Free Republic

Talk of religious freedom and limiting it, seems to be everywhere these days. The US Supreme Court affirmed the right recently of townships to say a public prayer before a local meeting, which seems rather like declaring the sun’s right to rise in the East, if you consult the Founding Fathers’ writings – and their practices. Meantime, atheist devotees – if there is such a thing as a formal devotee to atheism, since that might make them religious followers of non-worship – are trying to create the first non-religious religious chaplain in the military. Confusion seems to abound about...

You can’t win the fight if you don’t put on the gloves. A punch-drunk, old heavyweight boxer knows that’s a truism, but not the churches of America. The Supreme Court heard arguments this week on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state by a 52 to 47 margin in 2008 but has since been declared unconstitutional by federal courts. Fox TV, Rush Limbaugh and other talk-show pundits have weighed in, arguing the conservative -- and moral -- position that sanctifying gay marriage with the grace of the U.S. Constitution is not only wrong but...

Under pressure from religious and conservative groups, the Obama administration has offered another compromise on the issue of birth control coverage within the Affordable Care Act. While exempting churches and some religiously affiliated institutions, such as hospitals and universities, from supplying the coverage, the new proposal calls for their employees to receive stand-alone private insurance policies providing birth control coverage at no cost. Insurance companies will foot the bill, but only the naive can possibly think the cost won't find its way back to the institution in the form of higher health premiums. Numerous lawsuits filed against this and...

There are many people today who despise conservative religious beliefs, but they are quick to say, “We don’t want to restrict your religious freedoms in any way. Just keep your beliefs in the church.” What they fail to realize is that the church is not a closet, and it is our private beliefs that fuel our public acts. Shouldn’t it be this way? President Obama claims that it was conversations he had with his daughters, coupled with his interpretation of the teaching of Jesus, that caused him to take a public stand for same-sex marriage last May. Did his supporters...

Post-Graduate Homeschooling Malcolm A. Kline, July 2, 2010 One of the signs of the increasing popularity of homeschooling is the growing number of Americans who avail themselves of it after graduation. It’s also a sign of the endemic failures of public education today. “Look at the best sellers today,” bestselling author David Barton said in an interview with the July 2010 AFA Journal. “They are things like David McCullough’s book John Adams.” “Americans are willing to pay money to learn what they were supposed to learn in school. All the information in that book used to be in the textbooks.”...

Mr. Loconte’s remarks are adapted from a debate spon­sored by the Oxford Union Society at Oxford, England. He argued against the proposition that “Christian Values Undermine American Values.” He was joined by Richard Lowry, editor of National Review and Eric Metaxas, director of Socrates in the City. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, and Herb Silverman, president of the Secular Coalition for America, argued for the proposi­tion. The debate was held on May 26, 2005. "The proposition before this august body, that Chris­tian values do not support American values, would have utterly mystified the greatest generation of polit­ical leaders...

Constitution Requires Separation of Church and State CONSERVATIVE TRUTH 08-25-03By Tom Barrett For years I have stated that "separation of church and state" does not exist in the constitution. I was wrong. It does exist - in the Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In Article 52: Religion, it states, "In the USSR, the church is separated from the state." Fortunately for us, we have the US Constitution to protect us. Unfortunately for us, we have federal judges who interpret the Constitution like the Episcopal bishops recently interpreted the Scriptures. Today in Alabama, because of an unconstitutional ruling...