Red Church, Blue Church, Purple Church
One body in Christ? For America’s pastors, ministering across the political divide brings exhaustion—and opportunities. Pressure is building for pastors in America to be overtly political. In today’s polarized environment, a diminishing number of church members are content for religious leaders to keep their politics private. For many Christians the 2020 presidential election was not…
Read More“Lives Are at Stake”
A Rabbi, a Reverend, and the Power of Bipartisanship An interview with the chair and vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (Photo: USCIRF commissioners meet with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Commission is charged with advising Congress, the U.S. Secretary of State, and the President on religious freedom concerns abroad.)…
Read MoreSnatched From the Jaws of Death
Two young men convicted of blasphemy. An intrepid band of lawyers prepared to step into danger. International human rights lawyer Kola Alapinni shares a firsthand account of the struggle to appeal a death sentence imposed under the Sharia penal code laws of northern Nigeria. It all began in the pandemic year. The looming threat of…
Read MoreState Religious Freedom Laws: Misunderstood or Malign?
Iowa has become the latest state to wade into the controversy surrounding state-level Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs). Governor Kim Reynolds signed the Iowa RFRA into law on April 3, saying it would uphold “ideals that are the very foundation of our country.” Twenty-seven U.S. states have passed similar laws, all of which are modeled…
Read MoreRelentless Advocacy, 60 Years and Counting
The Church State Council has more than a milestone anniversary to celebrate this year. It’s also celebrating a legal sea change for people of faith in America’s workplaces and its role in making that happen. (Photo: Students from Pacific Union College join staff from the Church State Council at the California State Capitol for one…
Read MoreThe Tank Man
This year marks the 35-year anniversary of one of the greatest movements for freedom in modern history. In the spring of 1989, millions of students and ordinary citizens flooded the streets of cities around China demanding government reform and individual freedom. For weeks they marched in protest against 30 years of an oppressive, tyrannical government.…
Read MoreThe Problem with Free Speech is Us
There’s more than enough hypocrisy to go around whenever questions of free speech come before the U.S. Supreme Court—and I include myself in that indictment. When the facts of a case involve speech that fits with my own religious or political convictions, my commitment to First Amendment free speech principles is unwavering. But opinions or…
Read MoreAre Children Mere Creatures of the State?
A growing threat to parental rights. Illustration by Robert Carter Almost a century ago, in Pierce v. Society of Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the rights of non-public schools to operate and of parents to have their children educated in them. At the heart of this…
Read MoreFlipping the Script on Faith and Politics
On what ground should the Christian stand in public life when Christianity is so often invoked for unchristian ends? In a time in which everything seems contestable, and the sacred so quickly turns profane, how should Christians approach politics? From criticism of “Christian nationalism” to concerns about a “secular surge,” there is great angst among…
Read MoreUnholy Alliances
An interview with filmmaker Dan Partland. The documentary God & Country, currently showing in theaters, has split opinions among American Christians. It’s a 90-minute, emotionally intense exploration of one of today’s least understood and arguably most subversive political movements, Christian nationalism. It features 18 high-profile Christian thinkers and leaders—from David French, a New York Times…
Read More