NO to Voluntary Christian Prayer in Schools. YES to Mandatory Muslim Prayer

Written by Daniel Horowitz

“Separation of church and state.” There may be no reference to, inference of, insinuation of, or display of religion anywhere in any government operation or public school, even if there is no coercion to participate in any Christian event or prayer. That is enshrined in every clause of the U.S. Constitution.

That is essentially what the Left has been telling us for years, and those principles have been enforced to varying degrees in many lower courts and, intermittently, even by the U.S.… Continue Reading

Speech Police and ‘Safe Spaces’

Written by L. Brent Bosell III

Freedom of speech is in the First Amendment for a reason. Freedom begins with the ability to speak your opinion without fear of censorship or violent reprisal or imprisonment. This is a precious human right, not something that most countries in the world revere like we have. But here in America, free speech is most dangerously under attack in the one place you would not expect: the universities.

Dennis Prager and Adam Carolla have created a new documentary on the subject called “No Safe Spaces.”… Continue Reading

Networks Endorse Taylor Swift’s ‘Equality’ Lobbying

Written by L. Brent Bozell III

At the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 26, Taylor Swift won the video of the year award for her latest song “You Need to Calm Down.” It’s a song that trashes anyone still dissenting from the LGBTQ agenda and begs them to “control your urges to scream about all the people you hate / ‘Cause shade never made anybody less gay.”

The network news shows gushed over her leftist activism and the “Taylor Effect” they expect it to provide.… Continue Reading

The Attacks on Christians and America’s First Freedom

Written by David Horowitz

The Islamic State (ISIS) has now taken credit for the Muslim massacre of Christians in Sri Lana. On average over 300 Christians a month are killed for their faith globally. This is the end result of a campaign of disrespect and hate towards Christians that have become a significant theme of American politics as well.

Is it merely coincidental that the most rapidly rising candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, Pete Buttigieg launched his campaign with an unfounded and unprovoked attack on America’s vice president because he is a Christian?… Continue Reading

What Part of “No Religious Test” Don’t We Understand?

Written by Jerry Newcombe

The U.S. Constitution says there can be no religious test applied to those seeking office at the federal level (Article 6, clause 3). But lately some on the left are trying to apply a type of religious test against some would-be Trump nominees.

Two years ago, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) raked a Trump nominee over the coals because of the man’s theological views. Russell Vought, a nominee to the Office of Management and Budget, attended Wheaton College.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: How to Prevent Illinois’ Collision With Legal Pot

Written by Benjamin Smith

Happy New Year and welcome to the first Spotlight podcast of 2019! For this edition of Spotlight we are revisiting highlights of an earlier episode featuring IFI’s own Monte Larrick and J.D. Mesnard, Regional Director with Alliance Defending Freedom’s Church Alliance. This interview took place in May 2018 at IFI’s fourth annual Worldview Conference. Mesnard begins the podcast by detailing the range of vital legal assistance the ADF Church Alliance provides to churches.… Continue Reading

That Giant Liberty-Sucking Sound From the Tolerant Left

Written by David Limbaugh

Various leftist grievance groups have insisted for years that they just want equal treatment and equal rights, that they only want to end discrimination and that they come with an attitude of “live and let live.” Nope.

We’ve long known that the “tolerance” police don’t merely want equal rights and to be treated with civility. They require that you honor their ideas as superior, reject your own contrary ideas and do penance for ever having held your own ideas.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: Free Exercise of Religion on Display in the Capitol

Written by David E. Smith

This week’s edition of Spotlight begins with a focus on the importance of the nativity display at the Illinois state capitol – as well as the value of nativity scenes in state capitols and public places across the US — as Thomas Brejcha (from the Thomas More Society) joins our host, Monte Larrick.

Brejcha and Larrick discuss the connection between free exercise of religion and free speech, and they consider whether religious freedom is at risk in Illinois, especially in light of a democratic governor-elect and the supermajorities in the Illinois legislature.… Continue Reading

Lefty SPLC, Soros Foundations Build Coalition to Ban ‘Hate Speech’ Online

Written by Corinne Weaver

The anti-conservative hate group, Southern Poverty Law Center, wants to censor people it disagrees with and it’s asking the top social media companies to help.

On Thursday, October 25, the liberal organization announced that it had formed a coalition with five other groups to encourage the prohibition of so-called “hate speech” online. SPLC partnered with four George Soros funded organizations: the Center for American Progress, Color of Change, Free Press and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, as well as the National Hispanic Media Coalition.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: Preserving Religious Freedom

Written by David E. Smith

In this week’s podcast, Monte Larrick interviews Alliance Defending Freedom’s (ADF) Regional Director J.D. Mesnard. This interview took place at IFI’s fourth annual worldview conference in early May. In the first half of the podcast, J.D. identifies the importance of ADF’s Church Alliance program, which supports the legal needs of churches across the nation during a time in which attacks on religious liberty are increasing.

During the second half of the podcast, in his capacity as Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, J.D.… Continue Reading