New HHS Office of Civil Rights strengthens protection for conscience objections in health

New HHS Office of Civil Rights strengthens protection for conscience objections in health

By Stanley Carlson-Thies On January 18, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the creation of a new division in its…

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What we can learn from Notre Dame and the contraceptives coverage discussion

What we can learn from Notre Dame and the contraceptives coverage discussion

By Chelsea Langston Bombino Last week, the University of Notre Dame was at the center of public discourse. Here is an account of what happened,…

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Federal government seeks input on how to improve partnerships with faith-based organizations

Federal government seeks input on how to improve partnerships with faith-based organizations

by Stanley Carlson-Thies The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published aRequest for Information, asking whether its policies and practices make it…

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Supreme Court and SSM: What consequences for FBOs?

Supreme Court and SSM: What consequences for FBOs?

(by Stanley Carlson-Thies) At the US Supreme Court’s oral arguments on April 28, 2015, on whether same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, the federal government’s…

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Protecting both LGBT youth and FBOs

Protecting both LGBT youth and FBOs

(Stanley Carlson-Thies) What should Congress do to ensure that homeless, runaway, or trafficked LGBT youth are treated with respect when they turn to federally funded…

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Adoption agency protection bill introduced

Adoption agency protection bill introduced

On July 30, 2014, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) introduced the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2014. The bill would…

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Anti-Hobby Lobby, anti-RFRA bill defeated

Anti-Hobby Lobby, anti-RFRA bill defeated

After Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods won from the US Supreme Court, on June 30, relief from compliance with the contraceptives mandate, because the Court…

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Supreme Court:  business isn't a religion-free zone

Supreme Court: business isn’t a religion-free zone

“The US Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision upholds a vital principle, according to IRFA President Stanley Carlson-Thies: “[T]he decision importantly vindicates business as a realm…

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Will lawyers from Canada's Christian law school be able to practice?

Will lawyers from Canada’s Christian law school be able to practice?

Trinity Western University in British Columbia, an evangelical liberal arts university, is creating a Christian law school. It has successfully met the government requirements to…

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What makes a college eligible for religious freedom?

What makes a college eligible for religious freedom?

A cluster of recent developments has brought to the fore (again) this key question: what makes a religious college or university a “religious organization” such…

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