Posts

Kerry on Religion: ‘Not the Way I Think Most People Want to Live’

/12 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AFP

Photo Credit: AFP

During a talk to the U.S. embassy staff in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the first stop on his trip to Africa, Secretary of State John Kerry remarked about what he called the “different cross-currents of modernity” and the challenges they present on the African continent. The comments contain a veiled reference to religion, and the part that religion might be playing in some of the current conflicts in Africa:

This is a time here in Africa where there are a number of different cross-currents of modernity that are coming together to make things even more challenging. Some people believe that people ought to be able to only do what they say they ought to do, or to believe what they say they ought to believe, or live by their interpretation of something that was written down a thousand plus, two thousand years ago. That’s not the way I think most people want to live.

The words “something that was written down a thousand plus, two thousand years ago” appear to refer to the Bible, or the Koran, or perhaps both. More than one conflict in Africa today has either implicit or explicit religious connections.

Read more from this story HERE.

Now Feds Can Order any Family to Violate their Religious Beliefs

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: WNDAn administrative decision by the Department of Homeland Security means members of a German homeschool family whose grant of asylum in the U.S. later was withdrawn will not be returned to face the persecution homeschoolers face in Germany.

But advocates for homeschooling are warning that the underlying legal precedent in the Romeike family’s case suggests that the government always knows best what education is appropriate for children and can require them to attend a school that violates their religious beliefs.

The warning comes from Michael Farris, founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association, which represented the family.

The Romeikes were facing massive punishment, including fines, jail time and loss of custody of their children, had they remained in Germany and continued homeschooling. They made the choice because of teaching in public schools on homosexuality, abortion and other issues that violated the family’s Christian faith.

An appeals court complied with the Obama administration’s request to withdraw the granting of asylum, and the Supreme Court recently left the decision undisturbed.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Says ‘Freedom of Religion is Under Threat’ as Catholics Sue Administration

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Reuters In a speech during Thursday morning’s National Prayer Breakfast, President Barack Obama acknowledged, “It’s also clear that around the world, freedom of religion is under threat.”

“No society can truly succeed unless it guarantees the rights of all its people, including religious minorities,” he added later.

The Obama administration has been harshly criticized by the Catholic church and civil liberties organizations concerned that Obamacare mandates that organizations provide their employees free access to contraceptives through their health care plans, even if their religious faith calls contraception a sin.

Read more from this story HERE.

Gen. Boykin to Congress: Religious Liberty Must Be Affirmed, Cherished in Military

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: CNS News In a statement put into the record at a Jan. 29, 2014 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Military Personnel, retired Lt. Gen. William “Gerry” Boykin, said religious liberty is a “core value of our nation,” and that religious beliefs “sustain” troops who face harm or death in the course of performing their duties.

“In sum, religious freedom and expression is not something to be given begrudging accommodation,” Boykin, the former commander of the U.S. Special Forces Command, said on behalf of the Family Research Council (FRC) as its executive vice president. “It is a core value of our nation, necessary for strengthening individual troop wellbeing and instilling the values of respect and goodwill.”

“Religious freedom must be celebrated, affirmed, and cherished within our military just as our men and women sacrifice to defend that freedom for those outside the military,” Boykin said in the statement.

Boykin also spoke about the nature of a soldier’s duty and the role religious belief plays in it.

“Given the unique stresses and dangers of military life, a conscious focus on spiritual matters often accompanies military service,” Boykin said. “The ability to live out one’s faith openly with the support of one’s peers and the military chaplaincy can afford the comfort, certainty, and security so necessary to service members otherwise faced with serious injury and death on a regular basis.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Pentagon to Relax Rules On Personal Religious Wear — Including Beards, Turbans

/17 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Brett Flashnick / AP file

Photo Credit: Brett Flashnick / AP file

The Pentagon on Wednesday is expected to announce widespread changes to rules governing religious items and religion-based physical attributes that service members can maintain while in uniform — including beards, some religious tattoos, and turbans.

NBC News obtained an early draft of the new Department of Defense instruction which states that the military will make every effort to accommodate “individual expressions of sincerely held beliefs” (conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs) of service members.

It goes on to say that unless doing so could have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, health and safety, or any other military requirement, commanders can grant service members special permission to display their religious articles while in uniform.

Requests for religious accommodation can be denied when the “needs of mission accomplishment outweigh the needs of the service member,” the directive will explain.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sotomayor Orders a Reprieve from ObamaCare for Group of Nuns

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: REUTERS

Photo Credit: REUTERS

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor put religion at the forefront of the ObamaCare debate by offering reprieve to nuns who want to opt out of the Affordable Care Act.

