriminate against certain groups on the basis of religion. To do so, as ADF points out, “would be flatly unconstitutional.”

You may recall a similar situation that developed in Vilonia, AR, earlier this year when public school officials decided not to allow youth ministers to visit campus–even though other adults who did not work for religious organizations were free to obtain visitor passes from the school office.

That decision was a reaction to a letter sent from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation alleging the school could not legally permit pastors on campus. Ultimately, after consulting with attorneys, school officials determined if they allowedvisitors on campus, they could not bar religious visitors from campus while permitting nonreligious, and adopted a policy clarifying any confusion over the school district’s on-campus visitor programs.