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75% of World’s Population Now Lacks Religious Freedom

October 10, 2012/2 Comments/in Featured, International /by Myles Collier

A new study highlights the growing global trend of religious restrictions, whether by means of government action or social trends- limiting regulations are currently affecting three out of every four individuals.

The study, conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, is titled “Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion” and showed that the percentage of the world’s population that was affected by restrictions on religion increased to 75 percent. That’s up from 70 percent the previous year.

What is equally disturbing is the rise of various countries around the globe that have enacted stricter laws governing the observances of practices of faith. The study found that the percentage of countries who adopted such measures increased from 31 percent to 37 percent.

The study lists some government restrictions which include laws against “proselytism” or “blasphemy.” It also includes laws limiting some countries citizens’ choice of religious materials, such as Uzbekistan, which only recognizes religious materials produced by the state.

Social restrictions, on the other hand are not controlled by the state and can include ostracism, mob action, or other community-based action in response to the exercise of faith. These specific social occurrences are often able to manifest due to the inaction of local authorities.

Religious Liberty IS the Winning Issue this Election

September 26, 2012/0 Comments/in Kathleen's Korner /by Kathryn Jean Lopez

In a new poll from the Susan B. Anthony List, 69 percent of likely swing voters in Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Florida disagreed with the notion that “the federal government should force institutions to pay for drugs that violate their conscience or religious belief.” Fifty-one percent of them “strongly disagree.”

Sixty-six percent said they’d reject candidates who support the HHS mandate. Forty-four percent of them said they are “much less likely” to support a candidate who supports such restrictive efforts.

If you’re wondering what you can do to make a difference not just in this election but in our future understanding of liberty itself in the United States, commit yourself to educating on this issue.

Mitt Romney’s best moment on this issue was in Ohio in July when he said “I feel we’re all Catholic today.”

He explained that: The president and his administration said they are going to usurp your religious freedom by demanding that you provide products to your employees, if you’re the Catholic Church, that violates your own conscience.”

Federal Judge blocks Obama from forcing Catholic businesses to provide birth control

July 28, 2012/3 Comments/in Kathleen's Korner /by Terry Baynes

Photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

A Colorado business owned by a Catholic family does not have to comply with President Barack Obama’s new healthcare mandate that private employers provide employees with insurance coverage of birth control, a Colorado federal judge ruled on Friday.

District Judge John Kane in Denver temporarily blocked the government from the enforcing the contraception requirement against the religious owners of Hercules Industries Inc, a private manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment.

The ruling only affects this plaintiff but opens the door for any company to seek relief on religious grounds. Lawyers for the Department of Health and Human Services argued that a temporary exemption for Hercules would interfere with the government’s ability to implement the law. But Kane was not persuaded.

“This harm pales in comparison to the possible infringement upon (the Newland family’s) constitutional and statutory rights,” the judge wrote. He noted that the government had already created numerous exceptions for religious employers, exempting over 190 million health plan participants.

The law posed an imminent harm to the company’s owners by forcing them to support contraception, sterilization and abortion in violation of their religious beliefs or face steep fines, Kane said.

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