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Religious Freedom Historian John Ragosta on “Religious Freedom”

By Frederick Clarkson

…saw these three things as the great accomplishments of his life: political freedom, religious freedom, and educational freedom and opportunity. Of the three, he thought religious freedom was the foundation because without freedom to think and believe, you could not have the other two. A republic could not work if government and church officials (what Jefferson referred to as an alliance of “kings, nobles, and priests”) were trying to control what…

Your Uterus Is “An Important Subject” About Which Your Fellow Citizens “Wish To Converse”

By Sarah Posner

…f giving abortion-rights advocates a pass when it comes to suppressing the free-speech rights of their opponents.” Despite the grumbling concurrence, abortion opponents are celebrating a victory for the free speech rights of their sidewalk counselors, even portraying women who have been or will be talked out of abortion as the beneficiaries of the ruling. “These buffer zones have not only denied pro-life activists their right to speak, but have al…

How the Abortion Debate Turned the Christian Right On To Liberal Arguments… and Birthed the Religious Freedom Industry

By Eric C. Miller

…m the right concerns same-sex marriage. How did they settle on a religious freedom frame? Even prior to Obergefell v. Hodges, religious freedom arguments were being advanced by conservative Christians who disapproved of same-sex marriage. For example, several state-level Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRA) were put into motion in 2014 and early 2015 in part to try and protect religious objectors. Immediately after the Obergefell decision, th…

Republicans To Get Free “Spiritual, Historical” Trips to Israel

By Sarah Posner

…ining sustainable freedom is righteousness — the same virtue that produced freedom — what is the greatest threat to freedom? Unrighteousness. America has left God.” Lane also aims to persuade 1,000 pastors to run for political office. Lane has already taken Rand Paul to Israel, after which the Kentucky Republican said, “Absolutely we stand with Israel. What I think we should do is announce to the world — and I think it is pretty well known — that…

New York City a Glenn Beck Radio Free Zone (for now)

By Joanna Brooks

…es, at least momentarily, the boroughs of New York City a Glenn Beck radio free zone. (Word has it syndicators are looking for a new outlet.) Perhaps Beck’s self-styled turn to the prophetic last summer and fall—which included forays into the world of Black theology and the mysteries of the Bat Creek Stone, as well as his lachrymose and prayer-scented DC Rally in August —didn’t go over so well with hardboiled conservatives in the City? Beck’s tel…

Historian John Ragosta Discusses the Context and Inspiration for ‘Religious Freedom’ in the U.S.

By Frederick Clarkson

…saw these three things as the great accomplishments of his life: political freedom, religious freedom, and educational freedom and opportunity. Of the three, he thought religious freedom was the foundation because without freedom to think and believe, you could not have the other two. A republic could not work if government and church officials (what Jefferson referred to as an alliance of “kings, nobles, and priests”) were trying to control what…

LGBTQ Equality Pendulum “Abruptly” Swinging Back as Religious Exemptions Gain Victories

By Patrick Hornbeck

…orms of speech. While Miller’s attorneys based their arguments on both the Free Speech and Free Exercise clauses of the Constitution, Judge Lampe declined to comment on the latter “because the case is sufficiently resolved upon Free Speech grounds.” But his ruling made clear that Miller denied service to the lesbian couple because she “is a practicing Christian and considers herself a woman of deep faith.” Not long after Judge Lampe exempted Mille…

NPR Gives a Free Pass to Biblical Literalists

By Peter Laarman

…not ceded and will never cede the Bible to those who devoutly want God’s Word and God’s will to align with their own prejudice. NPR should be embarrassed to broadcast an ostensibly analytic piece that concludes by giving a free pass to the literalists and by reinforcing the notion that those of us who read the Bible for its core message are really not reading it at all. Eagerly awaiting the next pledge drive, (Rev.) Peter Laarman Los Angeles…

Praying To The God Of The SUV

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…her action means that we are simply automatons. There would be no need for free will if God is simply manipulating us in each moment. The free will exercised that day by the hijackers didn’t come out of the blue. The attacks were in response to what they saw as American arrogance in the world and failed foreign policies in the Middle East. The attacks came because of a large man-made mess that had been years in the making. Detroit prays for a mira…

Jewish Studies Is a Free-Speech Zone, and It Needs to Stay That Way

By Aaron Hughes

…the creation of a positive identity for Jewish students, but it is not a “free speech” zone. This is territory that needs to be monitored, but many in university administrations, not to mention many of my colleagues, are unwilling to do so. Although Hillel exists in the university, it does not operate within its rules and regulations. Executives are often comprised of wealthy alumni, many of whom live far from the schools. They don’t see how thin…