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Will Religious Freedom Play on the World Stage?

The Pew Research Center documents that, as of 2017, 83 countries (42 percent) have severe government restrictions or social hostilities toward religious beliefs and practices. (thehill)

A Pastafarian Hilariously Trolled a Town Council Meeting. The Stakes Are Profoundly Serious

The Satanic Temple and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster are playing a dangerous high-stakes game with the Supreme Court. (vox)

Ten Commandments Display Sponsor Objects to Video Deposition

The legislator who sponsored a measure requiring a Ten Commandments statue at Arkansas’ Capitol is asking that distribution of video from his deposition in a lawsuit challenging the monument be limited, citing concerns that it could be used to harass him. (usnews)

8 Religion-Related Cases to Watch When the Supreme Court is Back in Session

The Supreme Court has the opportunity to weigh in on battles over LGBTQ rights, government funding, foster care and religion on death row. (deseret)

The Supreme Court Said the Peace Cross Can Stay. How Did These Students Rule?

Advanced Placement U.S. Government students at Frederick Douglass High School spent one morning this week in moot court, a simulation that law students use to practice delivering arguments. (washingtonpost)

District Allows Prayer Meetings at School, Receives Letter for Being ‘Unconstitutional’

The American Humanist Association sent a letter to Superintendent James Smith stating a concerned parent alerted them that the high school hosted a prayer breakfast and sermon for football players provided by a local church. (wsbtv)

Excerpts from The MAGA Bible

Available on the White House website, at NRA meetings, Southern Baptist churches, straight pride parades, and your local homophobic bakery. (goodmenproject)

Creationist Wisdom #994: Evolution’s Problems

Susie Kern, chairwoman of the school board of Brainerd, Minnesota, couldn’t figure out why the schools were teaching evolution. (sensuouscurmudgeon)

Christianity at the Supreme Court: From Majority Power to Minority Rights

For decades, the court regularly ruled that laws imposed by local majorities enforcing school prayer or religious displays on government property violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. (yahoo)

Maryland County Commissioners Settle Prayer Lawsuit With Humanist Group Over Fear of Legal Costs

The American Humanist Association filed suit against the board in 2013 as four local residents of both humanists and Catholics took issue with the prayers presented by commissioners and asserted that they violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. (christiannews)

Trump is Dismantling True Religious Freedom

A true test of our nation’s commitment to religious freedom is how we continue to respond to the “Muslim ban,” called for in 2015 by then-candidate Donald Trump and implemented as a travel ban by his administration. (sojo)

Americans Have Rejected Trump’s Version Of ‘Religious Freedom.’ The Rest Of The World Should Too

This administration is that its definition of “religious freedom” usually means the right of one person to use his or her faith to discriminate against others, deny them services and generally treat them poorly. (au)

Correct Answer to All Mind-Bending Math Problems: Jesus?

A student apparently flummoxed trying to solve a complex mathematical equation answered with a proverbial “hail Mary pass”: “Jesus is always the answer.” “Not on this question,” answers the teacher. (godzooks)