Written by David E. Smith
Give me your young, your old, your faithful masses yearning to worship freely. This revision of The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus could well be the rallying cry of Pastor Steve Cassell of The Beloved Church in Lena, Illinois. On this edition of Spotlight, Pastor Steve joins me for a timely discussion regarding the perilous intersection of COVID-19, governmental “authority,” and Constitutionally-guaranteed personal liberties.
Pastor Steve and I consider how churches and people of faith should respond to Illinois’ lockdown and examine the dangerous precedent that could be established by our governor’s abuse of his executive power.… Continue Reading
Tags: COVID–19, First Amendment, JB Pritker, lock-down, Peter Breen, religious liberty, shelter-at-home, Steve Cassell, The Beloved Church, Thomas More Society
Religious Liberty | David E. Smith | 
May 12, 2020 5:57 AM | 
Comments Off on SPOTLIGHT: Pastor Cassell Discusses His Lawsuit Against Gov. Pritzker
Written by Jorge Gomez
Let’s start by giving credit where it’s due.
It’s admirable that houses of worship can adapt so quickly in times of crisis. Millions of Americans are staying spiritually engaged thanks to the incredible effort of churches and faith leaders who harnessed the power of technology, social media and the Internet. Even more remarkable is that churches surpassed virtual attendance records even though the quarantine forced them to transition overnight to online services.… Continue Reading
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
Tags: Allah, Barbara Milano Keenan, Bladensburg Cross, Brett Kavanaugh, Caleigh Wood, Clarence Thomas, Daniel Horowitz, Establishment Clause, First Amendment, Free Exercise Clause, James Madison, John Roberts, La Plata High School, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Muhammad, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, shahada, The Muslim World, Town of Greece v. Galloway, Wood v. Arnold
Religious Liberty | David E. Smith | October 30, 2019 4:45 AM | Comments Off on NO to Voluntary Christian Prayer in Schools. YES to Mandatory Muslim Prayer
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
Tags: Adam Carolla, Alan Dershowitz, Barack Obama, Bret Weinstein, Day of Absence, Dennis Prager, Erika Christakis, Evergreen State College, First Amendment, L. Brent Bosell III, Nicholas Christakis, No Safe Spaces, Pew Research Center, Van Jones, Yale
Marriage, Family & Culture, Religious Liberty | David E. Smith | October 25, 2019 8:00 AM | Comments Off on Speech Police and ‘Safe Spaces’
Written by Ken Blackwell
Looking over the frenzied political landscape in America today — one marred by constant clashes between right and left — a single issue rises above the rest. In many areas of public life, conservatives — their words, views and values — are under assault. Ultra-left, radical activists methodically expunge conservative speech and conservative ideas from public discourse.
This threat to the First Amendment and to the sharing of viewpoints held by roughly half of all Americans is taking many forms.… Continue Reading
Tags: Andy Ngo, Antifa, Campus Reform, Facebook, First Amendment, Harmeet Dhillon, Instagram, Publius Lex, Quillette, Speech First, TechWatch, The College Fix, The Media Research Center, Twitter, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, University of Texas-Austin, Wall Street Journal
Media Watch | David E. Smith | July 25, 2019 4:00 AM | Comments Off on Attacks on Conservative Speech Take Many Forms
Written by Walter E. Williams
Many of the nation’s colleges have become a force for evil and a focal point for the destruction of traditional American values. The threat to our future lies in the fact that today’s college students are tomorrow’s teachers, professors, judges, attorneys, legislators and policymakers. A recent Brookings Institution poll suggests that nearly half of college students believe that hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment. Of course, it is.… Continue Reading
Written by John Biver
“We the People,” begins the U.S. Constitution. Those same three words open the State of Illinois Constitution. Neither document reads “we the politicians” or “we the ambitious.” Our forefathers set it up so we would be governing ourselves. When not enough honest and smart people put the self in self government, we get what we have now: a fiscal and moral mess.
Fortunately, there are individuals stepping up to lead, and one good example is Renata Sliva who is a candidate for the Indian Prairie School District 204 Board of Education in Will County.… Continue Reading
Written by Onan Coca
Across the country states have been passing laws meant to defend the First Amendment from government overreach, and simultaneously liberals and the media have been decrying these protections as “homophobic” and “bigoted.” These same liberals have argued that conservatives are being paranoid and that no protection is needed…
Sadly, Massachusetts has just proved every conservative fear accurate.
On October 1st the most draconian “non-discrimination” laws in the nation will go into effect in the Bay State.… Continue Reading
Written by David E. Smith
In response to the recent Supreme Court decision in favor of Hobby Lobby, Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin announced that he will introduce a bill that “requires all corporations using this Supreme Court decision to deny or limit contraception services to disclose this policy to all employed and applicants for employment.” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) also responded by promising that Democrats “will continue to fight to preserve women’s access to contraceptive coverage and keep bosses out of the examination room.”… Continue Reading
