New Yorkers for Religious Liberty is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting religious freedom in New York City as it comes under attack from policies such as the COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Alliance Defending Freedom is serving as co-counsel for the organization, representing . . . Continue reading →
Civil Liberties
Connecticut Church Sues Over Vaccine Mandate
A Connecticut church is suing the state for allegedly breaching its First Amendment rights by no longer allowing parents’ religious exemptions to vaccines. The lawsuit comes after the state ordered Milford Christian Church to implement the vaccine mandate and expel students who . . . Continue reading →
“Hard Work U” Sues Biden Admin Over Trans Policy
Founded in 1906, College of the Ozarks is a religious school in Missouri that aims to provide its students a Christian education. The college’s vision is to develop citizens of Christ-like character who are well-educated, hardworking, and patriotic. No students pay tuition . . . Continue reading →
Catholic Bookstore Defends Its Religious Rights From City Law
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a Catholic bookstore in Jacksonville filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging a city law that requires Queen of Angels Catholic Bookstore to speak against its beliefs and to silence its religious views to remain in business. Queen of Angels . . . Continue reading →
U. S. District Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Religious Schools
Plaintiffs are students who have attended religious colleges and universities nationwide. Plaintiffs bring this putative class action against the United States Department of Education (“the Department”) and Suzanne Goldberg in her official capacity as Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Civil . . . Continue reading →
End Of Life Options Act Clashes With Religious Rights Of Doctors
“Hospice philosophy seeks neither to shorten someone’s life nor to prolong it, but to treat and recognize the dignity of each person,” Cochrane told National Review. “The goal of the physician should be to heal, not to harm.” When California’s End of Life . . . Continue reading →
Religious Freedom Watch: Southwest Ordered To Reinstate Flight Attendant Fired For Pro-Life Beliefs
A federal court has ordered Southwest Airlines and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) to give former flight attendant Charlene Carter her job back after she was allegedly fired over her stance on abortion. As CBN News reported in July, after a five-year legal battle, . . . Continue reading →
Drag Queen Story Hour And The Pedophilia Spectrum
Drag Queen Story Hour—in which performers in drag read books to kids in libraries, schools, and bookstores—has become a cultural flashpoint. The political Right has denounced these performances as sexual transgressions against children, while the political Left has defended them as an . . . Continue reading →
In Colorado Is Christian Speech Is Less Protected By The First Amendment Than Other Speech?
As Alliance Defending Freedom’s Kristen Waggoner so aptly put it in her closing remarks, everyone in Colorado is allowed to speak freely about same-sex marriage except those who object to it. The Biden administration’s Deputy Solicitor General Brian Fletcher even admitted during . . . Continue reading →
Federal District Court Orders Airline To Return Job To Flight Attendant Fired For Her Pro-Life Views
A federal court has ordered Southwest Airlines and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) to give former flight attendant Charlene Carter her job back after she was allegedly fired over her stance on abortion. As CBN News reported in July, after a five-year . . . Continue reading →
Eighth Circuit Protects Physicians’ Religious Liberty Not To Perform “Gender Transition” Procedures
A federal court on Friday blocked a Biden administration mandate that would force religious hospitals and doctors to facilitate gender transitions against their sincerely held moral convictions. The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision to block enforcement . . . Continue reading →
School Board Member Under Fire For Voicing Concern About Sexualized Posters In An Elementary School
Activists are calling for a New Jersey school board member to resign after she voiced opposition to a poster she said was inappropriate for schoolchildren, and criticized gender and sexual identity curriculum at large. “Last night, I attended an elementary ‘Math Night.’ . . . Continue reading →
University Of Wyoming Bans Church Elder On The Basis Of Speech Content
The University of Wyoming’s (UW) decision to ban a church elder from operating a table inside the student union raises free speech concerns, lawmakers and legal experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation. UW restricted Laramie Faith Community Church elder Todd Schmidt’s . . . Continue reading →
Religious Freedom Watch: The Government Is Choosing Which Rights Are Worthy Of Protection
As Alliance Defending Freedom’s Kristen Waggoner so aptly put it in her closing remarks, everyone in Colorado is allowed to speak freely about same-sex marriage except those who object to it. The Biden administration’s Deputy Solicitor General Brian Fletcher even admitted during . . . Continue reading →
A Kansas Supreme Court Justice On The State Of Free Speech At KU Law
So you will understand why I was disappointed to hear from KU Law students who recently came to me to express concern over administration actions surrounding a lunch-hour event sponsored by the student chapter of the Federalist Society. My understanding, from participants, . . . Continue reading →
Scientists Targeted and Censored After Speaking Out On Broad Vaccine Mandates
The declaration began circulating on social media and rapidly garnered signatures, including from other highly credentialed scientists. Most mainstream news outlets and the scientists they chose to quote denounced the declaration in no uncertain terms. When contacted by reporters, Drs. Anthony Fauci . . . Continue reading →
Religious Freedom Watch: Physician Assistant Fired For Not Using “Biology-Obscuring Pronouns”
First Liberty filed a lawsuit in federal court this week on behalf of Valerie Kloosterman, a physician assistant who was fired by the University of Michigan Health System because of her religious beliefs. She was terminated for seeking a religious accommodation from . . . Continue reading →
Religious Freedom, The Right To Worship, And Premodern Thinking
To be honest, writing a critical review of Phillip Muñoz’s American Liberty and the American Founding was a painful task. It was painful in part because I sincerely admire Muñoz and his scholarship, and in part because within the prescribed word limits (which I . . . Continue reading →
Religious Freedom Watch: Bakery Wins First Amendment Rights Case
A California state judge on Friday handed a victory to a bakery owner who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, citing religious objections. Kern County Superior Court Judge J. Eric Bradshaw ruled that California’s Department of Fair Housing . . . Continue reading →
Lamenting Christendom
What difference should the visible church make in the broader culture? How significant should it be? How one answers this question tells us something about how one views the relations between Christ and culture and the evident death of Christendom. Defining Christendom . . . Continue reading →