Freedom of religion

The Latest

Zion Lutheran Church in Long Valley, New Jersey, is one of two churches that have won a victory against county officials who were excluding them from a historic preservation grant program.

Judge says New Jersey county can’t exclude churches from historic preservation grant

Dec 4, 2024

By Daniel Payne

The parishes were supported in their lawsuit by the First Liberty Institute and the University of Notre Dame School of... Read more

Panelists at the 2024 International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit on Jan. 30-31, 2024, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.

International Religious Freedom Summit offers program for college students

Nov 26, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

The IRF Summit partnership program, taking place Feb. 3–5, 2025, includes training sessions, guided simulations, and conversations with leading scholars. Read more

The historic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer, in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France, was ravaged by arson on the night of Sept. 2, 2024.

Nearly half of 2,500 anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe were in France, report says

Nov 20, 2024

By Madalaine Elhabbal

The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe report said 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes occurred from 2023 to... Read more

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Senators cry foul after faith-based groups allegedly frozen out of prison program

Nov 14, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

Sens. James Lankford and Gary Peters expressed concern over what they see as a lack of transparency in the Bureau... Read more

Kevin Roberts is president of the Heritage Foundation.

Conservative policy leader: First Amendment, pro-life cause at stake on Nov. 5

Nov 1, 2024

By Madalaine Elhabbal

In an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” host Tracy Sabol on Friday, Kevin Roberts addressed the anticipated crisis of nonvoters... Read more

Our Lady of Lourdes grotto, Lourdes, France.

Kentucky attorney general backs Catholic church in lawsuit against shrine construction

Oct 31, 2024

By Tyler Arnold

The proposed grotto shrine pays homage to a series of famous Marian apparitions in Lourdes, France, in 1858. Read more

Andrew Kubrick, Religious Freedom Institute; Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann, My Catholic Doctor; Sister Deirdre Byrne; and Louis Brown, Christ Medicus Foundation, speak on the issue of religious freedom protections for Catholic health care workers on Oct. 24, 2024.

Catholic health care leaders rally behind religious freedom initiatives ahead of Election Day

Oct 26, 2024

By Madalaine Elhabbal

Leaders in Catholic health care are rallying behind critical policy initiatives to protect religious freedom in medical care. Read more

Parents protest the Montgomery County School Board's policy blocking them from opting out their children from pro-homosexual and transgender materials.

Maryland school district pulls LGBTQ books amid legal battle before Supreme Court

Oct 24, 2024

By Madalaine Elhabbal

Parents from diverse faith backgrounds filed suit in May 2023 after the district announced it would no longer allow parents... Read more

Anglican nuns from Sisterhood of St. Mary (photographed with bishops from the Anglican Church of North America’s Diocese of the Living Word) are among those suing the state of New York for requiring that they cover abortion in their health plans.

Coalition of faith groups side with nuns in religious freedom case before Supreme Court

Oct 23, 2024

By Madalaine Elhabbal

The Anglican nuns and religious groups are suing the state of New York after it mandated employers to cover abortions... Read more

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a church service at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on Oct. 20, 2024, in Stonecrest, Georgia.

Kamala Harris rejects religious exemptions for abortion laws: ‘That cannot be negotiable’

Oct 23, 2024

By Tyler Arnold

“I don’t think we should be making concessions when we’re talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your... Read more

The Catholic bishops are backing a suit by Apache Stronghold, a coalition of Native Americans and their supporters, in its lawsuit against the federal government. The lawsuit argues that the coalition’s freedom of religion was violated when the federal government announced its intention to sell formerly protected land in Arizona to a mining company.

U.S. bishops, Knights of Columbus back Apache religious freedom bid at Supreme Court

Oct 17, 2024

By Daniel Payne

After years of protecting Oak Flat from development, the government several years ago moved to transfer the land to the... Read more

U.S. Supreme Court.

Oklahoma Catholic charter school petitions U.S. Supreme Court to consider approval

Oct 8, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

The Oklahoma Supreme Court had ruled that the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board could not authorize a charter with... Read more

Nuns from the Missionaries of Charity hold candles in recognition of the May 3 annivesary of ethnic violence in Manipur, India.

Christians face arbitrary arrests, grave religious freedom violations in India

Oct 8, 2024

By Madalaine Elhabbal

According to a recent report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Christians in India are facing increasingly... Read more

Parents protest the Montgomery County School Board's policy blocking them from opting out their children from pro-homosexual and transgender materials.

A look at the religious freedom cases that could be on the Supreme Court docket this term

Oct 2, 2024

By Tyler Arnold

The most high-profile religious liberty case being appealed to the Supreme Court deals with religious freedom and parental rights in... Read more

Terrorist attacks in Benue State, Nigeria, have forced residents to flee their villages and, in some cases, seek shelter in local Catholic churches and schools. Pictured here is St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Yelewata.

Over 70 Christians killed, 20 medical students kidnapped in recent Nigeria violence

Aug 20, 2024

By Tyler Arnold

The attacks have renewed calls from religious freedom advocates that the U.S. Department of State designate Nigeria a “country of... Read more

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Oklahoma school board rescinds contract for Catholic charter school

Aug 13, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

In late June the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against the school’s establishment and ordered the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board... Read more

Christians take part in a Good Friday procession in Amritsar on March 29, 2024.

Hundreds of Christian leaders appeal for persecuted religious minorities in India

Aug 8, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

A letter organized by the Federation of Indian-American Christian Organizations in North America called for India to be named a... Read more

As part of a consent decree, a North Carolina IHOP restaurant will have to pay damages to an ex-employee and revise its religious accommodations policies.

IHOP to pay settlement to employee who was forced to work on Sundays

Aug 7, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

The general manager was also alleged to have made comments to other employees such as “religion should not take precedence... Read more

The Church of the Rock in Castle Rock, Colorado, is a nondenominational Christian church that was founded in the 1980s. After a legal battle with the town over a short-term homeless shelter, the church was vindicated on July 19, 2024, and permitted to continue its ministry on church property.

Federal court rules in favor of Colorado church blocked from running homeless shelter

Jul 22, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

Town officials had blocked the ministry, saying that housing people on church grounds violated zoning laws. Read more

A map of Nigeria.

Biden administration criticized for omitting Nigeria from religious persecution watchlist

Jun 28, 2024

By Peter Pinedo

Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, told CNA that the report demonstrates a... Read more