Under current military policy in the U.S., qualifying as a conscientious objector exempt from a war effort is available only to those who object to all war. Only pacificists, not those who reject a particular war based on religious reasons, are allowed to claim that...
In a press briefing Monday, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley suggested that a deadly attack on a Christian church in Iraq should not be construed as a broad campaign of persecution (an argument made more questionable after yet another attack on Christians today),...
The Judge issuing the temporary restraining order blocking implementation of Oklahoma's Sharia amendment has published her ruling, which is now online. Judge Vicki Miles-Lagrange found merit in the plaintiff's contention that the measure improperly entangles...
The Guardian (UK)'s Sahil Kapur notes that in the recent mid-term elections here in the US, candidates expressing doubt or outright opposition to the separation of church and state in their campaigns did not fare well at the ballot box. Three Republican nominees,...
As I posted last week, Oklahoma residents overwhelmingly voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban judges from considering or applying Islamic Sharia law in their rulings. Now, a judge has issued a temporary restraining order to keep the measure from going...
A federal district court in Indiana has rejected the state's argument that the rising costs of kosher meals in prison justifies the abandonment of this religious accommodation. Under RLUIPA, the government must show a "compelling interest" to burden...
