As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“A U.K. high court on Tuesday ruled against the Tavistock clinic, the NHS’ sole gender clinic, in favor of a detransitioner who said she was harmed by puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones prescribed to her when she was a teenager.” - CPost
“There are legitimate issues to consider after the 2020 vote about the security of mail-in ballots and the process of counting votes…but make no mistake: The chief driver of the post-election contention of the past several weeks is the petulant refusal of one man to accept the verdict of the American people.
“A new report from the Centers for Disease Control found that the number of abortions conducted in the United States rose slightly from 2017 to 2018, reversing a consistent decline that began in 2009.” - CPost
In the last article, we saw the Court determined public health considerations cannot run roughshod over religious liberty concerns. Justice Gorsuch, who seemed particularly outraged, quipped the Constitution does not take a sabbatical during a pandemic. However, Justices Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan disagree. They wish to continue to defer to Governors and public health orders.
With a new liberal president and an extremely liberal vice-president, do you think this will translate for more restrictions/oppression on churches, particularly conservative ones? You might remember how the Obama administration targeted conservative religious organizations (e.g., Samaritan’s Purse) for IRS audits, etc.
What are your thoughts?
Poll Results
Do you expect any significant change regarding religious freedom over the next four years?
“If one begins with the inconvertible truth that systemic discrimination is the cause of all disparities, the exchange of ideas is unwelcome because the give-and-take that comes with such exchange can lead to an appreciation of complexity rather than simplistic sloganeering.” - L&L
This past Wednesday (25 November 2020), the Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) barred restrictions on religious services in New York that Gov. Cuomo had imposed to combat COVID-19. The vote was 5-4. If the late Justice Ginsburg were on the bench instead of Amy Barrett, it would have gone the other way.
This is not a permanent decision. Justice Kavanaugh explains:
“When asked if they agreed with the statement, ‘If the government told us to stop gathering in person for worship I would want my congregation to defy the order,’ 34% of respondents who participated in the October survey agreed (with 16% strongly agreeing).
“It’s true that debunkers can score some easy points. The term ‘Pilgrims’ wasn’t popularized until later. They didn’t wear dour clothes. They didn’t consider their iconic gathering in 1621 a formal thanksgiving… But the basic contours of the holiday are recognizable in that long-ago event.” - N.Review
“In a 5-4 ruling, the US Supreme Court sided with religious organizations in a dispute over Covid-19 restrictions put in place by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo limiting the number of people attending religious services.” - CNN
Discussion