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In 2003, the Episcopal Church, USA, ordained a gay bishop, igniting an intense debate within the church over its views on homosexuality. Some local congregations that opposed the ordination voted to break away from the national denomination, leading to complicated legal disputes over the ownership of church property. There have been a number of similar […]
(Updated Aug. 13, 2008) In Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation (2007), the U.S. Supreme Court limited the power of federal courts to enforce the Establishment Clause’s restrictions on government funding of religion. In Hein, the high court ruled that unless a legislative body has directly authorized such funding, citizens do not have the right […]
A major survey confirms the close link between Americans’ religious affiliation, beliefs and practices, on the one hand, and their social and political attitudes, on the other. The social and political fault lines in American society run through, as well as alongside, religious traditions.
The bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released a report on May 2 that listed 11 “countries of particular concern” – countries whose governments have allowed or participated in violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief. Although the commission did not list Iraq as one of the 11 countries, it said […]
In October 2007, the state of Illinois passed a law requiring its public schools to lead students each morning in a moment of silence for “reflection and student prayer.” Illinois already had a law on the books permitting schools to lead such moments of silence. But the Illinois General Assembly, overriding Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s veto, […]
Pew Forum Faith Angle Conference Key West, Florida http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?autostart=false&brandname=Pew%20Forum&brandlink=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion&showplayerpath=http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf&file=http://religionsecularism.blip.tv/rss/flash?sort=date&nsfw=dc&user=McClayForum&showguidebutton=false&showsharebutton=true&showfsbutton=true&showplaylist=trueWatch more event video on the multimedia page. More from the December 2007 Faith Angle Conference Religious Literacy: What Every American Should Know The Religion Factor in the 2008 Election More: Research, news, blogs Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in December, […]
Washington, D.C. http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?autostart=false&brandname=Pew%20Forum&brandlink=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion&showplayerpath=http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf&file=http://pewforum.blip.tv/rss/flash?sort=date&nsfw=dc&user=pewforum&showguidebutton=false&showsharebutton=true&showfsbutton=true&showplaylist=true The Pew Forum invited former presidential speechwriter Michael Gerson to discuss his new book, Heroic Conservatism, with Forum senior advisors Michael Cromartie and E.J. Dionne Jr. and a select group of journalists. Gerson was challenged to define “heroic conservatism” and critique the Bush administration’s record on implementing the “compassionate conservative” philosophy Gerson […]
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that the federal government will respect the “free exercise” of religion. But the precise meaning of “free exercise” and exactly what constitutes an infringement of this right are not clear-cut. At the heart of the debate is one basic question: Do individuals or groups professing sincerely held […]
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