Free Republic

Our Constitution does not forbid government entities from working with religious groups, and the ‘separation of church and state’ is an ahistorical misnomer.Sometimes, a phrase takes on a life of its own and becomes so rhetorically powerful that it can be deployed almost mindlessly, without real consideration of its original meaning. “Separation of church and state” is one such phrase.Consider a couple of examples.In 2011, middle-schooler Brian Hickman auditioned to dance to a contemporary Christian song for his public school’s talent show. Days later, Brian’s mom was told by the school principal that the “separation of church and state” prohibited...

Justice Brett Kavanaugh expressed surprise Tuesday that schools in a state founded on religious liberty are now banning parents with religious objections from opting their young children out of LGBTQ storybook lessons. In Mahmoud v. Taylor, a majority of the Supreme Court appeared ready to side with parents who want to opt their children out of Montgomery County Board of Education’s mandated storybook readings involving pronouns, transgender children and pride parades. “I guess I am a bit mystified, as a lifelong resident of the county, how it came to this,” Kavanaugh said during oral arguments. “Can you just tell us...

VATICAN CITY, — Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church for the past 12 years, has died at age 88. The head of the Catholic Church died Monday morning at 7:35 a.m. He had been the pope for 12 years, ascending to the head of the papacy on March 13, 2013.

Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI) claimed on Friday on CNN’s “The Situation Room” that the Trump administration was attacking the freedoms of speech, religion and the press. Co-host Pamala Brown said, “You talk about due process, that brings me to the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen was able to finally get a face to face meeting with him. The administration admitted that he was wrongly deported to El Salvador. Where do you think this goes from here?” Dingell said, “You know, I don’t know where it goes. I’m glad that the senator was able to see...

Sydney Johnston grew up in a nondenominational Christian household — but now the Upper West Side millennial is a devout Catholic. “There’s just something so beautiful and transcendent about the rituals and the ancient history in the Catholic Mass that’s been preserved,” Johnston, 30, told The Post. “The church really communicates a degree of reverence that I didn’t find in the more liberal, laissez-faire approach of nondenominational churches.” Confirmed in December 2024 at the Church of Notre Dame in Morningside Heights, Johnston is one of a growing number of young people turning to the Catholic Church from other denominations, religions...

You probably haven’t heard much about Holy Tuesday when people talk about Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem. This day may not have any of the exciting moments that happened at the end of Holy week, but it shows hints of the coming danger and gives us some vital lessons about Jesus' values.

For the first time in modern American history, more young men than women are claiming religious affiliation. NBC News’ Morgan Radford explores the connection between the religious growth, the rightward political shift and the growing gender gap.

Gary Hermesch, the man charged for allegedly shooting and killing a Catholic priest in Seneca had previously shared his opinions in a local newspaper. From January 2021 to March 2024, Hermesch submitted entries to The Courier-Tribune, a newspaper covering Seneca and Nemaha County. The Courier-Tribune shared copies of six issues with 27 News, where Hermesch shared his thoughts on religion and a wide range of other topics in the ‘Letter to the Editor’ column...

The medical staff looking after Pope Francis considered stopping his treatment so he could die, according to the lead doctor, while the 88-year-old pontiff was hospitalized with a drawn-out respiratory illness. Professor Sergio Alfieri told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera the most critical moment came on February 28 when the pope had a breathing crisis and inhaled his own vomit. “We had to choose whether to stop and let him go or force it and try with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the very high risk of damaging other organs. And in the end, we took this path,”...

Among the 34 largest U.S. metro areas surveyed, the Portland-Vancouver region stands out as the only place where nonreligious people outnumber Christians, according to the Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. Surveying more than 35,000 Americans across all 50 states, the study provides a detailed analysis of religious affiliation and spiritual practices nationwide. “The study was designed to capture people’s religious identity, their beliefs and practices, as well as things related to their spiritual beliefs and practices and experiences,” said Becka Alper, a senior researcher at Pew Research Center. “We wanted to get a really broad assessment of that,...

As Pope Francis approaches death, millions of Catholics around the world put aside their differences with the man to pray for him. Some pray for what Catholics call a “happy death” free from mortal sin. Some pray for his return to health. Some pray for his conversion or repentance.“It’s a sad thing to say but there should be no controversy whatsoever about people sincerely praying for the salvation of the pope’s soul,” said Frank Wright, a British Catholic journalist. “I see nothing but good intentions for that. I pray for the soul of the pope myself. It’s our duty.”It might...

