Congressional Report Confirms FBI Spied on Catholics

Written by Jorge Gomez

In February, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government began a lengthy investigation into the FBI’s categorization of Catholic Americans as potential “domestic terrorists.” The committees recently published a 30-page interim report titled, “The FBI’s Breach of Religious Freedom: The Weaponization of Law Enforcement Against Catholic Americans.”

“Under the guise of tackling the threat of domestic terrorism… the FBI abused its counterterrorism tools to target Catholic Americans,” the report states.… Continue Reading

Making Bogeymen of Christian Nationalism

Written by Bill Donohue, President, Catholic League

The Left is very good at making up bogeymen, and one of their favorites is Christian nationalism. The latest iteration of this madness is an article in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; a subsequent analysis of it was recently published in psypost.org. As a sociologist, I am particularly interested in this issue: sociologists are the ones most responsible for promoting the fiction that America is threatened by Christian nationalists.… Continue Reading

SCOTUS Roundup: 12 Pending Cases that Could Impact Religious Freedom

Written by Jorge Gomez

Will this be another landmark term for religious liberty at the U.S. Supreme Court? The Justices have not agreed to hear specific religious freedom cases this year. But it’s still early. There’s still a possibility that the Court will agree to hear one—including one of our own.

In the meantime, we’re keeping a close eye on 12 cases. The Court will be hearing arguments in several of these. Others are still pending review.… Continue Reading

Authoritarian Thugs Continue Their Persecution of Jack Phillips

Written by David Harsanyi

I’ve been writing about Denver-area baker Jack Phillips for over a decade now. It’s clear to me he’s going to be badgered into the grave by authoritarians intent on punishing him for thought crimes. From the first time his name appeared in the news until this day, the media have misled the public about him, about the case and about the law.

The latest chapter in Phillips’ Kafkaesque saga involves a transgender lawyer named Autumn Scardina, who demanded Phillips create a pink cake with blue frosting to help celebrate a gender transition.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: The Foundation of Science

Written by Alyssa Sonnenburg

In this episode of Spotlight, we are featuring Part 2 of David Smith and Monte Larrick’s conversation with Dr. Mark Zumhagen, MD.

As noted last week, Dr. Zumhagen has been practicing family medicine since 1986. In 2009, he opened his private, holistic practice in Orland Park called Fearfully and Wonderfully Made with the mission of re-activating “the body’s own healing ability that God put in there.”

In this segment, Dr. Zumhagen goes back to the basics– the foundation of science.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: Engaging Your Church & Community with Scott Klusendorf

Written by Alyssa Sonnenburg

In this episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, we are featuring the second part of Scott Klusendorf’s speech at the 2023 Worldview Conference.

Scott Klusendorf is the founder and president of the Life Training Institute, which is an organization that is dedicated to equipping pro-life advocates to effectively defend Life in the public square. He is the author of The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture.

In this portion, Klusendorf tackles the topic of how one’s church can effectively engage the culture with pro-life apologetics.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: The Fight for Free Speech with Pastor Stephen Lee

Written by Alyssa Sonnenburg

If we fear God, we fear nothing else. If we don’t fear God, we fear everything, and everyone else.

~Pastor Stephen Lee

This special episode of Illinois Family Spotlight features an interview with Attorney David Shestokas and the charges that have been brought against his client, Pastor Stephen Lee.

Pastor Lee is the interim pastor of the Living Word Church in Orland Park, is a former police officer, and a former police chaplain.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: Religious Liberty in America

Written by Alyssa Sonnenburg

This episode of Illinois Family Spotlight features remarks from Ariella Del Turco on the topic of religious liberty in the first half, along with a question and answer segment with Ambassador Sam Brownback during the second half.

Arielle Del Turco is the director of Religious Liberty at the Family Research Council (FRC) and is the co-author of FRC’s “Hostility Against Churches” report.

Sam Brownback is the former governor of Kansas, formerly representing Kansas in the U.S.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: The Status of Religious Liberty

Written by Alyssa Sonnenburg

In this episode, Illinois Family Spotlight features remarks and insights made by the honorable Sam Brownback that took place during an IFI Forum on religious liberty.

Sam Brownback served as governor of Kansas, represented the people of Kansas in the U.S. House & Senate during President Trump’s administration, served as the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and is currently the chairman for the National Committee for Religious Freedom.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: Cancel Culture & Keeping Christ First

Written by Alyssa Sonnenburg

This episode of Illinois Family Spotlight features remarks made by Kevin Sorbo during IFI’s 2022 Faith, Family & Freedom Banquet.

Kevin Sorbo is an actor, director, author, and is best known for his role in Hercules: The Legendary Journey, Andromeda, and God’s Not Dead, to name a few. He has also become an outspoken and witty conservative pundit with 1.7 million Twitter followers. We recommend that you follow him @ksorbs.… Continue Reading