January 22, 2021 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Amid unprecedented security concerns, due in large part to the Capitol Hill riot two weeks earlier, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris became the first woman and first woman of color to hold the office of Vice President. President Biden issued an executive order ending Trump’s travel ban on noncitizens from 13 countries. Prosecutors filed the first significant conspiracy charge in the U.S. Capitol…

July 06, 2020 On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a deeply troubling religious freedom decision in a case entitled Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue involving a Montana tuition tax credit program.  Dismayingly, the Court reinstituted a program previously struck down by the Montana Supreme Court that indirectly funds private K-12 schools with “scholarships” that parents could use for tuition at any participating school. The participating schools included religious…

July 02, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 More than 750 companies and brands, from Target and Starbucks to Acura and Verizon, have vowed to pause advertising on Facebook in a growing protest over how it handles hate speech and other harmful content. The Fox Soul network abruptly canceled a Fourth of July program featuring notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan on Monday after ADL voiced outrage over plans for a scheduled live broadcast of Farrakhan’s speech titled “Message to America…

February 13, 2020 Last month, the Trump Administration proposed sweeping changes to federal rules governing taxpayer-funded social services, changes that threaten the religious freedom of the most vulnerable in our nation. Over 20 years ago, the federal government made a sea change in how it provided taxpayer-funded social services by allowing houses of worship to compete for grants and contracts through a program called the “Faith-Based Initiative.”  This change…

June 21, 2019 THE WEEK'S BIG 3 In a major decision involving the use of religious symbols, the Supreme Court ruled that a 40-foot-tall cross can continue to stand on public land. An apparent neo-Nazi sympathizer allegedly plotted to commit a mass shooting at a synagogue in the Bay Area before being thwarted by police. A new report from ADL reveals that domestic Islamist terrorism decreased in 2018. Read on for more on these headlines, news you can use to fight hate, and the latest info…

June 29, 2018 The United States has always been a nation dedicated to the ideals of equality, liberty, and justice. The promise of America was guided by John Winthrop’s vision of the country as a “shining city upon a hill,” opening itself to “anyone with the will and the heart to get here.”  At its best, the United States has lived up to those ideals -- a beacon of hope for refugees, for victims of religious persecution, natural disasters and other…

December 01, 2017 By David Barkey, Religious Freedom Counsel & Southeastern Area Counsel The U.S. Supreme Court soon will hear oral arguments in a case called Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Cakeshop’s owner is asking the Court do something unprecedented – allow him based on religious objections to refuse service to customers for who they are. ADL recently joined an amicus brief to the Court filed by a coalition of civil rights and religious…

July 19, 2017 Fourth Circuit Gets It Right on Legislative Prayer In a recent decision, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (en banc) ruled that the Rowan County Board of Commissioners’ practice of exclusively opening public meetings with Christian prayer is unconstitutional. The 10-5 decision rejected a 3-judge panel decision of the Fourth Circuit upholding the practice. ADL had joined a friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief to the Court arguing that the Board’s…