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Caffeinated Thoughts Radio 4-9-16 (Guests: Jane Robbins & Eric Goranson)
On this week’s episode of Caffeinated Thoughts Radio Shane Vander Hart and Brian Myers spoke with Jane Robbins, a senior fellow with American Principles Project, about how big business is pushing back...
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25 Facts Students & Teachers Should Know About Religious Liberty at School
It’s back to school time. Many school districts in Iowa are into their first full week of school and some districts won’t start until after Labor Day. Every school year questions about religious...
View ArticleThis GOP Video on Religious Liberty Is Somewhat Accurate
The Republican Party released a video this week targeting Hispanics addressing religious freedom It’s somewhat accurate, but not completely. Hillary Clinton has tried to put forth that she has “fought...
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British Columbia’s Highest Court Unanimously Affirms Religious Liberty
(Vancouver, British Columbia) British Columbia’s highest court issued a unanimous decision Tuesday that strongly affirmed the religious freedom of a Christian law school refused accreditation simply...
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Is Trump Playing Christian Voters?
The first lady made news by reciting the Lord’s Prayer at a rally for President Trump this past weekend. Reciting the Lord’s prayer can be a good thing, but some Christian Trump supporters are...
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Report Says Attacks on Religious Liberty Up 76% Since 2014
The Family Research Council released a 66-page report entitled “Hostility to Religion: The Growing Threat to Religious Liberty in the United States” that shows some discouraging, but not unexpected,...
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Young Americans Are Less Protective of Religious Liberty
Photo credit: American Life League (CC-By-NC 2.0) America is becoming less and less protective of the religious freedom affirmed by the First Amendment. Although older generations still tend to protect...
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Episode 19: The University of Iowa’s Attack on Religious Freedom
This fall, the University of Iowa de-registered Business Leaders in Christ (BLinC) as a student group because they would not allow an LGBT student to become a leader who disagreed with the group’s...
View ArticleAlliance Defending Freedom: 2017 – A Banner Year for the First Amendment
Alliance Defending Freedom wrapped up 2017 at the forefront of the largest legal battles in defense of the First Amendment. With a critical victory at the U.S. Supreme Court and two other cases in...
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HHS Launches New Conscience and Religious Freedom Division
Photo Credit: Sarah Stierch (CC BY 4.0) (Washington, DC) On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within the...
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Brownback Issues Executive Order Protecting Religious Liberty in Kansas
Gov. Sam Brownback (R-KS) at CPAC 2015. Photo credit: Gage Skidmore (CC-By-SA 2.0) Kansas Governor Sam Brownback on Tuesday issued an executive order which prohibits state government from taking any...
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Caffeinated Thoughts Radio 7-11-15
Brian takes his job very seriously. Brian Myers and Shane Vander Hart talk to Joy Pullmann, managing editor of The Federalist and education research fellow at the Heartland Institute, about the No...
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Rubio, Santorum and Huckabee Discuss Education
Photo credit: Dave Davidson (Prezography.com) (Des Moines, IA) During the Presidential Family Forum last Friday evening there were three candidates who addressed the topic of education. Frank Luntz...
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After Obama’s Visit Will Cuba’s Restrictions on Religious Liberty Loosen?
Iglesia de la Asuncion in Guanabacoa a borough of Havana, Cuba. Photo credit: Ivan2010 via Wikimedia Commons (CC-By-3.0) As U.S. President Barack Obama makes an historic visit to Cuba, he opens the...
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If Elected, Fred Hubbell Won’t Allow Religious Liberty Protection to Be Passed
Photo Credit: Screenshot of video taken by Pat Rynard via @IAStartingLine/Twitter. Des Moines Businessman Fred Hubbell who is the frontrunner in today’s Democrat primary for Iowa Governor gave Iowa...
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SCOTUS Sends Christian Florist’s Case Back to Washington Supreme Court
Barronelle Stutzman The Supreme Court of the United States vacated the Washington Supreme Court’s ruling against Barronelle Stutzman in Arlene’s Flowers v. State of Washington and remanded the case...
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U.S. State Dept. Releases Potomac Declaration in Support of Religious Freedom
Last week at the conclusion of the first Ministerial to Advance International Religious Freedom, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released the Potomac Declaration and Potomac Plan of Action. “These...
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Army Chaplain Faces Possibility of Court Martial Over Marriage Retreat
(Ft. Bragg, NC) An Army investigator—acting under the command of Major General Kurt Sonntag— recommended that the Chaplain (Major) Jerry Scott Squires (USA) be found guilty of “dereliction of duty”...
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U.S. Department of Labor Protects Religious Liberty
(Washington, DC) The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced a new policy directive on Friday which focused on protecting religious freedom. The...
View ArticleTulsi Gabbard Goes For the Pro-Religious Liberty Democrats
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) who announced her candidacy for President in 2020 released a video stating that religious bigotry should be condemned. Gabbard who is the first Hindu to be...
View ArticleEpisode 76: Jason Schultz Discusses Funnel Week in the Iowa Senate
This week on the Caffeinated Thoughts Podcast, State Senator Jason Schultz (R-Schleswig) joined Shane Vander Hart to discuss the first funnel week in the Iowa Senate – how his priorities fared, what...
View ArticleA Win for Religious Freedom and Free Speech in Federal Court
Last week, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of religious freedom and free speech. Their ruling placed a limit on a state’s nondiscrimination law and protected a Christian couple from...
View ArticleTrump Calls For Ending Religious Persecution
NEW YORK – During his speech at the Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom event at the United Nations yesterday, President Donald Trump stated, “Today, with one clear voice, the United States of...
View ArticleBair: Holy and Spineless
There is a meme spreading throughout social media like…OK, I’ll say it…like a virus. It says Easter has not been canceled. Someone tried to cancel it 2000 years ago and they failed. There are a few...
View ArticleAG Barr: Churches Can’t Be Singled Out During COVID-19 Crisis
Attorney General William Barr, in a released statement on Tuesday, said that state and local governments could not single out churches for “special burdens” during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S....
View ArticleListen: USCIRF Commissioner Confirms China’s Forced Sterilization of Uyghurs
The Associated Press over the weekend reported that China has cut the Uighur birth rate through IUDs, abortion, and sterilizations. The Uyghurs are Turkic-speaking Muslims who mostly live within...
View ArticleEller: The Challenge Ahead – Religious Liberty
Forced to choose a single word to describe the year of our Lord 2020, it would have to be “unprecedented.” From a global pandemic that shut down the world to a “land hurricane” that left a path of...
View ArticleWorking in the Public Realm Does Not Negate Religious Freedom
The Washington Post, in an editorial this week, made a jarring statement in their endorsement of the Equality Act that we need to consider. They wrote: “Some senators argue that the Equality Act...
View ArticleShane Vander Hart Discusses The Equality Act on Faith Works Live
Shane Vander Hart joined Michael Demastus and Ian Barrs on Faith Works Live on 99.3 FM The Truth Network in Des Moines to discuss The Equality Act and its impact on religious liberty. Watch below:
View ArticleKey Resolutions Passed at the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention
Some key resolutions were passed at the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention last week in Nashville that I wanted to highlight. It is important to recognize that all of these resolutions are non-binding,...
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