Posts — Protect Thy Neighbor

A project of Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Sarah Jones

Cruz Control?: Texas Senator Says Religious Freedom Protects Atheists, Muslims

It should surprise no one that U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) mentioned religious freedom in his speech to the Republican National Convention last night. But this time, Cruz deviated from his usual rhetoric.
 

Keeping Secrets?: Kim Davis Accused Of Violating Ky. Open-Records Law

Kim Davis’ legal woes aren’t quite over yet. The office of the State Attorney General announced yesterday that the embattled Rowan County clerk may have violated the Kentucky Open Records Act when she refused to comply with a records request from a Washington, D.C.-based government watchdog.

Birth Control Battles: The Theocrats’ Long War On Contraceptive Access

Yesterday marked the 51st anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, a landmark Supreme Court decision that broadened access to contraception. In a 7-2 decision, the nation’s highest court found that the Connecticut Comstock Act of 1879, which banned contraceptives, violated the Fourteenth Amendment right to privacy.

Genuine Oppression: The Religious Right Should Study China To Learn What Real Christian Persecution Looks Like

In what is a genuine case of government-sponsored religious persecution, Chinese authorities have reportedly removed crosses from 1,200 to 1,700 churches over the past two years in an apparent attempt to keep the symbol from public view.

Bullseye: The Religious Right Sets Its Sights On Protections For Transgender People

Target has announced that transgender people are welcome to use the bathroom of their choice in its stores, and some fundamentalist Christians are not pleased. The American Family Association (AFA) launched a petition and boycott in response to the chain’s announcement.

Seven Signs Of The Persecution Apocalypse?: Religious Right Ally Claims Rampant Mistreatment Of Christians

It must be the End Times for American Christians – at least that’s what a Religious Right “scholar” would have you believe

Trials And Tribulations: Controversial Ala. Judge Says He Should Stay On The Bench

Alabama’s infamous anti-gay, “Ten Commandments” judge seems to think ethics complaints against him are politically motivated and should be dropped.

Sibling Rivalry: Religious Freedom Puts Economic and Religious Conservatives At Odds

In a provocative piece published yesterday, the Washington Post’s James Hohmann argued that the controversy reveals a growing split within the Republican Party. Social issues, he wrote, no longer hold the party together.

Moore Shenanigans: U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Alabama High Court’s Latest Bid To Undermine Equality

Spare a thought for Roy Moore.

Moore likely thought that as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court he’d finally have the authority to enforce God’s moral law. Theocracy has, after all, been the raison d’etre of his career. But our secular legal system – or Satan, depending on who you ask – has thwarted him at every turn.

Undeniable Falsehoods: Religious Right Group Releases New Report On The ‘Persecution’ of American Christians

An up-and-coming Religious Right legal group has a new name and a new look. The Texas-based Liberty Institute has rebranded itself First Liberty, and it has inaugurated its fresh look with a newly-released report that purportedly proves the existence of a wave of hostility toward American Christians.

Sense-Free Zone: Okla. Gun Range Owners Face Lawsuit For Turning Muslim Customer Away

Arkansas “patriot” Jan Morgan announced to the world two years ago that her gun range would no longer serve Muslim customers. At the time, I noted that her actions violated public accommodation law and that she would lose an inevitable lawsuit; that did not deter Morgan, and it did not deter a number of other gun-range owners from implementing the same policy.

Selective Worry: Poll Shows Americans Have Greater Concern For The Rights Of Christians

A new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll reports that Americans overwhelmingly prioritize the religious freedom rights of Christians over other faith groups.

U.S. Supreme Court Stays Alabama Adoption Ruling

Via Buzzfeed: 

“The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted a lesbian woman’s request to have the adoption of her former partner’s children be enforced while the court decides whether to hear her appeal of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that the adoption was void.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet said whether it will hear the appeal of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, but on Monday granted the woman’s request that the state court’s ruling be recalled and stayed until it decides whether it will do so.”

No justices dissented from the ruling. 

Denominational Drama: N.D. Couple Sues Church For Viewpoint Discrimination

A Kindred, N.D., couple claims their former church discriminated against them for their conservative views on gay rights. Ray and Joan Grabanski have sued Norman Evangelical Lutheran Church, its pastor and several congregants and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) over the alleged discrimination.