Colorado Court Slaps Baker With Fine for Refusing To Make Gender Transition Cake
Plus: Georgia's voting roll purge draws media hype, Florida's drug law hypocrisy, and more...
Religion
Supreme Court Rules Philadelphia Can't Force Catholic Agency To Serve Gay Foster Parents
No justices disagreed, but Alito, Gorsuch, and Thomas object that the majority is sidestepping a debate over when laws can overrule religious beliefs.
Eldridge Cleaver: The Mormon Years
Friday A/V Club: A former Black Panther's winding path
John McWhorter on Cursing, Anti-Racism, and Why 'We Need to Stop Being So Afraid'
Columbia University linguist John McWhorter on "anti-racism" as a new, misguided civic religion and his new book on curses, Nine Nasty Words.
Prohibited Prayer and the Limits of Public Health Authority
The Supreme Court reaffirms that COVID-19 regulations must comply with the First Amendment.
Supreme Court Blocks California's COVID-19 Restrictions on Private Prayer Groups
The majority reminds the 9th Circuit that the First Amendment puts limits on COVID-19 policies.
Conservative Economic Nationalism Is Not as Popular as People Think
Even supporters of Donald Trump think foreign trade and free markets are good for America.
SCOTUS Blocks California's COVID-19 Ban on Indoor Religious Services
Chief Justice John Roberts says the policy reflects "insufficient appreciation or consideration of the interests at stake."
Chris Stewart: Race, COVID-19, and the Future of School Choice
Black families need control of their children's K-12 education, says the Minnesota activist. The past year's lockdowns might just make that happen.
Viewpoint Diversity Will Get a Boost From School Choice
There’s no reason to fight over the content of your kids’ lessons when you can choose your own.
SCOTUS Declines To Let Kentucky Religious Schools Reopen Without Addressing the Constitutionality of Closing Them
The justices emphasized that K-12 schools are currently scheduled to reopen after winter break.
California Churches Stuck in Limbo After Supreme Court Decision
Plus: Congress to vote today on marijuana decriminalization, new study shows bad news for indoor diners, and more...
L.A. Times Turns Pastor's Death into Outrage Clickbait
Bob Bryant was infected with COVID-19 while on vacation and died. A news story tries to link that to church services.
Following Protests, France Retreats on Plan to Censor Filming of Police
Earlier in November, surveillance footage captured officers beating a man for not wearing a mask.
Paul Krugman Thinks Holding Religious Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic Is Like 'Dumping Neurotoxins Into Public Reservoirs'
The New York Times columnist misconstrues the issues at stake in the challenge to New York's restrictions on houses of worship.
SCOTUS Blocks New York's COVID-19 Restrictions on Houses of Worship, Saying They Are Not 'Narrowly Tailored'
Gov. Andrew Cuomo described his policy as a "fear-driven response," cut by a "hatchet" rather than a "scalpel."
Cuomo's COVID-19 Rules Discriminate Against Religion
The case gives SCOTUS another chance to enforce constitutional limits on disease control measures.
Jews and Catholics Ask Supreme Court To Stop NYC Religious Services Ban
Plus: DOJ argues for right to kill civilians, tech CEOs are back before Congress today, Dolly Parton helped fund COVID-19 vaccine, and more...
Justice Samuel Alito Highlights the Legal Issues Raised by 'Previously Unimaginable' COVID-19 Restrictions
When "fundamental rights are restricted" during an emergency, he says, the courts "cannot close their eyes."
The Nationalism-ists
The members of Steve Bannon's international circle share an outlandish spiritual-historic vision, but their threat to liberty is more mundane.
Pope Francis Declares Support for Civil Unions for Gay Couples
His statement doesn’t change Catholic Church teachings, but it’s an indicator of big cultural shifts.
Reviews: Love and Monsters and J.R. 'Bob' Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius
A good teens-and-creatures movie, and a deep dive into a glorious fake cult
Orthodox Jews Say They're Being Targeted by New NYC Lockdowns
The newest lockdown, which explicitly targets religious gatherings, seems likely to further skepticism of public health directives.
The Sins and Virtues of New Religions
Occultists, social justice warriors, and techno-utopians may not look like the Christians of yore, but they're more religious than they realize.
Will-to-Power Conservatism and the Great Liberalism Schism
By virtue of representing the correct vision of the good, these conservatives say, they have every right to use the coercive power of the state to interfere with others' choices.
Kamala Harris' Limited Vision of Religious Liberty
The presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee offers a highly circumscribed notion of the role of faith in public life.
Rocker Nick Cave: Cancel Culture Is 'Bad Religion Run Amuck'
'Political correctness has grown to become the unhappiest religion in the world.'
Kanye West Unveils His Presidential Platform
Is the Kanye 2020 platform designed to steal votes from Joe Biden?
Linda Greenhouse Thinks COVID-19 Rules That Favor Casinos Over Churches Raise No Constitutional Issues Worth Considering
The former New York Times SCOTUS reporter does not seem to understand the arguments she is criticizing.
The Obamacare Birth Control Coverage Fight That Never Ends
Plus: Biden echoes Trump on trade, tech ties to cops revealed, and more...
Churches, Which Account for 0.02% of COVID-19 Cases, Are a 'Major Source' of Infection, The New York Times Says
The paper's claim reflects the same arbitrary distinction between religious and secular activities that churches are challenging in court.
Supreme Court Strengthens First Amendment Protections for Religious Employers
SCOTUS rules 7-2 in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru.
Don't Let the Pandemic Kill Religious Freedom
COVID-19 control measures violate the First Amendment when they arbitrarily favor secular conduct.
Kneeling in the Church of Social Justice
America certainly has work to do on race, but ritual and symbolic acts aren't the way forward.