Religious Liberty

“Brownback represents the first politician and the first Catholic to fill the role, following in the footsteps of David Saperstein as the first Jewish IRF ambassador and Suzan Johnson Cook as the first female and first African American one.” CToday

“A Christian student group at the University of Iowa has filed suit against the school after losing its status as an official on-campus organization because it requires leaders to hold Biblical beliefs about sexuality.” BPNews

Members of Congress Explain Need for New HHS Conscience and Religious Freedom Division

The University of Iowa is caught up in a legal fight with a conservative Christian student group that denied a leadership position to a student who is gay. The case pits a university policy barring discrimination based on sexual orientation against the religious beliefs of a 10-member group called Business Leaders in Christ.

“The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 5 a Baltimore ordinance violated the First Amendment’s free-speech clause by mandating pro-life centers display signs saying they do not provide abortions or contraceptives or make referrals for the services. The law does not require abortion clinics to post messages communicating what services they do not provide.” BPNews

“The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) … had urged the State Department in April to re-designate the 10 CPC members of 2016 but recommended it add six governments to the list: Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria and Vietnam.” They have not been added. BPNews

The court ruled that Cochran’s termination was unconstitutional but stopped short of declaring that his freedom of religion had been violated. CPost

“Christian wedding vendors who decline to provide services for same-sex ceremonies have suffered another legal setback.The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Dec. 28 that the state did not violate the First Amendment rights of Aaron and Melissa Klein in a 2015 order that included a $135,000 fine.” BPNews

In Cochran v. City of Atlanta, the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia said that the city’s restrictions on non-work speech, which were used to terminate Cochran, “do not set out objective standards for the supervisor to employ” and do not “pass constitutional muster.” CToday

“A Democratic senator announced Thursday night that the repeal included in the House version of the tax bill, which would allow churches and other nonprofits to endorse candidates without losing their tax-exempt status, was removed during the reconciliation process with the Senate version, which did not include a repeal.” CToday