ACLU Defends Young Student’s Right to Read Bible at School

Written by Don Byrd
All too often, school officials mistakenly believe the law requires them to bar all religious activity during the school day. Nothing could be further from the truth. The First Amendment guarantees the separation of church and state, but it also protects the rights of students to pray privately, and to engage in religious speech together to the same extent they are allowed to engage in non-religious speech.

In Tennessee’s Cannon County, that principle is being defended by the ACLU on behalf of a young student who simply wants to read the Bible at school at appropriate times.

Mississippi Senators Try Again on RFRA Bill

Written by Don Byrd
Mississippi state senators are giving Religious Freedom Restoration Act legislation one more chance. Back in January, the Senate unanimously passed the bill, which would raise the standard for when the government can burden a person’s religious exercise. But that was before, in many states considering such legislation, the RFRA debate was flooded with concerns about discrimination. (See my earlier post, “What Happened in Arizona?”).

The Mississippi House responded by voting to send the RFRA portion of the bill back to be studied. The Senate, however, rejected that idea on Thursday. Read on for more…