By Alliance Defending Freedom staff DETROIT – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing several pro-life, pro-women’s organizations asked a federal court Wednesday to allow the groups to intervene in defense of a Catholic hospital system that the American Civil Liberties Union sued in October. The ACLU lawsuit is asking the court to force Trinity Health and its staff to commit abortions regardless of their religious and pro-life objections. ADF attorneys represent Catholic Medical Association, Christian Medical and Dental Association, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Concerned Women for America, all of which could be affected by the lawsuit’s outcome. Trinity Health operates 86 facilities in 21 states. Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith. … [Read more...]

By Alliance Defending Freedom staff WHEATLAND, Wyo. – Platte County School District #1 has lifted its ban on non-disruptive, private prayer in its school cafeterias after receiving a letter from Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of three students that explained that such prayer is completely legal and constitutional. “No student should be prevented from engaging in private prayer alone or quietly with other students on campus,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “The U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on this specifically. The First Amendment protects the right to pray in a non-disruptive manner not just in private but in public, too. The district has done the right thing in lifting its unconstitutional ban.” On Oct. 15, a few students went to the back of the lunchroom at Glendo High School and formed a small circle while one student prayed for their meal. No teacher initiated, encouraged, or participated in the prayer, and the student only prayed in a way so that the other students in the circle could hear. The prayer did not create any disruptions or cause any problems in the noisy cafeteria. After the lunch period, Principal Stanetta Twiford confronted one of the students and told her that the students were … [Read more...]

By Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty staff COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is once again creating controversy over religious liberty in its ongoing efforts to quash religious expression rights for cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Following reports that cadets initiated and led a voluntary prayer at two recent football games, MRFF sent a threatening letter to the Air Force Academy command to demand that it put an end to this exercise of First Amendment freedoms. Activist Mikey Weinstein, who writes under the name of MRFF, frequently sends such letters. “Air Force cadets do not surrender their right to pray when they enter the Academy or the end zone,” said Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. “No evidence exists that these prayers are anything but voluntary. We sincerely hope that the Academy will stand firm and allow these cadets to pray according to their conscience, as the Constitution they are training to defend gives them the right to do.” Cadets knelt in the end zone following a loss to New Mexico on Nov. 28. In his letter, Weinstein called what the cadets did “a putrid example of fundamentalist Christian supremacy, … [Read more...]

By Staff, Alliance Defending Freedom Communications ORANGE, Texas – Alliance Defending Freedom issued a letter to the city manager of Orange and to an Orange County judge Wednesday to explain that, contrary to the arguments of an atheist group, the Constitution does not require the removal of a Christmas Nativity scene in front of city hall and the county courthouse without an accompanying atheist display. “Government officials do not need to give in to the demands of atheist groups that misunderstand or misrepresent the First Amendment and how the courts have applied it to Christmas displays,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “The courts have been clear that the government can erect Christmas displays, including Nativity scenes, without having to honor demands that atheist displays also be allowed on government property. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has already addressed this exact issue.” The city of Orange has removed its Nativity display, and the county reportedly is considering doing the same, in the wake of the atheist group’s demand. As the ADF letter explains, “City officials simply misspoke when they stated that ‘there is not a clear case that gives affirmative direction to displaying the Nativity … [Read more...]

By Gregory Tomlin, Christian Examiner WASHINGTON (Christian Examiner) – President Obama's indifference to Christian persecution in the Middle East is part of a "scandal of enormous proportions," the editorial staff of theWashington Times has written in a scathing rebuke of the administration. "Expressions of concern by the leaders of the West are few. The fact is that Christians face more persecution, in more countries, than any other religious group," the editorial said before launching into an attack on the president's human rights record with respect to Christian refugees from Syria. Click here to read the rest of the article. … [Read more...]

By Staff Alliance Defending Freedom Communications PAINTSVILLE, Ky. – Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter Dec. 15 to Johnson County Schools to encourage it to ignore a single complaint it received about biblical references in a student play based on the classic Charles Schulz television special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” “Schools should not have to think twice about whether they can allow students to perform a classic Christmas production simply because it contains biblical references,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Sharp. “‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ has become an iconic Christmas story and tradition. Are school officials going to start demanding that other classic productions, such as Shakespearean plays, be censored just because they contain religious references?” After receiving the lone complaint from a family at W.R. Castle Elementary School, the district announced its intent to censor all religious references from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and any other Christmas plays at the district’s schools. Parents, students, and cast members have expressed dismay over the decision. “There is no violation of the so-called ‘separation of church and state’ by allowing children to learn about theater and the origins … [Read more...]

By Staff, Alliance Defending Freedom Communications ATLANTA – A federal court ruled Dec. 16 that an Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuit filed on behalf of former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran will go forward against the city for unjustly firing him because of his religious beliefs. While the court agreed to dismiss some claims, the court is allowing the lawsuit to go forward on Cochran’s primary claims of retaliation, discrimination based on his viewpoint, and the violation of his constitutionally protected freedoms of religion, association, and due process (firing without following proper procedure). At oral arguments in October before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Cochran v. City of Atlanta, ADF argued that the city’s arguments themselves confirm Cochran’s claim that the city fired him for holding and expressing religious beliefs city officials didn’t like. “A religious or ideological test cannot be used to fire a public servant, but the city did exactly that, as the evidence and facts of this case clearly demonstrate,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot, who argued before the court. “We look forward to proceeding with this case because of the injustice against Chief Cochran, … [Read more...]