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NPR
Religion
Yazidi refugees from Iraq are among those fleeing religious persecution. The Biden administration promises to allow refugees into the U.S. at much higher numbers than the Trump administration did.

Biden Gives New Hope To Refugees Fleeing Religious Persecution

Nov 20, 2020
Joe Biden intends to admit 125,000 refugees in his first year. Many will be fleeing religious persecution. While highlighting persecution, President Trump cut refugee admissions to 15,000.
NPR
Religion
LGBTQ supporters gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 8, 2019.

Religious Freedom Arguments Give Rise To Executive Order Battle

Nov 16, 2020
Legislative remedies prove ineffective in reconciling religious freedom claims with concerns about discrimination, so the battle is waged via executive orders.
NPR
National Security
The Rev. Randolph Hollerith, dean of the Washington National Cathedral (from left); the Rev. Carl Wright, the Episcopal Church's bishop suffragan for the armed forces; and Maj. Gen. Steven Schaick, the Air Force chief of chaplains, participate in the ble

Space Force Bible Blessing At National Cathedral Sparks Outrage

Jan 13, 2020
The dedication at the Washington National Cathedral of an official Bible of the new U.S. Space Force is being criticized as a violation of laws separating church and state.
NPR
Shots - Health News
A federal agency says Vermont Medical Center required a nurse to participate in an abortion over her moral objections.

Federal Agency Accuses Vermont Hospital Of Forcing A Nurse To Assist In An Abortion

Aug 28, 2019
The Trump administration's Office for Civil Rights put a hospital in Vermont on notice that it violated federal rules by forcing a nurse to help with an abortion. The hospital denies the charge.
NPR
Shots - Health News
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights has issued new rules protecting health care workers who refuse to be involved in certain procedures for religious or moral reasons.

What's Behind A Rise In Conscience Complaints For Health Care Workers?

May 09, 2019
A new rule expands protection for health care workers who refuse to provide certain care on moral grounds. The rule cites a sudden rise in religious discrimination complaints. What's fueling the rise?
NPR
Shots - Health News
Health care workers may now refuse to be involved with providing services that offend their religious beliefs. The new rule, issued by the HHS Office for Civil Rights, affirms existing conscience protections established by Congress, director Roger Severi

New Trump Rule Protects Health Care Workers Who Refuse Care For Religious Reasons

May 02, 2019
The rule strengthens protections for health care providers who are unwilling to provide services like abortions. Critics say it could put women's health in danger.
NPR
Religion
Outside the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesian protesters in 2018 demand an end to China's mass detention of Uighur Muslims. On Monday, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released its 20th annual report.

Religious Freedom Report Offers Grim Review Of Attacks On Faith Groups

Apr 29, 2019
The 20th annual report identifies 16 countries that engaged in or tolerated egregious violations. It also names five entities as violators of religious freedom, including ISIS and the Taliban.
NPR
Law

Catholic Foster Care Agency Can Not Discriminate Against LGBTQ Couples, Court Says

Apr 22, 2019
The agency argued its religious freedoms were violated when Philadelphia ended a foster care contract. A federal appeals court disagreed.
NPR
Religion
Evangelicals pray during a church service in Havana, Cuba. Religious groups on the island have come out in opposition to a new constitution which will be voted on on Sunday.

Religious Leaders In Cuba Outspoken And Critical Of Proposed Constitution

Feb 23, 2019
Cubans vote this weekend on a new constitution that enshrines the Communist party as the "supreme guiding political force." Religious leaders are critical of new limits on pluralistic thought.
NPR
Asia
Chinese Hui Muslims pray during Eid al-Fitr prayers at Niujie Mosque in Beijing in 2015. Authorities in western China were poised to begin demolition of a mosque Friday, despite protests by members of the country's Muslim Hui ethnic minority determined t

Thousands Of Muslims Gather In China To Protest Mosque Demolition

Aug 10, 2018
The brand-new Grand Mosque in Weizhou is slated for destruction. The Chinese government says it lacked the right permits, but worshipers see the demolition as an attack on their faith.
NPR
Politics
American pastor Andrew Brunson is being held in Turkey on accusations of terror and espionage.In a tweet, President Trump called Brunson "a great Christian, family man and wonderful human being."

Who is Andrew Brunson, The Pastor Prompting Sanctions Threats Against Turkey?

Jul 26, 2018
In a move that is winning praise from religious conservatives, the Trump administration threatened sanctions if Turkey does not release an American evangelical pastor.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Critics of Roger Severino, director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS, worry Severino's efforts on behalf of some health workers will reduce women's access to reproductive health services and could aggravate discrimination against transgender people.

