The Weaponization of the Free-Exercise Clause
The Supreme Court’s majority is transforming this onetime protection into a sword to strike down hard-fought advances in civil rights. Read full piece
Baptist Church-State Expert Says Government Can Restrict Church Services
Melissa Rogers, a Baptist expert in church-state issues who previously led White House faith-based efforts, says governments can impose mass gathering bans to temporarily restrict church gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.
Why Are We Litigating Church Openings?
A federal judge has let a couple of small independent Kansas Baptist churches conduct in-person worship against the express orders of Gov. Laura Kelly, asserting that by limiting church gatherings to 10 congregants, Kelly in all likelihood violated the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious free
Why This Baptist Pastor Signed up His Church for a Paycheck Protection Program Loan
I drove to our local bank this morning and dropped off our application for the Paycheck Protection Program, which is administered by the Small Business Administration to help businesses make payroll while their revenues decline significantly due to COVID-19. Our business is a church. I’m the
SBC Ethicist Russell Moore Says Churches May Apply for SBA Loans
Russell Moore, the Southern Baptist Convention’s top ethicist, said he saw no problem with churches applying for government loans as part of the coronavirus relief legislation enacted last month.
Church-State Separation & the CARES Act
The loans that are a part of the CARES Act present a decision for each individual pastor, priest, rabbi, imam, or other religious leader and their congregations to decide: Are they going to accept and rely on government aid to continue their ministry?
BJC Analysis: The COVID-19 Stimulus Packages and Houses of Worship
Baptists don’t and shouldn’t look first to the government for how to overcome most difficulties. Our commitment to the separation of church and state is rooted in our theology and our history, neither of which is changed by government efforts to provide relief in a
Breaking Down a Religion-Heavy State of the Union Address
WASHINGTON (RNS) — President Donald Trump delivered a State of the Union address peppered with religious references and ideas on Tuesday evening (Feb. 4) that evoked old (and contested) religious ideas and catered directly to conservative Christians who make up his base of support.
BJC: States Should Not Have to Fund Religious Schools
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, a case involving a state constitutional ban on government funding of religion.
Supreme Court Seems Favorable to Religious Education Funding
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court's conservative majority appeared ready Wednesday to reinvigorate a Montana scholarship program and make it easier to use public money to pay for religious schooling in many states.