Free Republic

FULL TITLE: Supreme Court: Government Can’t Exclude Christian Groups From Programs Just Because They’re Christian In a huge victory, the Supreme Court today ruled that government programs can’t exclude Christian groups from them just because they are Christian. The specifics of the case at issue are not directly related to pro-life causes but the decision certainly could have impact on pro-life organizations. Previously, Christian-based abstinence organizations have been denied funding and pro-life organizations have been denied participation in governmental programs. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Monday that the government cannot exclude churches and other faith-based organizations from a secular...

Is the Obama administration moving to require Christian nonprofits that receive government grants to follow LGBT non-discrimination rules in hiring? A May 29 blog post by Austin Ruse, president of the Center for Family & Human Rights (C-Fam), claimed that an "unnamed source within the federal government" informed him that "the White House is quietly moving forward" with an LGBT non-discrimination policy for nonprofit organizations receiving government grants. Since then, however, a White House official has assured another religious freedom organization that no decisions have been made about federal grantees. The White House, Ruse wrote, "has recently directed federal agencies...

A disturbing story came and went, barely noticed a few weeks ago. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is being unceremoniously booted off the campuses of California's 23 state universities. This begins with a process of "derecognizing" these as legitimate campus groups. Why? Though everyone is welcome at their ministry events, ICVF reserves leadership only for those committed to their goals and creed, just as a homosexual group would presumably reserve leadership for gays or those who affirm its pro-gay agenda. Or a Muslim group for Muslims. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is a network of campus ministries. It is evangelical in orientation and has...

Bowdoin College’s evangelical group will no longer be recognized by the college starting next fall. The New York Times reported Tuesday that the college is demanding that any student should be able to run for leadership for any student group, regardless of his or her religious beliefs, but the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship disagrees. “It would compromise our ability to be who we are as Christians if we can’t hold our leaders to some sort of doctrinal standard,” recent Bowdoin graduate and former leader of BCF Zackary Suhr told The Times. The incident at Bowdoin has occurred at many other colleges...

Do you know what the C in YMCA stands for? You may know it stands for “Christian,” but I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t. The YMCA has come far from its founders’ intent when it was organized in 1844 — so far that many people have forgotten its roots as a Christian organization established to disciple young men. Today, as John Alexander of the Danville, Illinois, YMCA says, “Unfortunately, people look at us and just see a swim and gym.” Sadly, over the years the YMCA has redefined its original mission right out of existence. At first, the YMCA’s...

Christian organizations in the Holy Land say ties with the Israeli government are the worst ever and have accused the Jewish state of denying visas to some clergy - making them unwelcome in the place of Jesus' birth. A group of 50 Christian leaders sent a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush asking him to help solve a "crisis" that left some institutions without sufficient staff. "Relations of the churches and these institutions with the Israeli government may be the worst they have ever been," said the letter, sent to Bush last week and signed by Protestant, Catholic and...