Nation

(RNS) After a year of anticipation, the Supreme Court heard oral argument this week in a case involving religious liberty, federalism and original intent. The justices did so despite a recent development that changed the dynamics of the dispute. 

(RNS) About 65 million Americans – or 1 in 4 adults – have a criminal record that can lead to reduced access to jobs and education and a restriction from voting. A national prison ministry is joining forces with conservative and liberal groups to call on church leaders and politicians to give former prisoners a second chance at normal lives.

Fresh from a four-year stint in the White House, a Baptist scholar in church-state issues offered advice on faith and politics to a packed church in a suburb of Washington, D.C., on March 8. Melissa Rogers, who served as executive director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships from 2013 until January 2017, spoke to a meeting of the North American Baptist Fellowship, a group that unites 40 Baptist bodies in Canada and the United States.

A federal judge said Nov. 23 that an IRS rule allowing clergy to avoid paying taxes on a part of their income designated as a housing allowance violates the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.