Free Republic

Video of President Trump's speech about freedom of religion around the world to United Nations.

"...Not the very white / Not the moralizing / Not the forbidding / But the burning / the desiring/ For you, passion still has a future." These verses of Gabriel Ringlet say a lot about his faith and the rites of celebration that he wants to re-enchant by inviting artists, believers and others, to celebrate with him. Here we have the least dogmatic faith possible. His own poetry brings a generous light, like his rites. He does not want to be called "father"... "We have a conception of the priest and the priesthood that are part of the false sacred....

Santino William Legan’s list included religious institutions, federal buildings and political institutions involving both the Republican and Democratic parties, said John Bennett, the bureau’s special agent in charge in San Francisco. It also mentioned the festival.

Listen on YouTubeDemocratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Tom Perez on Wednesday complained that voters are influenced by what they hear in church on Sundays.  Perez claimed that Republicans have an advantage because “people buy” what they hear at church.“And we all have to make sure that we’re fluent in what’s happening across our ecosystem so we can come to each other’s defense because we need to build a bigger orchestra. They’ve had a big orchestra for some time and they’ve got the megaphones to amplify it, whether it’s Sinclair at the local level or Fox at the national level,” Perez...

Toronto, Ohio, Jun 18, 2018 / 03:26 am (CNA).- Every single vocation story is different, but Sr. Rita Clare (Anne) Yoches is probably one of the more unusual. Sr. Rita Clare, who this month will profess final vows with the Franciscan Sisters T.O.R. of Penance of the Sorrowful Mother, was a four-time national champion professional football player prior to entering the convent. Yes, that’s American football. (She was a fullback.) Nowadays, the only football Yoches is playing is the annual two-hand touch game she organizes with the 38 T.O.R. sisters she lives with in Toronto, Ohio. Although she was raised...

Pastor Andrew BrunsonPhoto Credit: fpclw.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 13, 2018USCIRF Strongly Condemns New Indictment Against Pastor Andrew Brunson, Including Possible Life Sentence“USCIRF urges President Trump and others in the administration to redouble their ongoing efforts to secure Pastor Brunson’s release. No stone should be left unturned in our efforts on behalf of this unjustly imprisoned American. We call again for his immediate release and, if this is not forthcoming, for the administration and Congress to impose targeted sanctions against those involved in this miscarriage of justice,” said USCIRF Vice Chairs Sandra Jolley and Kristina Arriaga.The U.S. Commission on International...

[The new nationalisms] all are manifestations of what is commonly called the identity crisis of the West, but might better be termed the West’s struggle with the sacred. By “sacred”, I mean that which endures beyond our lifetime and beyond the lifetime of our children, the enduring characteristics that make us unique and will continue to distinguish us from the other peoples of the world, and which cannot be violated without destroying our sense of who we are. The sacred is what a country’s soldiers are willing to die to protect; unless there is something for which we are willing...

This coming Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court has the chance to set the record straight on religious freedom for everyone in the U.S. In 2012, Jack Phillips of Colorado's Masterpiece Cake Shop refused to provide a cake for a same-sex "wedding" based on his faith convictions. That case – Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission – is now before the nation's high court. Jack Phillips doesn't design cakes for all events-he never has. He has a set of values based on his religious beliefs-a moral code-that guides his life, including his work. When an event conflicts with Jack's...

“The one thing I like about President Trump, he understands that we’re in a religious war,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday night, hours after a legal immigrant from Uzbekistan rammed his rented truck into people enjoying a sunny day on a lower Manhattan bike path, killing eight of them.The terrorist, apparently acting on behalf of ISIS, ended his mile long rampage when he crashed into a school bus. A policeman shot and injured him. He is expected to survive.Graham told Fox News the American people need to know, “We’re fighting people who are compelled by their religious views to kill us all. They kill fellow Muslims...

The Trump administration on Friday announced a major rollback of the ObamaCare contraceptive mandate, granting what officials called “full protection” to a wide range of companies and organizations that claim a “religious or moral objection” to providing the coverage. The decision swiftly ignited a new battle over the Affordable Care Act. Republican lawmakers and faith-based groups hailed the decision as a win for religious liberty, while Democratic officials and groups like Planned Parenthood accused the administration of attacking women’s rights. By early afternoon, the American Civil Liberties Union announced it was filing a lawsuit challenging the change.

