By: Lathan Watts – firstliberty.org – May 29, 2020 Readers of FLI Insider are likely more aware than most of the legal battles being waged across the country to preserve the right of every American, no matter their faith tradition, to live according to their most sacred beliefs. Still, the cultural aspect of preserving this foundational principle provides the context in which...

By: Staff – firstliberty.org – May 27, 2020 Kelly Shackelford joins Shannon Bream to discuss the ongoing government overreach in California as churches throughout the state ban together in opposition of Governor Gavin Newsome’s most recent order restricting in-person services. Last Friday, President Trump declared in-person church services and religious gatherings as being “essential”. For many, the hope was that...

By: Staff – firstliberty.org – May 12, 2020 First Liberty Institute Leads Coalition of Religious Leaders Calling for Congress to Protect America’s Houses of Worship as They ReopenReligious liberty law firm asks Congress to guard against a possible ‘swarm of lawsuits blaming’ America’s churches, synagogues, and houses of worship Washington, DC—As America’s houses of worship begin to carefully reopen, First...

By: Kelly Shackelford – Newsweek.com – May 13, 2020 Americans are experiencing a nearly unprecedented event in our nation’s history. For people of faith, temporary limitations on the freedom to meet together have impacted one of the church’s most fundamental doctrines—communal gatherings. While Americans of faith treasure that freedom, their love for neighbor drove them to abide by government recommendations...

By: First Liberty Staff – firstliberty.org– April 29, 2020 Religious Liberty Law Firm Seeks Restraining Order Against Washington Governor’s Criminalization of Bible StudyGovernor’s policy banning religious gatherings of any size is inconsistent with CDC Guidelines and violates the Constitution Seattle, WA—First Liberty Institute and a network attorney with The North Creek Law Firm today sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) on...

By: Tucker Carlson – firstliberty.org – April 2020 Kelly Shackelford and First Liberty Client Pastor Charleston Hamilton of King James Bible Baptist Church (“KJBBC”) join Tucker Carlson to discuss how the attacks against “drive-in” worship services in Greenville, Mississippi are unconstitutional. During a Good Friday service held in the KJBBC parking lot, elderly worshippers were fined and threatened with going to...

By: First Liberty Staff – firstliberty.org – April 11, 2020 This afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Justin Walker granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing Louisville, Kentucky Mayor Greg Fischer from blocking On Fire Church from holding drive-in services on Easter.  The TRO was filed yesterday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky by First Liberty...

By: Melissa Quinn & Clare Hymes – cbsnews.com – April 16, 2020 As the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend daily life for millions of Americans, with nearly the entire population subject to mandatory stay-at-home orders, the public health crisis is pitting state and local officials against worshippers in some states, as they grapple with limitations on large gatherings. To curtail...

By: Andrew C. McCarthy – nationalreview.com – April 16, 2020 States that want to break up church services to prevent infection must demonstrate a genuine need and use the least restrictive means possible. State and municipal governments have the power to protect their citizens from the spread of infectious disease. “There is no pandemic exception, however, to the fundamental liberties the Constitution...

By John Fund – nationalreview.com – April 12, 2020 Some local officials have come after religious organizations with unseemly zeal. For Christians, Easter is a time to celebrate resurrection. But it’s been hard for some Americans to do that because their local officials are bent on suppressing their observance of the holiday. Consider members of the King James Bible Baptist Church of...