Written by Don Byrd
After a NY federal district judge enjoined the City from enforcing its rule barring the use of school buildings for religious worship, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals – which had previously found the law constitutional – responded quickly. In a 2-page order, the Appeals Court clarified that the judge’s restraining order could apply only to the plaintiffs in that particular case, the Bronx Household of Faith, and not to churches across the city not a party to the lawsuit. If you’ve been following this case and are a bit confused by all of that, so am I.
In a great piece about the contraception/religious liberty controversy, former BJC counsel Melissa Rogers says the Obama Administration should continue to address “legitimate concerns” in the new policy, but praised the two goals “at the heart of the President’s announcement” backing away from a coverage mandate for religious organizations.
Baptist scholar and professor Bill Leonard makes the case that the first two months of the year have 2012 on the way to being the year of religious liberty.
Presidential candidate Rick Santorum claimed in Sunday interviews that his comments criticizing President Obama for having a “false theology, not a theology based on the Bible” was not a way of questioning the President’s faith.