It is with optimism and hopeful anticipation that I head out to a meeting President Trump is hosting Thursday for religious leaders. There is a reason for my optimism. Although he doesn't get credit for it, Trump is far more religious than many people realize. In my conversations with pastors who have personally ministered to him, I have been made aware that he's extraordinarily open to the word of God, to the power of prayer, and to growing in the life of the spirit. In other words, he is tuned into the Lord's movement in his life. This is great...

As the Pew Research Center found in 2013, about 81 percent of non-Christians celebrate Christmas in the United States. That includes people without religion, Buddhists, Hindus and American Jews. In fact, close to one-third of Jewish people (32 percent) have a Christmas tree in their homes during the December months, according to Pew. More so, almost 1 in 3 Americans sees Christmas as a cultural holiday, not just a religious one, according to Pew. The data show that 92 percent of Americans celebrate the holiday, with 51 percent believing it’s a religious holiday and 9 percent feeling it is both...

Todd Starnes penned an article for Fox News saying he asked an Army band to play as a part of his annual Fox Radio Christmas showStarnes said he asked U.S. Army’s Six-String Soldiers to perform at eventThe band turned him down because the show is a 'religious event' Starnes said the Army should be able to play his show regardless of religious affiliation and blamed the Obama administration Others said they believe a Trump presidency will be less politically correct  A Fox News Corner of the World host has expressed outrage after an Army band said it would be unable to play at his Fox Radio...

EWTN: Donald Trump In His Most Revealing Interview Yet! Irondale, AL, Oct. 25, 2016 -- At 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 27, EWTN’s “The World Over” with Host Raymond Arroyo will air an exclusive interview with Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, which will be of interest to people across the United States. “He reveals the reason he switched his position on the life issue, talks about religious liberty, and speaks to women’s concerns about his candidacy. We also spoke about his prayer life, whether he has a favorite saint, and a lot more.” Said Arroyo: “Honestly, this is the most...

Many of you know that for more than 4 years, I have been one of the leaders of the team representing religious organizations, mostly Catholic (including Bishop David Zubik, Bishop of Pittsburgh’s Catholic Diocese) in his case which was consolidated in the U.S. Supreme Court with the case brought by The Little Sisters of the Poor and cases brought by others, against the government over Obamacare’s “contraception mandate.” A great number of religious groups of all denominations filed “friend of the Court” briefs supporting our position that while contraception is and could be available to all who choose to use...

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front Party, vowed that if she is elected the country’s president she would ban all public displays of religious symbols and clothing, including kippot. Le Pen made the statement during an interview on Sunday with France’s BFM-TV. She is expected to seek the country’s presidency in 2017. She heads the third-largest party in France. Le Pen is seeking to broaden an existing law, called the headscarf ban, that does not allow conspicuous displays of religious symbols in public schools to include all public areas. She called the ban a struggle against...

The most momentous thing about Monday night's presidential debate wasn't anything Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton said. It's what they didn't say. Not a word was spoken about abortion, same-sex marriage, religious freedom, "family values," or any other issue championed by the religious right over the past few decades. True, those issues didn't fit naturally with the economic, race, and national security topics on the agenda Monday night. But in previous presidential contests, that wouldn't have stopped the Republican nominee from inserting a comment somewhere about protecting unborn life or the importance of traditional families. On Monday night, we heard...

I’m running for president to make sure our country continues to live up to our founding principles. Those timeless ideas teach us that we’re stronger together when we work in unison to solve our problems, no matter what we look like, where we come from or how we pray. That last one is important. As Americans, we hold fast to the belief that everyone has the right to worship however he or she sees fit. I’ve been fighting to defend religious freedom for years. As secretary of state, I made it a cornerstone of our foreign policy to protect the...

On August 2, Pope Francis said a few words about gender identity—words that are not at all new with him. In a meeting with bishops that day, he observed: "In Europe, America, Latin America, Africa, and in some countries of Asia, there are genuine forms of ideological colonization taking place. And one of these—I will call it clearly by its name—is [the ideology of] “gender.” [It is, in fact, an artificial construct, as is evident by the co-opting of a word that, in its normative meaning, refers to grammar.] Today children—children!—are taught in school that everyone can choose his or...

A few days ago, trying to maneuver through a “scrum” of reporters in Philadelphia, I was asked about my views regarding religious freedom and non-discrimination laws. Given the divisiveness and pain that have accompanied several state religious freedom laws, I approach attempts at legislating religious exceptions to anti-discrimination laws with great sensitivity and care.