Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Religious Liberty

February 02, 2024

Threats to Religious Liberty in the U.K.

There is a real possibility that the next general election in the United Kingdom will take place within a few weeks of the presidential election in the United States. It is fair to say that no one knows what will happen on either side of the Atlantic. Continue Reading...
January 23, 2024

Religious Canadians Are Hated in Their Own Country

Synagogues and Jewish schools targeted by firebombings and shootings. Muslims attacked outside their mosque. Dozens of churches burned to the ground. Headlines like these over the past few months bear witness to a troubling rise in violence perpetrated against religious communities in Canada. Continue Reading...
December 07, 2023

Religious Freedom Upheld in Finland—Again

In Finland, a prominent politician and a Lutheran bishop have been acquitted of hate crimes for the second time in as many years. On November 14, 2023, the Helsinki Court of Appeals issued its unanimous decision that Finnish Member of Parliament Dr. Continue Reading...
August 17, 2023

Threats to Religious Freedom in Australia

Australia is a liberal democracy and commonly celebrated as a model of multiculturalism. Its legal framework could be described as a Westminster appropriation of American republicanism. Section 116 of the Australian constitution states: “The Commonwealth [federal government] shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.” Continue Reading...
July 11, 2023

A Win for Religious Employees

As it turns out, the Supreme Court last week opted against transforming the United States into a totalitarian, theocratic hellscape like the New York Times’ Linda Greenhouse had prophesied in January. Continue Reading...
June 15, 2023

Freedom of Religion Is Inherently Good

Growing up in Yemen, a conservative branch of Islam was ‎very popular in my household, school, and mosque. Freedom of ‎religion was a myth frowned upon. It was thought that Islam ‎is the right religion that will take us to Paradise, and the rest of ‎humanity is, alas, going to hell unless they accept our narrow, ‎stringent version of Islam. Continue Reading...
May 18, 2023

Liberty Is Not the Product of Any One Religion

Paul D. Miller, a professor of the practice of international affairs at Georgetown University, has argued in a recent essay in Christianity Today that Christianity is not necessary for democracy. Miller challenges “conservative evangelicals” who believe that “Christianity is necessary for a free society.” Continue Reading...