Free Republic

Celebrates Religious Freedom DayHOUSTON, Texas - Today in honor of Religious Freedom Day, memorializing the 230th anniversary of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Ted Cruz released the following video. Authored by Thomas Jefferson, the statute passed in the Virginia General Assembly on January 16, 1786. The statute recognized that all individuals have the right to live in accordance with their faith, paving the way for the First Amendment and becoming a pillar of the American tradition.See the video and transcript below:Ted Cruz: Religious Liberty Is Fundamental to Our National Character (Video)"The right to freely worship the Lord God Almighty...

With a view towards curbing abusive posts, Twitter has established new, stricter guidelines, stating, "We do not tolerate behavior that crosses the line into abuse, including behavior that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another user's voice." So far, so good. I can't imagine that anyone thinks we need more incivility and hatred and incitement on social media, and I can understand why Twitter CEO Dick Costolo feels "ashamed" at how poorly his company has handled abusers. With that in mind, Twitter's guidelines are understandable, stating, "You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people...

People who disagree with same-sex marriage and birth-control use have been met with accusations of bigotry. Are some Christians being unfairly shamed out of the public sphere? Is evangelical Christian morality still viable in American public life? This is the question lurking in recent debates over religious-liberty issues, from the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision to the Christian bakers who object to baking cakes for gay weddings. In discussions of these cases, objections to same-sex marriage and contraception are described as a retreat from “secular society.” And in some cases, evangelicals actually have retreated: Since the Boy Scouts of America...

Ted Cruz interviews Dick and Betty Odgaard during his religious liberty rally in Des Moines. Photo credit: Dave Davidson (Prezography.com) Yesterday, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) released a new ad that lacks any spoken narration, but highlights court victories he had as a private attorney and as Solicitor General of Texas. The ad that will air statewide in Iowa through January 3rd highlights Cruz's victories defending the Mojave Memorial Cross, the Texas Capitol Ten Commandments monument, the Second Amendment, and the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.You can watch the :30 second ad entitled “Victories” below:Victories (Video)Cruz...

Surging Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz is laying out what would be the most aggressive first day in office every for a new president, starting with the elimination of "every single illegal and unconstitutional" executive action taken by President Obama.In an epilogue to his father Rafael Cruz's upcoming autobiography, the Texas senator also said that he would rip up Obama's controversial deal with Iran, open an investigation into Planned Parenthood's abortion practice, end the IRS's "persecution of religious liberty," and shift the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem."All of that is on day one. It is an example of...

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois has written to Pope Francis, criticizing "hateful" public remarks by Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez of Santo Domingo about the openly homosexual US ambassador to the Dominican Republic. The Illinois lawmaker said that the ambassador, James "Wally" Brewster, has shown "patience and professionalism" in the "mean-spirited attacks" by the Dominican cardinal. He appealed to the Pope to stop the cardinal's "intolerant public statements."

Whether we’re talking about the redefinition of marriage or taxpayer funded abortion and contraception, one question is crossing many Christians’ minds: where will the next challenge to religious liberty arise? Among some, there is a growing concern that the next threat to religious liberty will be a cyber showdown.

A Christian couple in Norway have reportedly become embroiled in a battle with social services after their five children were removed on charges that included “Christian radicalization and indoctrination.” On Nov. 16, Norway’s child welfare services, the Barnevernet, seized Marius and Ruth Bodnariu’s two daughters, two sons and their baby, Ezekiel. The two eldest children were reportedly removed from school without their parents knowledge, and then Barnevarnet representatives arrived with police at the Bodnariu home, where welfare services seized the remaining children, minus the baby. The organization returned the following day and removed the infant as well after the family...

The Oireachtas has approved legislation that extends equality law protections for LGBT teachers to schools and institutions run by the Catholic Church. The Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which has passed all legislative stages, scraps Section 37(1) of the Employment Equality Act, which exempts the promotion of "certain religious values" from the legal definition of discrimination. The section applies to "religious, educational or medical" institutions which are "under the direction or control of a body established for religious purposes". The move to amend the Act is principally aimed at protecting staff at denominational schools which receive state funding, though hospitals and...

On Tuesday night the latest bastion against religious intolerance was swept away, as the Dail voted unanimously to repeal Section 37 of the state's Employment Equality Act. Section 37 granted specific exemptions for "religious, educational or medical institutions" when it came to gay rights, allowing them "to maintain the religious ethos of the institution".

We are all free to say what we think, and must be, for without this freedom we will no longer be America. More on that below. But you always hope what is said will be constructive, helpful, maybe even at some point heartening. You have a responsibility as an adult to do your best in this area. But as soon as the story broke Wednesday afternoon, and while it was still going on, there were accusations and bitter words flung all over the Internet. The weirdest argument came almost immediately. A person named Chris Murphy, who is a U.S. senator...

