A new resolution introduced at the United Nations Human Rights Council has free speech advocates concerned about a potential backlash against religious minority groups. Previously introduced as Resolution 62/154, “Combating defamation of religion,” the piece was originally written to criminalize the criticism of religion. Advocates worried that the resolution would, at best, limit freedom of... Continue Reading

There is value in maintaining a safe harbor of relatively “clean” programming on the country’s broadcast stations Broadcasters have long been bound by government decency standards in exchange for the use of public airwaves. But for years, the Federal Communications Commission refrained from punishing the airing of the errant swear word, reserving its ire —... Continue Reading

“In a society where adults are sharply divided on how to address these issues, it makes no sense whatsoever for groups like the NEA to tell our children how they should think,” said Bob Stith, the Southern Baptist national strategist for gender issues Four leading education organizations have released national sex-ed standards that encourage fifth-graders... Continue Reading

Police arrested 43 New York City pastors and lay people on Jan. 12. They were protesting the city’s ban on church use of public schools for worship services. The ban is scheduled to go into effect Feb. 12. The arrests came after more than 200 people gathered in the rain outside a Bronx public school... Continue Reading

The Justice Department argued that the same First Amendment analysis should apply to churches as to social clubs. The Court called that argument “hard to square with the text of the First Amendment itself, which gives special solicitude to the rights of religious organizations. We cannot accept the remarkable view that the Religion Clauses have... Continue Reading

The Supreme Court has sided unanimously with a church sued for firing an employee on religious grounds, issuing an opinion on Wednesday that religious employers can keep the government out of hiring and firing decisions. In the case of Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, Cheryl Perich, a “called” teacher, argued that the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and... Continue Reading

The Protestant work ethic promotes excellence. But what is the connection between Protestantism, work, and excellence? The pioneering sociologist Max Weber was the first to draw attention to the Protestant work ethic. In his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, published in 1904, Weber studied the phenomenal economic growth, social mobility, and... Continue Reading

(RNS) On Dec. 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar reaches the end of its 5,126 epoch. That’s a cause of consternation among some end-times adherents, and amusement among some descendants of the Maya. Fresh from having survived one end-of-the-world prediction—a two-stage affair covering 2011’s drop-dead dates of May 21 and Oct. 21—we now plunge into the... Continue Reading

The author of Hebrews has not asserted that his listeners have committed apostasy, though he is obviously concerned that some are in significant danger of falling over this precipice. He has warned the whole congregation of the irreversible consequences of apostasy. His warnings, along with other elements in his exhortatory material, together with his doctrinal... Continue Reading

Broadcasters are different from other types of media — such as print media, which has more freedom — because of their ability to “intrude on the privacy of the home without prior warning,” especially for the viewer who is “just tuning in or switching channels,” the ACLJ brief said. Further, broadcast media is “uniquely accessible... Continue Reading