This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a final rule that would ensure that a broad array of child welfare providers will be able to serve vulnerable children while living out their deeply held religious beliefs. The finalization of this rule is welcome news and will protect these providers’ freedom to …
Continue...In issuing pandemic restrictions, governors in several states have violated the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment by treating religious organizations less favorably than secular organizations. As the ERLC has repeatedly advocated in our engagements with governor’s offices and city halls around the country throughout this pandemic, churches must be treated the same as …
Continue...On Dec. 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck down Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s pandemic restrictions that treated churches more harshly than other spaces, like casinos and restaurants. This is a significant win, as the ERLC argued for in our amicus brief in this case. The case challenging Nevada’s non-neutral pandemic …
Continue...Religious organizations are critical partners with the federal government in its efforts to meet vital needs in communities across the country. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule, to ensure that religious institutions receiving federal contracts are provided a religious exemption to discrimination laws. The final rule is significant …
Continue...Several weeks ago, the ERLC was presented with an invitation to join a brief written by lawyers at the Thomas More Society, in support of one of our SBC entities. We decided to join the brief because of the importance of the underlying religious liberty issues at stake. But there’s no avoiding the fact that …
Continue...Late on the evening before Thanksgiving, the Supreme Court issued an unsigned, per curiam opinion in a case titled Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo on the tensions between religious liberty and pandemic governance. This case dealt with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “cluster initiative” orders that targeted religious communities, including the Roman Catholic …
Continue...Like clockwork, lobbyists and interest groups annually release their policy agendas ahead of each new congressional term. These documents outline the goals an organization will seek to accomplish either through legislation or through administrative action in the coming years. The ERLC releases our own policy agenda each year to indicate the objectives we will pursue …
Continue...WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 19, 2020—The Religious Freedom Institute will present Dr. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, with the 2020 Defender of Religious Freedom Award during a virtual ceremony, Nov. 21, from 7:00-7:30 p.m. ET. RFI announced Moore as the recipient of this year’s award in September for his work to …
Continue...On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Fulton v. Philadelphia, a crucial religious liberty case whose outcome could determine the ability of faith-based foster care and adoption providers to continue serving consistent with their convictions. In Philadelphia, Catholic Social Services (CSS) has cared for children and families in need …
Continue...The protection of religious liberty has long been an objective of Baptists in America, but exactly how should Christians understand this issue? And why does it matter? In this book, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission answers these questions by explaining why Christians came to be concerned with the issue of religious liberty in the …
Continue...