Sotomayor issued the order late Tuesday, one day before parts of the health care law were set to go into effect.

In her order, Sotomayor said the government is temporarily prevented from enforcing contraceptive coverage requirements against the Denver-based Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged and must respond by 10 a.m. Friday.

The White House responded Wednesday, saying the group isn’t subject to the requirement because it doesn’t apply to self-funded church plans.

The White House said the Justice Department has already made clear the mandate doesn’t apply to such organizations and that it defers to the agency on litigation matters.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sen. Murphy: Congress Morally Justified In Forcing Americans to Violate Their Religious Beliefs (+video)

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: The Washington Times

Photo Credit: The Washington Times

Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said that it would be morally justifiable for Congress to pass a continuing resolution that forces Americans to buy health care plans covering abortion-inducing drugs even if doing so violates their religious beliefs.

CNSNews.com asked Murphy about funding the controversial provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, following a press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Read more from this story HERE.

Hollywood’s Next Big Thing: Religion

/5 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

As summer winds down, the hottest trend on Hollywood’s fall schedule appears to be religion. Faith-based entertainment is in the midst of a comeback, what with NBC announcing its sequel to “The Bible,” the highly rated cable mini-series; multiple upcoming movies about Moses; a new film about Noah (starring Russell Crowe); and a Ridley Scott production of Exodus.

And then there are the renewals of such ratings-busting shows as GSN’s “The American Bible Challenge,” back for a third season, and TLC’s announcement that not only will its franchise, “Breaking Amish: LA,” return, but there will be a reunion event as well. Add to that list ongoing reality shows such as “Preacher’s Daughters” and the list just keeps growing.

“We are certainly in the midst of a rush of interest in faith-based shows,” says Martha Williamson, creator and producer of the CBS hit “Touched By An Angel,” which ran from 1994 to 2003.

The deluge of religious programming suggests that a decade after Mel Gibson parlayed the self-financed “Passion of the Christ” into a half-billion dollar box office blockbuster, Hollywood is finally figuring out how to turn the Bible into big bucks. The revival, after all, is no spiritual awakening. Some 78 percent of Americans say they are Christian, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center’s Project on Religion and Public Life, and the Bible provides the sort of epic storytelling that Hollywood is thirsting for, making a religious comeback, if anything, overdue.

The Bible was big in early Hollywood (think Cecil B. DeMille, “King of Kings,” “The Ten Commandments,” “Ben-Hur,” and more). But its return, some say, merely underscores that Hollywood – amid its countless remakes and sequels – continues to have difficulty coming up with compelling new stories.

Read more from this story HERE.

Chaplain Ordered to Remove Religious Essay From Military Website

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: FacebookA chaplain at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska was ordered to remove a religious column he had written titled, “No Atheists in Foxholes: Chaplains Gave all in World War II,” because it allegedly offended atheists serving on the Air Force base.

Col. Brian Duffy, the base commander told Fox News the column was removed “out of respect for those who considered its title offensive.”

“The 673d Air Base Wing does not advocate any particular religion or belief set over another and upon learning of the complaints from some readers, the article was promptly removed,” he said. “We regret any undue attention this article may have brought to any particular group or individuals.”

Lt. Col. Kenneth Reyes confirmed to Fox News that he wrote the original essay that appeared in his “Chaplain’s Corner” column on the base website.

Reyes recounted the origin of the phrase “There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.” Father William Cummings has largely been credited with uttering the phrase in Bataan during World War II.

Read more from this story HERE.

Proponents of Religion Push for More Freedom of Expression in the Military

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: APThere are famously no atheists in foxholes, but some conservatives say that the American military is not giving a fair shake to soldiers, sailors and Marines who want to practice their faith and express their beliefs more openly.

The Family Research Council and more than a dozen other conservative and pro-family groups this month announced a renewed push in Congress for stronger legislative protection for religious military personnel to combat what they say is a threat to religious liberty in the nation’s armed forces. A report from the Family Research Council documented a range of events in the military — such as one in which an Air Force officer was told to remove a Bible from his desk — that the group said exposed a “growing hostility to religion.”

Critics say the charges are overblown and are part of a covert move to promote evangelical Christianity within the ranks, but the coalition says it has collected a number of examples of violations of religious liberty and expression inside the military.

“There is a growing list of cases and incidents that point to the fact that religious liberty in our nation’s military is under attack,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.

One event detailed in the report described a soldier who was reprimanded for serving fare from Chick-fil-A — known for its owners’ strong Christian beliefs — and for making statements related to the federal law on same-sex marriage at his promotion party. Religious leaders have had invitations to speak at military events abruptly withdrawn, and military personnel have been ordered to remove religious signs and symbols.

Read more from this story HERE.