Religious Freedom

Mandating Contraception: The Law Over Politics

Matt Melone | Posted 05.30.2012

Read More: Religious Freedom, Obama Administration, Birth Control Mandate, Constitution, Obama Contraception Mandate, College News

The debate actually centers on where the line between religious freedom and a citizens' secular obligations to society should be drawn. This is not a Constitutional issue, but a less glamorous and equally compelling statutory issue.

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Conservative Activists Gather To Plot Defense Of 'Religious Liberty'

Religion News Service | Lauren Markoe | Posted 05.25.2012

Read More: Religious Freedom, Video, Defending Religious Liberty, Religious Liberty, Religious Liberty Defense, Religion-and-Politics, Religion News

WASHINGTON (RNS) U.S. Catholic bishops have used the Obama administration's contraception mandate as Exhibit A in their high-stakes defense of "religi...

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Georgetown Should Honor Its Commitment to Free Speech

Adam Kissel | Posted 05.17.2012

Read More: Religious Freedom, Catholic Church, Freedom of Speech, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Contraception, Georgetown University, College News

What does Georgetown really stand for? Georgetown's continuing attempt to have it both ways when it comes to respecting freedom of expression can only earn it more bad press.

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Pulpit Politics: Religious Leaders Should Persuade, Not Pronounce

Henry G. Brinton | Posted 05.16.2012

Read More: Catholic Church, Contraception, Religious Liberty, Religious Freedom, Religion and Sexuality, Christianity, Religion and Politics, Religion News

Yes, we all need guidance as to what constitutes a moral approach to contentious issues. But we aren't helped by resolutions that force people to be either insiders or outsiders, driven even further apart in a society that's already politically polarized.

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Racing Backwards Into The Future: Saudi Arabia And Kuwait

John L. Esposito | Posted 05.23.2012

Read More: Religious Freedom, Religious Pluralism, Kuwait, Religious Tolerance, Saudi Arabia, Blasphemy Laws, Islam, Religion and Politics, Interfaith, Religion News

Regrettably, recent religious decisions in both countries are unfortunate reminders about the hurdles and pitfalls in the implementation of religious reform.

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New York Kosher Law Is Kosher, Court Rules

Reuters | Posted 05.12.2012

Read More: Kosher, Kosher Law, Judaism, Reuters, Religious Freedom, Commack Kosher, Kosher Food, Freedom of Religion, Religion News

By Basil Katz NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - New York's kosher-labelling rules interfere with freedom of religion about as much as St. ...

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Reframing the Argument on Gay Marriage

Jennifer Hamady | Posted 05.11.2012

Read More: Religious Ceremony, President Obama, Lgbtq, Religious Institution, Religious Groups, Obama, Marriage in the United States, Same-Sex Marriage, Partnership, Legal Consent, Religious Nation, Marriage Issue, Opposition to Gay Marriage, Legalizing Gay Marriage, Religious Freedom, North Carolina, Marriage Equality, Religion, LGBT Youth, North Carolina Amendment, Same Sex Marriage, Legal Instruments, Laws of Equality, National Conversation, Politics News

In North Carolina this week, we were distracted yet again by the 'marriage' issue from the real matter at hand: equality. Which we can achieve by demanding the legality of civil unions.

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Walking The (Catholic) Plank

Sarah O'Leary | Posted 04.27.2012

Read More: Lutheran Church, US Poverty, Catholicism, Southern Baptist Convention, Catholic Sex Abuse, Catholic Church, God, Ban on Gay Marriages, Jesus, Religious Right, Vatican, Love, Spirituality, Catholic-Church, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Priests, Poverty, Roman Catholic Church, Nuns, Religious Freedom, Kindness, Catholic Bishops, Catholic, Pro-Life, Vatican II, Acceptance, Catholics, Religion, Child Poverty, Born Again, Born Again American, The Vatican, United Methodist, Vatican Sex Abuse, Wheaton College, Religion and Politics, Catholic Nuns, Vatican City, American Nuns, Global Poverty, Pro-Choice, Gay Marriage, Religion News

Why doesn't my Catholic Church get its own house in order first? Get the plank/log/boulder/semi truck/elephant out of its own eye before it tries to remove a speck from another's eye?

