By Nathan Berkeley In her superb 2022 book Religious Freedom after the Sexual Revolution, Helen Alvaré writes: Together, the legal and cultural developments of the last several decades have valorized and strengthened the influence of new sexual expression norms unlinking sex, marriage, and parenting…Furthermore, sexual expression rights are front and center in both law and culture and supported by a wide array of often wealthy, visible, and powerful corporate, academic, and political voices…[which] are more and more inclined to portray religious freedom as an oppressive opponent of sexual fre ..read more

RFI’s Paul Marshall wrote an article in Religion Unplugged discussing France’s recent denial of religious accommodations for Muslim soccer players’ fasting requirements during Ramadan, due to the country’s “cramped view of ‘secularism.’ ” Marshall explains how the term “secularism” has evolved over time, and has now dangerously affected the idea of the “secular state” to be understood not just as a political order in which there is no religious discrimination in political or social status, but in which there is no room for religion in public life. He writes: Problems have arisen with more rec ..read more

Ismail Royer, RFI’s Islam and Religious Freedom Director, met with a delegation of civil society activists, faith leaders, and scholars from India in Washington, D.C. on April 2nd. The meeting – held at the campus of the Meridian International Center, a non-partisan, non-profit, public diplomacy organization – was part of the U.S. Department of State’s Religious Freedom as a Constitutional Right project. The project aims to share U.S. perspectives on religious tolerance and constitutional protections. In his presentation, Royer talked about his own life and faith journey, and weaved that stor ..read more

RFI’s Andrew Kubick wrote an article published in National Catholic Register this week on the implications of a proposed ballot initiative in Arkansas which aims to enshrine abortion in its state Constitution. Kubick explains the grave problems this type of initiative poses, including the erosion of conscience rights for healthcare professionals and faith-based healthcare institutions that refuse to perform abortions for moral, ethical, or religious reasons. He writes: How will institutions, professional organizations, licensing bodies and state governments respond to an employee who refuses ..read more

RFI’s Senior Legal Fellow Ian Speir and Communications Director Nathan Berkeley wrote a piece for National Review on the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that “puts the state on a collision course with the First Amendment, with troubling consequences for ministries — even churches — engaged in charitable work there.” They write: Earlier this month, Wisconsin’s top court ruled that Catholic Charities entities — charitable arms of the Diocese of Superior — aren’t sufficiently “religious” to be exempt from a state insurance program. Across the nation and the world, Catholic ..read more

RFI’s Paul Marshall wrote an article published yesterday in Religion Unplugged on a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that has detrimental implications for religious freedom. The court ruled last week that Catholic Charities entities are not sufficiently “religious” to receive a tax exemption from a state insurance program, on the grounds that their activities are “secular,” not religious. Marshall explains: …[I]n a 4-3 decision, the court’s liberal majority found that Catholic Charities must pay the unemployment tax because it was not “operated primarily for religious purposes,” t ..read more

RFI’s Dr. Paul Marshall authored an article for Providence on the findings of the Pew Research Center’s latest survey on the state of religious freedom around the world, which show that this fundamental human right is generally on the decline amidst rising government restrictions. Marshall writes: On March 5, 2024, the Pew Research Center released its fourteenth annual survey on the status of religious freedom worldwide. Due to the amount of work involved in collecting the data and creating the report–which covers 198 countries and territories– the period it covers is ..read more

RFI Interim President David Trimble joined 15 international experts to express “profound and grave concerns” about a looming threat to religious freedom in Hong Kong. Among them was RFI Senior Fellow Paul Marshall. Hong Kong Watch, the organizer of the letter, said in a public statement: [T]he new Article 23 security law Hong Kong’s government is currently pushing through…directly threatens religious freedom, and in particular the confidentiality of the Sacrament of Penance (otherwise known as the Sacrament of Reconciliation or “Confession”) in the Catholic Church. Elaborating the threat fur ..read more

By Nathan Berkeley RFI Senior Associate Scholar Daniel Philpott wrote an excellent article published recently in Public Discourse titled, “Religious Freedom Deserves a Right of Its Own.” Philpott, who is Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, argues that “Religion is a basic good for all human beings everywhere, therefore religious freedom is a universal human right. It is neither unfair nor parochial, but a requirement of justice.” Philpott opens by observing: While the human right of religious freedom is ever crushed in China, Iran, Nigeria, and Uzbekistan and is ne ..read more

By Nathan Berkeley Health reporter, Rachana Pradhan, wrote an important piece in The Washington Post this week on “Why hospitals in many states with legal abortion may refuse to perform them.” In it, RFI Interim President David Trimble spoke to why medical conscience rights matter and provided a vital counter-balance to voices that wrongly frame the religious freedom of healthcare providers as pitted against the well-being of patients. Pradhan writes about the nature and limits of medical conscience rights, and how they apply to institutions like religious hospitals. She begins by observing th ..read more