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The Weekly is a rundown of news by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission highlighting the week’s top news stories from the public square and providing commentary on the big issues of our day.
Supreme Court Ends 2018 Term with Victories for Religious Liberty
The U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up its 2018 term this week with a number of issues of interest to Christians. Here are four of the most significant rulings, orders, and announcements the high court made this week that affect religious liberty.
1. Issued an order in a religious liberty case involving a Christian florist
On Monday, the Court sent the case of Arlene’s Flowers Inc. v. Washington to be re-heard by the lower court. Arlene’s Flowers centers on a 73-year-old Southern Baptist, Barronelle Stutzman. Stutzman is a florist who declined to prepare floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding because of her Christian faith. The Supreme Court’s order granted Stutzman’s petition, wiped out the Washington Supreme Court’s judgment against her, and sent the case back to the Washington courts with instructions for it to be reconsidered in light of the recent ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case.
• What just happened with the Arlene’s Flowers court case?
2. Ruled in favor of protecting the free speech of pro-life pregnancy centers
On Tuesday, the Court ruled on National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General of California, a case regarding a California law that threatened to shut down pregnancy resource centers serving women and children in need. The California law required clinics to provide a government-drafted script about the availability of state-sponsored abortion services, as well as contact information for how to obtain them. The Court ruled that California's requirements likely violate the First Amendment, and that they were a content-based regulation that compels petitioners to speak a particular message and alters the content of their speech.
• Explainer: Supreme Court protects free speech of pro-life pregnancy centers
• A culture of freedom keeps winning at the Supreme Court
• Top 25 quotes from NIFLA, the pro-life Supreme Court win
3. Handed down a ruling that may affect Christian public school teachers and other public sector employees
On Thursday the Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that government employees who are represented by a public sector union to which they do not belong cannot be required to pay a fee to cover the costs of collective bargaining. The ruling overturned a 40-year-old precedent first set in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that allows government agencies to mandate union dues or agency fees as a condition of employment. According to the Christian Educators Association International (CEAI), the ruling has important implications for Christians and other teachers with faith convictions.
• Court ruling to help Christian teachers, supporters say
4. Announced the retirement of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy
After 30 years of service on the U.S. Supreme Court, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of July.
This week on ERLC podcasts: Daniel Darling talks to Jason Romano about forgiveness and redemption. On the Capitol Conversations podcast, staff from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom sit down with ERLC policy director Matt Hawkins to discuss their work and the most recent annual report from the Commission. On the Countermoves podcast, Andrew Walker interviews Catherine Parks and Palmer Williams on Christian womanhood and the local church in light of the cultural conversation around women’s empowerment and the #MeToo Movement. And on the ERLC podcast, Jason Cook asks the question, “Should we give up on multi-ethnic ministry?”
Other Issues
American Culture
The Coming Battle to Overturn Roe v. Wade
The Atlantic
This has been a heady week for the pro-life movement. First, the Supreme Court handed down a favorable decision in NIFLA v. Becerra, agreeing that pro-life crisis-pregnancy centers shouldn't have to post information about abortion. Then, Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court's long-time conservative swing vote, announced his retirement.
17 states sue over Trump family separations
Politico
A coalition of 17 states filed suit Tuesday over President Donald Trump's family separation policy, arguing that it unconstitutionally infringes on parents' rights and is motivated by "animus" toward Latinos.
Bioethics
Physician Assisted Suicide and the Rise of Suicide Cults
Public Discourse
The push for legalized physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in the United States continues to gain traction, with the state of Hawaii becoming the seventh state in the union to sanction assisted death via physician-prescribed, life-ending medication. The Aloha State joins an ever-growing cohort of PAS-friendly states, including Oregon, California, Colorado, Montana, Vermont, and Washington.
NIFLA v. Becerra's Boost to Medical Conscience
National Review Online
Powerful forces want to compel doctors to violate their consciences in their professional lives.
Christianity and Culture
Court ruling to help Christian teachers, supporters say
Baptist Press
Christians and other teachers in public schools, as well as the school-choice movement, stand to benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court's decision today (June 27) that public-sector unions may not require fees from nonmembers, supporters of the ruling say.
Multiracial Congregations Triple Among Protestants
RealClearReligion - Homepage
Kate Shellnutt , Chris. Today The multiethnic church movement is working: Protestant churches in the US have become three times more likely to be racially diverse than they were 20 years ago.The percentage of Protestant churches where no one racial group makes up more than 80 percent of the congregation tripled from 4 percent in 1998 to 12 percent in 2012.
SBC, church's role in politics focus of 9Marks panel
Baptist Press
The Southern Baptist Convention's current condition and how churches should engage politics were topics of conversation at this year's 9Marks events on June 11-12 in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Dallas.
International Issues
The tobacco industry increasingly relies on child labor in poorer nations
The Week
Cigarettes sold in the U.S. and Europe are made using tobacco that is increasingly produced via child labor in poorer nations, an investigation by The Guardian published Monday found. In places like Malawi, Mexico, Indonesia, Argentina, Zimbabwe, and India, rising numbers of children work in harsh conditions on tobacco fields instead of attending school. Because families working on tobacco plots
Air pollution is killing young children in African cities, say scientists
Quartz
In 2015, pneumonia alone caused the deaths of 500,000 children under five years of age in sub-Saharan Africa and air pollution is known to be a leading contributor to this disease. That same year, 400,000 African children under five died prematurely because of the bad air they breathed, according to research from Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego published in the jou
After Canadian Court Ruling, Christian Law School May Change
RealClearReligion
Days after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against the accreditation of a Christian university's proposed law school, school leaders said they are considering making its controversial community covenant optional. Doing so, they hope, would satisfy those who believe the covenant discriminates against LGBTQ applicants and allow the law school to open.
86 die in Fulani herdsmen clashes with Christian farmers
Baptist Press
At least 86 people were killed June 23 in Nigeria's Plateau State in clashes reportedly between Muslim Fulani herdsmen and Christian farmers, Plateau police said.
Marriage Issues
Study Finds Marriage, Church Attendance Improve Black Men's Economic Success
The Federalist
Marriage, church attendance, and military service helped black men be more successful in life, finds a new study. So do more "conventional" factors like education, work status, and minimal contact with law enforcement. Scholars Ronald Mincy, Wendy Wang, and W. Bradford Wilcox studied what factors promote economic success for black men.
Religious Liberty
Report On This Year's State Religious Freedom Legislative Activity
Religion Clause
In a June 12 report titled How 139 bills across the country are redefining religious freedom , the Deseret News has tracked all legislation affecting religious freedom passed, defeated or pending this year in state legislatures. The paper says in part: In all, the Deseret News found 139 bills regarding religious freedom that were debated so far this year.
Religious Liberty Expert Nominated To Be Assistant Secretary of State For Human Rights
Religion Clause
On Wednesday, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Robert A. Destro to be Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Destro is Professor of Law and founding Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Law & Religion at Catholic University's Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C.
Sexuality Issues
Porn could be worth more to the US than Netflix or the NFL
Quartz
No one knows how America's porn obsession fuels the economy, but annual revenue estimates range from under $6 billion to $15 billion , and as high as $97 billion.