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Gay Marriage Is A Human Right, Law Professor Says

Mary J. Loftus | Posted 04.13.2012

Read More: Catholic Church, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Human Rights, Religious Freedom, UN General Assembly, Same-Sex Marriage.., Gay Marriage, Civic Marriage, Religion and Sexuality, Religion and Politics, Religion News

Catholic bishops have been saying that the federal mandate that private insurers cover contraceptive services violates religious freedom. But the Catholic Church also supports policies that compromise the religious and moral freedom of others.

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Bishops Say Catholics Must Disobey Unjust Laws

AP | Posted 04.12.2012

Read More: Religious Freedom, US Bishops, Fortnight of Freedom, Civil Disobedience, Contraception, Catholic, Video, Religion News

WASHINGTON — The nation's Roman Catholic bishops called Thursday for a national campaign in defense of religious liberty, and urged resistance t...

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The Illusion of Religious Choice

Joseph Rauch | Posted 04.11.2012

Read More: Birth Control Mandate, Catholic Church Contraception, Nyu, Atheism, Barack Obama, Obamacare, Catholicism, Rollo May, Religious Freedom, New York University, Christianity, Contraception Debate, Raising Religious Children, Obama Contraception, Agnosticism, College News

I do not think raising a child without religious values bears more merit than raising a child with religious values, but the development is certainly worth looking into.

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Religion: More Similarities Than Differences

Antara Afrin | Posted 04.11.2012

Read More: Religious Freedom, Religion, Religious Tolerance, September 11th, Teen News

The ability to take the time to learn about someone else's culture and religion and accept them for who they are is a BIG thing -- and by big I mean revolutionary.

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Note to Senator Hatch: Anti-Mormon Attacks Aren't Coming From the Left

Michael B. Keegan | Posted 04.06.2012

Read More: Elections 2012, Religious Freedom, Mitt Romney, Orrin Hatch, Mormonism, GOP Candidates, Anti-Mormon, Mitt Romney Mormonism, Anti-Mormon Attacks, Politics News

Hatch's claim is ridiculous. In fact, it is right-wing politicians and pundits who keep on "warning" us that Democrats will attack Romney's faith -- and then use those "warnings" as opportunities to slam Mormonism themselves.

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Does Your Doctor Practice Politics?

M. Gregg Bloche, M.D., J.D. | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: Catholicism, Religious Freedom, Sandra Fluke, Asperger's Syndrome, Obama Health Care, Catholic Church, Women's Health, Health, Georgetown University, Contraception, Adhd, Evolution, Birth Control, Doctors, Cancer, Ptsd, Faith, Healthy Living Health News, Healthy Living News

We should ask our doctors about the politics with a small "p" that's embedded in their advice -- the moral and cultural leanings that weigh on clinical judgment.

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The Larger Point

Nancy K. Kaufman | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Misogyny, Rush Limbaugh Sandra Fluke, Rush Limbaugh, Anne Hutchinson, Sandra Fluke, Religious Freedom, Contraception, Birth Control, Right to Choose, Women's Rights, Women's Health, Politics News

The whole environment surrounding a woman's right to access a safe, legal abortion is premised on the assumption that women are not capable of making their own moral, religious, and ethical decisions without the intrusion and supervision of the government.

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Controversial Policy Causes Catholic Group To Leave Vanderbilt University

The Huffington Post | Tyler Kingkade | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Catholic Church, Vanderbilt Discrimination, Vandy Catholic, Catholicism, Vanderbilt University, Catholic Students, Vanderbilt, Religious Freedom, Catholic, Vanderbilt Bias, College News

Vanderbilt University's Catholic student group is disaffiliating with the school due to a clash with the college's non-discrimination policy. Vand...

