Report from 'Alienated America': Podcast
For his new book, Timothy Carney toured parts of the country that are working and parts that are not. What he found is deeply disturbing.
Religion
Wyoming State Senator Invokes Jesus Dying to Defend Death Penalty
There's so much wrong with her argument.
The Supreme Court's Recent Religious Liberty/Death Penalty Decision is Bad -- But Not Quite as Bad as Many Think
The justices were wrong to reject a religious discrimination claim in a case where a person sentenced to death was not allowed access to a Muslim cleric at the moment of death. But the decision was not the result of anti-Muslim bigotry.
Supreme Court Rejects Stay of Execution for Alabama Inmate After Imam Not Allowed in Chamber
The Alabama prison allows a Christian chaplain in the execution chamber to pray with death row inmates, but it refused to let an imam inside.
Judge Says a College Club Has the Right To Demand Its Leaders Abide by Christian Values
The University of Iowa revoked credentials from Business Leaders in Christ for setting sex and marriage requirements for its leaders.
Council of Europe: "The Institution of Sharia Law and a Theocratic Regime [Are] Incompatible with … a Democratic Society"
The Council of Europe's new resolution about Sharia at home and abroad.
"Shariah Law Does Not Apply" -- But American Law Does
A Michigan appellate court correctly enforces a Muslim couple's "mahr" agreement, entered at the time of the couple's marriage and calling for the husband to pay certain funds to the wife -- it's a valid contract, enforceable under secular law, regardless of its religious motivation.
Man Fined $210 in Switzerland for Saying "Allahu Akbar" to a Friend in Public
A police official said "manner in which the phrase had been spoken was key ... and added police officers would have acted in the same way if someone had run around a local square swearing loudly"; but the man denies he was shouting.
Supreme Court Won't Hear Case of High School Coach Fired for Praying on the Field
The conservative justices listed a key factor preventing them from hearing the case.
Will the Court Read the Free Exercise Clause as Often Mandating Religious Exemptions from Generally Applicable Laws?
Four conservative Justices (Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh) so suggested in an opinion today -- and Justice Breyer had taken a similar view 20 years ago.
A Texas County's GOP Is Split Over the Vice Chair's Muslim Religion
Shahid Shafi identifies as a Republican because he believes in small government.
These Booze-Making Capitalist Monks Will Make Your Day
When Europe's beer-brewing, liquor-distilling monks combine Catholicism and capitalism, the results are delicious.
No Compulsory Sharia for Greek Muslims, European Court Rules
Greek law had provided (or some Greek courts had ruled) that Greek Muslims' will disputes would be resolved under Islamic law -- but that's forbidden religious discrimination, rules the European Court of Human Rights.
New York Officials Threaten Private Schools
Once again, politicians in the Empire State want to leave nowhere to hide from their control.
India at a Crossroads
India is known as the land of contradictions, and recent events do little to undermine that reputation.
Dutch Church's Month-Long, 24/7 Service Is Saving a Family of Refugees From Deportation
The church faced a dilemma: "choosing between respect for the government and protecting the rights of a child."
Is the First Amendment Flourishing or Floundering in the 21st Century?: Podcast
Nadine Strossen, Eugene Volokh, and Stephanie Slade discuss freedom of speech, assembly, and religion at Reason's 50th anniversary.
Federal Female Genital Mutilation Ban Exceeds Congress's Power, Holds District Court
Policing such behavior, the court concludes, is a matter for the states, because it isn't authorized as a regulation of commerce or as necessary and proper to comply with treaties.
Big Changes for Birth Control Rules, but Not Big Enough
The Obamacare contraception mandate is getting a Trump-era overhaul.
Christian Group Clarifies That Trump Is Not Jesus
A perplexing billboard made their views on the matter unclear.
Canada Apparently Banned Adoptions from Muslim Countries, Based on Its Own Interpretation of Sharia
And this included adoptions that the relevant Muslim country's courts had specifically authorized.
