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Stories tagged with: religious liberty

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  • Churches receive good news on PPP loans
    by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, May 14, 2020 (4 years ago)

    iStock
    WASHINGTON (BP) -- Churches that received small loans as part of a coronavirus (COVID-19) relief program learned Wednesday (May 13) they will not face the risk of a federal government challenge to their certification of the loans' necessity.

    The good news for houses of worship and nonprofit organizations came in a new guidance from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) regarding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which is designed to help employee retention by small businesses, a category that includes churches. Congress designated $349 billion for the PPP in a $2 trillion relief package approved in late March in response to the economic fallout from the pandemic and followed with another $310 billion in late April when the earlier funds were depleted. Read More

  • State reopening plans a concern for religious liberty, churches
    by Diana Chandler, posted Tuesday, May 12, 2020 (4 years ago)

    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (BP) -- Southern Baptist pastors in several states are concerned that governmental restrictions on reopening the economy might unduly impact churches.

    Illinois Baptist State Association (IBSA) Executive Director Nate Adams said many pastors believe the five-phase "Restore Illinois" plan, released May 5 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, is too cautious. It limits gatherings to fewer than 50 people until a COVID-19 vaccine or effective treatment is developed. Read More

  • Court ponders church freedom in employment decisions
    by Tom Strode, posted Tuesday, May 12, 2020 (4 years ago)

    iStock
    WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has again heard oral arguments on the freedom of churches and other religious institutions to make employment decisions apart from government intrusion.

    The justices pondered the legal conflicts between Catholic schools and two former teachers Monday (May 11), during the second week in which oral arguments have been held by means of a telephone conference amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Read More

  • ERLC, Texas entities advocate for church autonomy
    by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, May 07, 2020 (4 years ago)

    Wikimedia Commons
    AUSTIN, Texas (BP) -- National and state Baptist entities have called on the Texas Supreme Court to uphold the First Amendment rights of churches to practice their faith and govern internally according to their beliefs.

    The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) joined with a committee of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas in a friend-of-the-court brief filed April 21 that asked the state's justices to reverse a lower-court opinion against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lubbock. Read More

  • Supreme Court considers abortion mandate again
    by Tom Strode, posted Wednesday, May 06, 2020 (4 years ago)

    iStock
    WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Trump administration and an order of Roman Catholic nuns urged the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday (May 6) to uphold federal rules that protect the rights of employers with religious or moral objections to the Obama-era, abortion/contraception mandate.

    For the third consecutive day, the justices heard oral arguments by means of a telephone conference because of restrictions brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The religious freedom case was among 10 in which the high court postponed oral arguments from late March and April. Read More

  • SBC leaders take issue with de Blasio's threat
    by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, April 30, 2020 (4 years ago)

    Screen capture from NBC
    WASHINGTON (BP) -- Southern Baptist leaders have called for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to change his handling of religious groups after his second set of threatening comments in barely a month during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    De Blasio oversaw the scattering of reportedly hundreds of people gathered for the funeral of a Jewish rabbi Tuesday (April 28) in Brooklyn, then threatened on Twitter to have people arrested in the future. His response to the Hasidic Jewish gathering followed his March 27 warning that buildings of churches and other religious groups might be closed permanently if they continue to gather for corporate worship. Read More

  • USCIRF reports progress for global religious freedom
    by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, April 30, 2020 (4 years ago)

    iStock
    WASHINGTON (BP) -- Improvements made in the last year by two severe violators demonstrate progress is being made on the international religious freedom front, a bipartisan commission said April 28 in its annual report.

    The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) announced it was no longer recommending Sudan and Uzbekistan for a list of the world's most egregious violators of the right to believe and practice faith. Read More

  • Loan program depleted as Congress stalls
    by Tom Strode, posted Friday, April 17, 2020 (4 years ago)

    iStock
    WASHINGTON (BP) -- Money for a small business loan program that many churches applied for has been exhausted while Congress remains in a deadlock over more funding.

    The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced April 15 it could no longer accept applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) because the $349 billion designated in a coronavirus (COVID-19) relief package enacted in late March is depleted. Read More

  • Moore: religious liberty threats "inconsistent and incoherent saber rattling"
    by Staff, posted Wednesday, April 15, 2020 (4 years ago)

    Screen capture from Facebook
    NASHVILLE (BP) -- In an interview with Baptist Press, Ethics & Religious Liberty president Russell Moore addressed religious liberty concerns stemming from Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer's order to report church attendees to local health departments on Easter weekend, calling the mayor's threats "inconsistent and incoherent saber rattling." Read More