A religious row has erupted among conservative Christians over President Donald Trump’s decision to re-appoint Paula White-Cain to run the White House Faith Office, with theological fissures erupting within Trump’s Christian coalition as leaders stake out different positions on the Florida pastor. The debate escalated on Tuesday (Feb. 19), when Doug Wilson, an influential Reformed pastor who has emerged as an oft-cited religious thinker in conservative circles, derided White-Cain, a Pentecostal pastor, on his podcast. While responding to others on his show who were critiquing White-Cain, the Idaho pastor referred to her appointment as “a bad pick for all kinds...

Americans repeat certain words with mindless ease without once regarding their definitions, their real meanings or their connotative meanings. Their use or perhaps their misuse is a good reflection of the health of our culture or the lack of it. Without including four letter words and expletives with the exception of…love, you will not be able to reach the end of this list without remembering that you have probably heard one or more of these words today alone. If you do not recall hearing them for a while it may be that you live an isolated life in the mountains...

During his visit to Chechnya on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stopped at the Prophet Isa mosque in Grozny and posed for photos while holding, and kissing, a gold-leaf copy of the Quran. Putin was flanked by his hand-picked Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, and top Chechen Muslim cleric Mufti Saah Mezhiev during his Quran smooch. The Grand Mufti ceremonially read a verse from the Quran, translated into Russian for Putin. The Prophet Isa mosque, constructed in 2020, is a huge and expensive structure that can accommodate 5,000 worshipers at once. “Prophet Isa” is Islam’s version of Jesus Christ, who ranks...

A Chattanooga pastor in a sermon on Sunday appeared to sanction violence against Elon Musk, billionaire who was given access to federal funds accounts as part of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort. Dr. Steve Caudle, who claimed the Trump appointee was "trying to take over the nation," said, "I'll say to you, beloved, no one likes violence, but sometimes violence is necessary. “When Elon Musk forces his way into the United States Treasury and threatens to steal your personal information and your Social Security check, there is the possibility of violence.”

A federal judge on Wednesday agreed with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's statement that pro-lifers “have no place” in New York.The judge then moved to make that recommendation a legal reality.The Washington Examiner reported that a federal judge struck down a Trump administration rule that would have allowed for healthcare workers to refuse to provide or refer to sterilizations, abortions, and medically assisted suicide if doing so violated their faith.

MADISON, Wis. -- At the Wisconsin State Capitol Tuesday morning, representatives and local leaders introduced a bill that aims to protect immigrants who go to places like churches, schools, or hospitals from being detained solely based on their immigration status. One week prior, President Trump signed an executive order that would allow law enforcement to enter sensitive areas to detain immigrants. “The idea of federal agents entering a space where people are worshiping, it’s absolutely frightening to me,” said Reverend Dr. Jonathan Grieser of Grace Episcopal Church. Rev. Grieser is trying to prepare the community for the future but feels...

Many historians call the Founding Fathers "Deists," and many of them were not true Christians -- after all, Thomas Jefferson tore all the miracles out of the Gospels! But judging by the Declaration of Independence, our Founders were more religious than many think: our founding document mentions God no less than four times.This is not to say America was founded as an explicitly Christian nation -- the federal government has never had an established religion. But the Jewish and Christian understandings of God deeply influenced the founding generation, and that influence radiates from the Declaration of Independence.Here are the four...

President Donald Trump was left in disbelief as he was forced to listen to a woke bishop deliver a stunning sermon calling for him to show 'mercy' to migrants and transgender children. On the first full day of Trump's presidency Episcopal bishop Marianne Budde unleashed a wild sermon claiming trans kids were 'fearing for their lives' due to him being in the Oval Office. Trump sat stony-faced in the front row, next to First Lady Melania Trump, as the bishop claimed some people in America were afraid following his election. Addressing Trump directly during the service at Washington National Cathedral,...

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”Since that quote was first published in 2017 by G. Michael Hopf in Those Who Remain, it has become one of the most oft-quoted phrases in the conservative universe. (I’ve quoted it several times.) That’s because it perfectly captures the current state of Western civilization. I’ve experienced a good bit of that Western civilization. I’ve had the good fortune to have lived over a quarter of my life outside of the United States. I’ve lived in Cuba—albeit on a rather...