This is Religious Freedom Day

Each year, the President declares January 16th to be Religious Freedom Day and calls upon Americans to "observe this day through appropriate events and activities in homes, schools, and places of worship." The day is the anniversary of the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.The goal is the promotion and protection of students' religious expression rights by informing educators, parents, and students about these liberties.

Pagan Mom Wants to Hand out Literature at School

A North Carolina school is refusing to allow the mother of a student to give out pagan spell books at the school. Ginger Strivelli, who practices Witchcraft, wanted to hand them out at North Windy Ridge intermediate school in Asheville. She was upset that her son came home with a Bible given out by the Gideons International at the school. The Buncombe County school board is reviewing its policies on allowing groups to distribute religious literature on campuses. A decision is expected at its next meeting, scheduled for February 2nd.

Persecution on the Rise

While the population in Africa is the most Christian it has ever been and the church is growing in the Middle East, persecution is also on the rise in these parts of the world. Most of Iraq’s pre-war Christian population have fled to other countries. Christians are on death row in Iran and Pakistan for either leaving Islam or blasphemy. Dozens of churches in Indonesia have been attacked or closed. In Egypt and Syria, political upheaval and Muslim zeal are threatening Christian groups. Many Christians have died in Islamist bomb attacks in Nigeria. Christians are harassed in China and Vietnam. There are attempts in India to penalize converts.

Religious Rights Battle at Vanderbilt University

Below is a video from Fox News about a battle on the campus of Vanderbilt University over the religious freedom of a student group.

NRB: Social Media Censoring Christians

The National Religious Broadcasters claims the social media are targeting Christians and censoring their viewpoints. The organization says it studied Apple, the iTunes App Store, Google, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, AT&T, Comcast and Verizon and found what it calls "institutionalized religious discrimination.” The one bright spot, according to the report, is Twitter. The social media site has shown "fairness toward Christian opinions" in its written policies. The NRB points to decision's like one by Apple to pull two iPhone apps — one created by Exodus International and another that included the text of a document called the Manhattan Declaration. According to the NRB, only these two apps were removed solely on the basis of their viewpoints on homosexuality.

Supreme Court Free-speech Cases

Two of the free-speech cases being considered this term by the Supreme Court are of special interest to Christians.

The Christian Legal Society is suing California's Hastings College of Law over the state university's refusal to recognize the group on campus because it refuses to admit gay students and non-believers violates. This case will come before the court on April 19.

Another question coming before the court is whether the names of those who signed a petition for a state ballot measure against gay rights should be made public. The case will be argued April 28.

High Court Hears Cross Arguments

Observers say the Supreme Court looks divided over the issue of a whether a cross should stay on public land. The 6 1/2-foot monument is a memorial to those who died in World War I. During this morning's questioning, some justices indicated they would favor having Congress transfer ownership of the land to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, removing the issue. Justice Antonin Scalia showed he was at odds with an ACLU lawyer who suggested the cross only honored Christian war dead. Scalia told him it is a “common symbol of the resting place of the dead.” This is the first time the court led by John Roberts will deal with what the First Amendment means when it says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." The case is Buono v. Salazar.

Proposed Religious Speech Law

A religious speech amendment has been added to hate crimes legislation in Congress. The bill would make certain crimes related to "race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability” federal offenses. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas introduced the amendment that explicitly protects speech from the pulpit (digital or electronic)unless its intent was to cause violence. The bill still must weave its way through both houses of Congress but is believed to have a good chance of passage. The president has indicated his willingness to sign the legislation into law.

Free Speech Restrictions on Campus

Yuba Community College threatened a student with arrest and expulsion for handing out tracts on campus, preaching and carrying a sign with a Christian message on it without a permit. Loma Rica res dent Ryan Dozier filed a lawsuit against the Marysville, California school and has now dropped his lawsuit because school administrators decided to cave in. They'll pay his $25,000 in attorneys fees and change its "free speech" policy. Students will no longer be required to obtain a permit or be restricted to free speech periods lasting only two-hours twice a week.

This is Religious Freedom Day

Each year, the President declares January 16th to be Religious Freedom Day and calls upon Americans to "observe this day through appropriate events and activities in homes, schools, and places of worship."

The day is the anniversary of the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.The goal is the promotion and protection of students' religious expression rights by informing educators, parents, and students about these liberties.

McCain on Religious Freedom

"There is no right more fundamental to a free society than the free practice of religion. Behind walls of prisons and persecuted before our very eyes in places like China, Iran, Burma, Sudan, North Korea and Saudi Arabia are tens-of-thousands of people whose only crime is to worship God in their own way. No society that denies religious freedom can ever rightly claim to be good in some other way. And no person can ever be true to any faith that believes in the dignity of all human life if they do not act out of concern for those whose dignity is assailed because of their faith. As President, I intend to make religious freedom a subject of great importance for the United States in our relations with other nations. I will make respect for the basic principle of religious freedom a priority in international relations." - John McCain speaking at a town hall meeting at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan

Religious Oppression

A federal commission says there are 11 nations the State Department should identify as oppressing religion but are being ignored. The countries are China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan named with Iran, North Korea Others are Eritrea, Myanmar, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. . The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedoms points to violent government repression of religious communities. A decade ago Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act. It equires the US to identify "countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious violations of the universal right to freedom of religion or belief." The US State Department hasn’t made an designations for two years.