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What The Dalai Lama Should Do Now

Stephan Talty | Posted 05.31.2012

Read More: Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism, Religion in China, Religious Freedom, Tibet, Dalai Lama China, Buddhism, China Tibet, China, Religion News

The Dalai Lama is fast running out of time. The leader of Tibet has repeatedly said that he will return to Lhasa again to walk the streets he knew as a boy. But every year that passes, there is less and less chance that it will.

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Non-Discrimination Policies Do Not Threaten Religious Freedom

Marcus Luther | Posted 05.30.2012

Read More: University, College, Sexual Orientation, Non-Discrimination, Religious Freedom, Fox News, Discrimination, Gender Identity, Vanderbilt, University of Puget Sound, Intervarsity, Lgbt-Q, Nondiscrimination, College News

While defenders of student religious groups have used rhetoric such as "faith-based qualifications" and "religious freedom," it's time for us to throw aside the axiomatic sugarcoating.

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Health And Human Services' Sacrosanct Mandate

Sister Mary Ann Walsh | Posted 05.30.2012

Read More: Religious Freedom, Aclu, Health and Human Services, U.S. Bishops, Mandate, Catholic Church, Contraception, Religion News

Reams of paper emanate from the HHS about how to "accommodate" religious groups that are upset by their recent mandate. Yet for all the fallen trees, HHS ignores a neuralgic point: the government has overstepped its boundaries when it defines what constitutes religious ministry.

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Rick Santorum Again Criticizes Kennedy's Separation Of Church And State Speech

HuffingtonPost.com | Jon Ward | Posted 03.30.2012

Read More: Elections 2012, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, John F. Kennedy, Religious Freedom, Video, Separation of Church and State, President Obama, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- On Friday, as Mitt Romney continued to consolidate establishment support for his presidential candidacy within the Republican Party, get...

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An Islamic Perspective On Religious Pluralism

Engy Abdelkader | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Religious Freedom, Scripture Study, Interfaith, Quran, Islam, Religious Tolerance, Scripture Commentary, Sharia, Religion News

The Quran, Islam's foundational text regarded by Muslims as the literal word of God, articulates several significant principles regarding inter-religious harmony, peaceful co-existence and religious pluralistic success.

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Engaging The Birth Control Question: Revitalizing Our Discourse, Protecting Our Freedom

Peter Dziedzic | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Birth Control Debate, Religious Freedom, Birth Control, Insurance Mandate, Catholic Religious Freedom, Health Insurance Mandate, Religion News

Healthcare reform is needed, but are we willing, in the process, to sacrifice religious freedoms and ignore the moral objections of religious communities?

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PHOTOS: Pope Draws Huge Crowd In Havana, Urges Freedoms For Church

Reuters | Posted 05.28.2012

Read More: Catholic Church, Religious Freedom, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Cuba, Reuters, Religion News

* Raul Castro says Church, Cuba agree on many things * Pope, Fidel Castro discuss world, joke about age * Pope calls on Cuba to give Church ...

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Amish Buggy Legislation Wins Final Passage In Kentucky

AP | Posted 03.28.2012

Read More: Religious Freedom, Kentucky, Video, Amish Buggy, Amish, Religion in America, Religion News

The Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – One vote remains before lawmakers allow the Amish to forgo a longstanding traffic safety measure in th...

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Santorum's War on Religious Freedom

Rev. G. Jude Geiger | Posted 05.19.2012

Read More: Catholic Church, Women, Unitarian Univeralist, Unitarian Universalist Church, Rick Santorum, Religious Freedom, Reproductive Health, United States, Religion and Politics, Religion News

Sometimes we think so highly of ourselves that we think we know what's best for the people around us. That's not religious thinking. That's ego speaking.

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