In Europe and in Pakistan, Two Women Are Condemned for Insulting Muhammad
Anti-hate speech laws have gone too far.
European Court: Woman's Criticism of Muhammad Doesn't Count as Free Expression
Her statements may have been offensive. But that doesn't mean she shouldn't have a right to make them.
Quebec Nationalists: Teachers Shouldn't Wear 'Religious Signs,' But a Crucifix Hanging in the Legislature Is OK
The Coalition Avenir Quebec claims the crucifix hanging in the National Assembly isn't a religious symbol.
Quebec High Court Upholds Litigants' Rights to Wear Religious Headgear in Court
Judges may not "rely on the neutrality of the courts alone as a justification for preventing litigants from accessing a courtroom simply because they are expressing sincerely held religious beliefs."
U.K.'s Top Court Sides with Baker in Gay Cake Case
No, a baker cannot be compelled to "support gay marriage" with frosting.
Far-Right German Party Tries to Recruit Jews by Attacking Muslims
But many of the Alternative for Deutschland's leaders have questionable track records when it comes to anti-Semitism.
A Priest Is Being Deported After Committing the Heinous Crime of Voting
Father David Boase was led to believe that he was eligible to vote. His mistake caught up with him 12 years later.
Faisal Al Mutar Fights Radical Islam with Western Bestsellers
The head of Ideas Beyond Borders is translating books by Steven Pinker, Sam Harris, and others into Arabic and distributing them for free.
Democrats Created a Birth-Control Banning Bogeyman Out of Brett Kavanaugh. Called Out, Kamala Harris Doubled Down
Harris and other Democrats distorted Kavanaugh's comments on birth control to portray him as a religious extremist.
China 'Legally Bans' a Protestant Church Over Surveillance
The church denied the government's request to install CCTVs.
Law & Order: Hate Crimes Is a Bad Idea Built on Worse Statistics
But if the show must exist, I have some ripped-from-the-headlines ideas for upcoming plots.
Meet the Iraqi Christians Trapped in Immigration Limbo
Chaldean-Assyrians aren't safe in their home country. But reuniting with family in a new one feels impossible.
Why the Fading Credibility of Pope Francis Should Worry More than Just Catholics
Depletion of trust and confidence in public and private institutions is happening across the board and leads to more, not less, government.
Duterte's Deadly Drug War Targets a Catholic Priest
Death squads are after Father Amado Picardal, an early critic of the Philippine drug war.
The Case for a Consistent Approach to Government Discrimination on the Basis of Religion
Both right and left decry implicit government discrimination on the basis of religion when it targets groups they sympathize with. But both are all too ready to turn a blind eye in other cases.
Saudi Arabia Wants To Execute a Female Activist for Protesting the Government
Israa al-Ghomgham would be the first female activist to be executed in Saudi Arabia.
Elizabeth Warren's Corporate Buttinskyism Is the Future Liberals Want: Podcast
What could go wrong with federalizing the corporate charter process and putting bureaucrats in charge of long-term business thinking?
Skeptical of the 'Common Good'? Don't Be!
Libertarians think freedom creates the conditions that lead to human flourishing. The Catholic Church has a name for that.
"Islamic Fundamentalist Fervor Seems to Have Intensified, Such That Evangelical Christians May Now Be at Special Risk in Indonesia"
This leads to a rare potential victory for someone who illegally came to the U.S. from Indonesia, and who is seeking to reopen his asylum case.
New Lawsuit Says Utah's Medical Marijuana Initiative Is a Free Speech Violation
Opponents claim forbidding landlords from discriminating against tenants for using medical marijuana is unconstitutional.
Satanists Use Freedom of Religion To Call for Installation of Demonic Statue in Arkansas State Capitol
"This is a rally for all people who hold sacred the founding Constitutional principles of Religious Freedom and Free Expression..."
Afghan Teen Wasn't Gay Enough to Get Asylum in Austria: Report
According to the official handling the teen's asylum application, his walk, dress, and actions proved he couldn't be gay.