Officially blown away by a presidential candidate. I attended the Ted Cruz Rally for Religious Liberty yesterday. From the moment he strode onto stage, a few things were apparent. No teleprompter guided him,  and if there were any notes, he never used them. Nonetheless, he spoke for nearly an hour with enthusiasm, a clear love of God and country, passion, and conviction. Much of the rally centered about everyday heroes who suffered religious persecution here in the land of the free, and refused to give up their right to live their faith. Coach Joe Kennedy, a football coach who...

Greenville, South Carolina - Ted Cruz used the backdrop of the terror attacks in Paris as the latest evidence that Christians are under siege, making a pitch on Saturday to evangelicals here that tied together his take-no-prisoners foreign policy with his faith-driven domestic agenda. The Texas Republican, kicking off his most extensive trip yet in South Carolina, had planned for a month a large, highly-produced "Rally for Religious Liberty" that mirrored a similar event this summer... But Friday's attacks in France recalibrated Cruz's message and its overall tone: He began the event with a lengthy moment of silence, and Cruz...

Greenville, SC | 12 pm ET | #DefendReligiousLiberty

Dr. Michael Brown supports Cruz for PresidentHOUSTON, Texas - Presidential candidate Ted Cruz today announced the endorsement of Dr. Michael Brown, a Judeo-Christian talk show host and evangelical leader.Dr. Brown is a Messianic Jew and a professor of Biblical and Hebrew studies. He's the founder and president of FIRE School of Ministry, the Director of the Coalition of Conscience, and host of the daily, nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire. Brown also hosts a TV show on Judeo-Christian apologetics, "Answering Your Toughest Questions.""I deeply appreciate Dr. Brown's support, and respect his contribution to Judeo-Christian scholarship," Cruz said....

Saturday, November 14South Carolina Rally for Religious LibertyFeaturing Sen. Ted Cruz, Bishop E.W. Jackson, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Dr. Michael Brown, brothers Jason and David Benham and more! 12:00 pm Bob Jones University 1700 Wade Hampton Blvd Greenville, SC 29614RSVP HERESunday, November 15Myrtle Beach Town Hall 2:15 pm Horry-Georgetown Technical College Burroughs & Chapin Auditorium 12050 Highway 501 East Conway, SC 29526RSVP HEREMonday, November 16Sun City Town Hall 9:00 am The Pavilion 114 B Sun City Lane Sun City, SC 29909 *Due to the local hosts this event is limited to residents of Sun City only.RSVP HERECollege of...

Targeted Americans of Faith to Tell Their StoriesHOUSTON, Texas - The Cruz for President campaign today announced the names of five Americans targeted for their religious faith who will be featured at the South Carolina Rally for Religious Liberty."I am proud to be joined by such a heroic group of Americans," said Ted Cruz. "Increasingly, renegade government officials seek to coerce people of faith either to act in a manner that violates their faith or forfeit their career. The right to religious liberty built America. Denying that right is un-American, and it is morally wrong."Joining Ted Cruz in Greenville will...

Well, at least they were not told to bake a cake for a gay wedding. In President Obama’s fundamentally transformed America, Christian bakers are forced by the blunt instrument of government mandate to cater a gay wedding regardless of their religious beliefs, but Muslim truckers can now refuse to transport alcohol because their Muslim beliefs and Sharia law prohibits it. As an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission press release cheerfully chirps about its victory over Star Transport, a trucking company based in Morton, Illinois: A federal jury in Peoria, Ill., has awarded $240,000 to two Somalian-American Muslims who were fired...

You can always tell when the Washington statists really fear something. They become like jackals on a carcass in the savannah, tearing and ripping at it until there is nothing left. Anything or anyone that might upset the symbiosis between the political hacks and their corporate cronies must be eliminated. After all, they worked very hard to put this self-serving, freedom killing mechanism in place. No idea or outsider can be allowed to interfere with the unending orgy of money and power. There really is just one party in Washington today. Yes, we still have Democrats and Republicans, but when...

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, October 19, 2015 (LifeSiteNews)—There was a time when Church and State cooperated – when governing powers welcomed the influence of Judeo-Christian values and sought to harmonize its laws with morality. But since the radical secularization of Western society, Christians have been forced into an adversarial, politically incorrect role, much like the early Church in times of persecution. Since a "culture of death" began to dominate the West, genuine Christians have become counter-cultural. The leader of America's largest Protestant denomination, Dr. Albert Mohler, applies this Christian counter-culturalism to the latest politically correct trend in society: the approval of sodomy...