Civil Rights Chief At HHS Defends The Right To Refuse Care On Religious Grounds

Mar 20, 2018
Roger Severino created a new division in the Department of Health And Human Services to guard the religious rights of health care workers. That worries some advocates for women and LGBTQ people.
NPR
Shots - Health News
The Department of Health and Humans Services is adding a Division of Conscience and Religious Freedom to protect doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to take part in some kinds of care because of moral or religious objections.

Trump Admin Will Protect Health Workers Who Refuse Services On Religious Grounds

Jan 18, 2018
The Division of Conscience and Religious Freedom is being established to aid health workers with objections rooted in conscience or religion to treating certain people and performing some procedures.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Nevada church says school ban on religious flyers illegal

Dec 02, 2017
RENO, Nev. (AP) — An evangelical Christian church in Nevada says its First Amendment rights are being violated by a rural school district's ban on promotional flyers the church wants to distribute at a school program with other charitable organizations.

NPR
The Two-Way
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, seen here at a news conference last month, is being nominated by President Trump to be an ambassador for religious freedom.

Kansas Gov. Brownback To Be Nominated Ambassador For Religious Freedom

Jul 26, 2017
He tweeted, "Religious Freedom is the first freedom." If confirmed, he'll leave office with critics unhappy at the effect of tax cuts he championed, but others supportive of his conservative policies.
NPR
Law
David Cortman of the Alliance Defending Freedom speaks after representing Trinity Lutheran Church before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Concerned Women for America hosted a rally in support of the Missouri church on the court steps.

In Church-State Playground Brawl, Justices Lean Toward The Church

Apr 19, 2017
At Wednesday's oral arguments, a clear majority of justices seemed troubled by a Missouri policy that bars state money from going to religious schools for playground improvements.
NPR
Law
Children play on a swing set at the Trinity Lutheran Child Learning Center playground in Columbia, Mo.

Playground Case Could Breach Barrier Between Tax Coffers, Religious Schools

Apr 19, 2017
The Supreme Court hears arguments today on whether Missouri should provide a grant to a church preschool, or if that violates the state's constitution. The state's new governor has abandoned the rule.
NPR
Religion
Protestors and LGBT activists rally outside of Trump International Hotel, this month in Washington, DC.

In Religious Freedom Debate, 2 American Values Clash

Feb 28, 2017
A showdown may be coming on the meaning of religious freedom, and LGBT advocates fear anti-discrimination protections could be weakened as a result.
NPR
Politics
Even after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, there have been efforts to pass a religious freedom bill. LGBTQ rights advocates believe lawmakers anticipate support from the Trump administration.

LGBTQ Advocates Fear 'Religious Freedom' Bills Moving Forward In States

Feb 26, 2017
The Trump administration hasn't taken action on its promises to protect religious liberties, which some see as opposing LGBTQ people. But some state legislatures are taking this as support.
NPR
The Two-Way
Curt Freed (left) and his husband, Robert Ingersoll, after a November 2016 hearing before Washington state's Supreme Court.

Washington State Court Rules Florist Broke The Law By Refusing To Serve Gay Couple

Feb 16, 2017
The state Supreme Court has ruled that a florist broke a state anti-discrimination law when she refused to provide flowers for a wedding between two men.
NPR
News
Jeanette Vizguerra, a Mexican woman seeking to avoid deportation from the United States, speaks Wednesday as she holds her 6-year-old daughter, Zuri, during a news conference in a Denver church in which Vizguerra and her children have taken refuge.

Colorado Church Offers Immigrant Sanctuary From Deportation

Feb 16, 2017
Churches across the country are preparing to offer shelter and protection to immigrants in the country illegally. That sets up a conflict between Trump's policies on immigration and religious freedom.
NPR
Politics
Vice President-elect Mike Pence arrives at Trump Tower on Tuesday to meet with President-elect Donald Trump about choosing key members of their future administration.

Vice President-Elect Mike Pence Set To Govern At Trump's Side

Nov 16, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump has made clear that his future vice president will have a major role in governing.
NPR
Politics
On Tuesday night, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump campaigned with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who he is vetting as his running mate.

Trump Wraps Up Vice President Auditions, Nears Decision

Jul 13, 2016
Donald Trump's public tryout of potential vice presidential picks finished up in Indiana Tuesday night with Gov. Mike Pence giving the final audition.
NPR
The Two-Way
Protesters march on May 1, seeking repeal of a Mississippi law allowing religious groups and some private businesses to deny services to same-sex couples, transgender people and others. A federal judge ruled the law unconstitutional late Thursday.

Judge Blocks Mississippi Law Protecting Religious Objections To Gay Marriage

Jul 01, 2016
Late Thursday night, shortly before the controversial law was set to take effect, a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional. He called it an "attempt to put LGBT citizens back in their place."
KNPR
KNPR's State of Nevada

One Year Later: Marriage Equality Fight Shifts To Economic Equality

Jun 28, 2016

One year ago this week, the United States Supreme Court struck down a ban on same-sex marriages.

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