Secular Confirmation in Germany

In Germany, secular ‘confirmation’ thrives again: The history of secularism as an alternative to organized church religion in Germany is a long and winding one. Begun more than 150 years ago, the Jugendweihe was a way to educate and raise young people outside a religious tradition, a movement that faced persecution during Nazi times and later […]

Case Studies in Religious Liberty and Gay Rights

All Current Features

How the push for gay rights is reshaping religious liberty in America: This series profiles seven recent and prominent cases in which people of faith have faced litigation when their convictions guided actions contrary to current civil rights trends.  The CSM subtitle begins the series with, “As gay rights rapidly expand, some religious conservatives worry that their […]

The Paradox of Church and World

All New Briefs

Book Review of Jon Diefenthal’s New Book on H. Richard Niebuhr: Diefenthal is concerned primarily with Niebuhr’s descriptive and prescriptive discussions of how the church relates to non-Christian society. This collection of texts is impressive and allows Niebuhr’s voice to come through clearly and effectively on the topic of the church’s relationship with the world.  See […]

Ralph Vaughn Williams, an Ambivalent Hymnist

A Vaughan Williams Elegy: “Cheerful agnosticism”? This review of a new book–Vaughan Williams: Composer, Patriot, Radical by Keith Alldritt (Robert Hale Ltd., 2016)–on the English composer (“For All the Saints;” editor of The English Hymnal) raises and considers the question of how Vaughn Williams, a declared agnostic, should have been able all through his life, to set to […]

The First Amendment and Defining “Religion”

All Current Features

A Fixed Meaning of Religion in the First Amendment: (Note: one free download allowed) The Supreme Court has never clearly defined religion. While the debate may seem initially like an academic one, defining religion is key to determining the nature and scope of religious freedom. This article’s novel definition focuses on the worship of supernatural […]

God is No Thing

All Current Features

The case for faith, by the religion editor of The Times Literary Supplement: This brief review of a new, brief book notes that, “To write a slim, serious book that provides thought-provoking reasons for believing in God is a difficult task today.”  The title is “God is No Thing: Coherent Christianity” by Rupert Shortt (Hurst, […]

Calif SB 1146: Religious Liberty and Christian Colleges

All Current Features

Does This New Bill Threaten California Christian Colleges’ Religious Freedom?  This detailed assessment of California SB 1146 examines the background and implications of the proposed legislation.  Despite critical response, a newly revised version of the proposal passed a legislative committee last week and will likely reach the final stages of approval in a few weeks. […]

Iowa, the Church, and Free Speech

All New Briefs

Church asks court to halt Iowa commission from enforcing speech ban:  The ADF has filed a motion that asks a federal court to stop the Iowa Civil Rights Commission from censoring the church’s teaching on biblical sexuality and from forcing the church to open its restrooms and showers to members of the opposite sex.  Fort Des Moines […]

 
 
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