US Supreme Court agrees to tackle religious hostility by states: The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case that addresses the question of whether states can exhibit hostility to religion by prohibiting churches and church-run organizations from participating in state programs solely because the groups are religious. “No state can define religious neutrality […]
Biblical Farce — The Book of Esther Laughs at Empire: “I am so great an enemy” to Esther, said Luther, “that I wish it had not come to us at all.” He felt it had too much “Judaizing” and “pagan naughtiness.” But the book is edgy, funny, and strange, a holy book about a woman who—without father […]
Four Recent Books on Killing, War, and the Pre-Constantine Church: church historian Ronald Sider reviews these books in order to distinguish speculation from historical fact. Two of these books argue that early Christians held widely divergent views. The other two argue that the historical record contradicts the view that the teaching of the early church on killing […]
The Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 30, No. 3 October 2015 is now available online with work from John Witte, Jr., Desmond Tutu, and Stanley Hauerwas.
NY Appeals Court Upholds Penalty On Wedding Venue That Refused To Host Same-Sex Ceremony: In Matter of Gifford v. McCarthy, (NY App. Div., Jan. 14, 2016), a New York state intermediate appellate court upheld a decision by the State Division of Human Rights imposing compensatory damages of $3000 and a civil fine of $10,000 on a […]
2015 was ‘worst year’ for Christian persecution, says Open Doors: The nonprofit organization Open Doors has focused on concern for persecuted Christians since 1955. With North Korea leading the way and Islamic extremism rapidly expanding, 2015 was the “worst year in modern history for Christian persecution.’” Iraq is in second place on Open Doors‘ 2016 World Watch […]
Modern Bioethics: Denying Life-Sustaining Treatment to a Patient Who Wanted to Live — This case study involves a Texas state law and a hospital ethics committee which determined to end life-sustaining treatment for a patient dying from undetermined causes. The Houston Chronicle link covers the story of the patient’s death. The Public Discourse article analyzes […]
The Becket Fund has launched a site for understanding the various RFRA laws, cases, and issues. The site represents the Becket Fund’s views and case load with attention to religious minorities such as Native Americans, Sikhs, Muslims and Buddhists. Students can examine the contents, pro and con, for perspective and case studies.
Students and instructors can examine these views, recommendations, and the framing of topics as a way to assess–pro and con–many of the transgender issues. The author, Austen Hartke, is a graduate of Luther Seminary’s Master of Arts program and a writer, speaker, and creator of the YouTube series Transgender and Christian, “which seeks to understand and […]
States plan renewed debate on LGBT rights, religious freedom: With same-sex marriage now legal nationwide, lawmakers in numerous states are preparing for a new round of battles in 2016 over whether to grant discrimination protections to LGBT people or religious exemptions to nonprofits and businesses that object to gay marriage.
