Religious Liberty

“These core First Amendment principles cannot peacefully coexist alongside Government speech codes designed to enforce a superficial and false conformity of belief. Instead, the Free Speech Clause protects a noisy, crowded, and vibrant marketplace of ideas, populated with both supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage.”

Spoiler alert - this is not a Christian-friendly article: “But in the end, the continued view of gays, lesbians and bisexuals as sinners is a decision. It’s a choice. It prioritizes scattered passages of ancient texts over all that has been learned since — as if time had stood still, as if the advances of science and knowledge meant nothing.”

“[T]he US Supreme Court declined this morning to hear a church’s appeal of a lower court’s decision….Attorneys for Bronx Household insist that the ban on rentals for worship is unfair to churches.” CT

• Law professor: Why Indiana needs ‘religious freedom’ legislation
• The text of Indiana’s ‘religious freedom’ law
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“The issue of whether political speech is more important than religious speech was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in oral arguments Monday” Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Church Signs Case

“Like most Jews, I know all too well that, over the centuries, the Jewish people have been a quintessential victim of religious persecution, ethnic cleansing, and demonization” CT

Why ‘Anti-Sharia’ Legislation Can Restrict Religious Liberty for Christians

“It was never our intention to interfere with clergy and their congregants,” Parker said. “I don’t want to have a national debate on freedom of religion when my purpose is to defend … a city ordinance.” CT

“[T]he city… subpoenaed communications, including sermon notes and email, from five area pastors related to ‘HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity.’ The pastors were not involved in the lawsuit but were involved in encouraging people to sign the petition.” CPost

City of Houston demands pastors turn over sermons