Who to Call if Your School Faces a Lawsuit Over Religious Liberty

Religious Freedom

Schools have been a religious liberty battleground since 1962 when the U.S. Supreme Court declared school-sponsored prayer off-limits. Over 50 years later the lines are still being drawn.

Conway public schools were targeted last year by the Freedom From Religion Foundation for their long-standing policy of allowing youth pastors to visit members of their youth group at school during lunch—just as other friends and family members of students are allowed to do. Thankfully, the Conway School District didn’t cave in to the anti-religious demands of this out-of-state group. They called my friend Kelly Shackelford at the Liberty Institute in Plano, Texas. Kelly and his team provided free legal help.  The Conway school district pushed back, and the youth pastors were able to keep visiting students at the school.

Public schools are not religion-free zones. Students don’t surrender their First Amendment rights of religious freedom just because they walk through the door of a public school building.  If some groups had it their way, prisoners in our jails would have more religious liberty than 7th graders sitting in a classroom.

There are several organizations with the legal expertise to help schools push back when threatened.  In most cases, this help is free. If you are a student, teacher, or school administrator facing the threat of legal action over alleged First Amendment violations, call one of the groups listed below.

For more information on religious liberty in public schools, click here.

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No Exemption for Churches From Proposed Fayetteville Ordinance

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We have written about Fayetteville’s proposed nondiscrimination ordinance and its unintended consequences–particularly where churches are concerned.

In particular, churches could face criminal prosecution if they:

  • Refuse to hire a gay or transgender person to fill a “secular” staff position;
  • Decline to let a same-sex couple use their property for a same-sex ceremony or reception.

A few of you have asked about the amendment adopted at last week’s meeting supposedly exempting churches from the ordinance. Here is how the amendment reads:

“Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to require any religious or denominational institution or association to open its sanctuary or chapel to any individual or group for any ceremony including, but not limited to, weddings, funerals, confirmations, or baptisms.”

Here is the problem: The amendment only exempts the church sanctuary or chapel, and only for “ceremonies.”

A church could still be forced to open its sanctuary for non-ceremonial meetings–if the church lets other groups use its sanctuary for meetings.

The church could still be forced to open other parts of its property–such as the fellowship hall, classrooms, outdoor lawns or gardens, additional auditoriums, and so on–for ceremonies or receptions.

To put it another way, the ordinance does not exempt churches; it exempts one room from a church’s entire property: The sanctuary. That’s it. Every other piece of church property is fair game.

If the Fayetteville City Council intended to exempt churches, they could have done so. As it is, they only exempted the church sanctuary or chapel. That sends a very clear message: The ordinance is fully intended to affect churches.

Read the full language of the ordinance here.

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Anti-Hobby Lobby Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate

Current Events, Religious Freedom, ,

The following is a news alert from the American Family Association:

Following last week’s Hobby Lobby ruling by the Supreme Court that Hobby Lobby does not have to pay for employee’s abortion drugs and coverage under ObamaCare, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and his liberal comrades wasted no time introducing an “Anti-Hobby Lobby” bill. Read Harry Reid’s racist comment about the Supreme Court.

Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Mark Udall (D-CO) quickly introduced legislation this week to completely ignore the rule of law under the Constitution and employ Obama-style politics.

Reid has promised to bypass all committees to put this on the “fast track.” This means a vote could take place as early as next week.

Under Murray’s Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act, the attack against Hobby Lobby goes much deeper than even ObamaCare does. It specifically strikes at the heart of religious liberty by nullifying the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and completely terminating exemptions for all business, even those run by Christians with deeply held convictions about abortion.

This bill dictates that employers cannot interfere in their employee’s decisions about contraception and other health services through discrimination by (from Sen. Murray’s website):

  • Banning employers from refusing to cover any health coverage – including contraceptive coverage – guaranteed to their employees and dependents under federal law.
  • Stating that all federal laws do not permit employers to refuse to comply with the ACA requirement, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
  • Including the exemption from the contraceptive coverage requirement for houses of worship and the accommodation for religious non-profits.

This is a very demented and hate-filled attack on Hobby Lobby and people of faith everywhere. The Democratic leadership in the Senate is firmly resolute in promoting their evil agenda on two fronts. One is the killing of unborn children. The second is forcing Christians to pay for murder.

TAKE ACTION

Urge your senators to reject Harry Reid and Patty Murray’s vindictive attempts to force Christians and Christian business owners to violate their faith.

Please urge your senators to reject the “Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act.”

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