religious freedom

The ill-named Equality Act is making its way back through Congress this year. The act, which is being painted as a pro-LGBT law, is coming across to many people of faith as an anti-religious freedom law.

As Christian Headlines previously reported the act is seeking to make “gender identity” a covered category under the Civil Rights Act thereby overriding the protections based on biological sex. The act also moves to repeal the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, make abortion a federally protected civil right, would require the funding of abortion through Medicaid, Medicare and other sources, would encroach on parental rights to their children’s healthcare and so much more.

Here are 4 things Christians should know about the Equality Act:

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Rawpixel

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs has agreed to a settlement with a Christian apologetics student group who were de-affiliated with the college for stipulating that leaders in their group must adhere to mainline Christian beliefs.

We’ve not seen in the United States, at least in recent memory, so many efforts to force Christians to act in ways that violate their consciences. Almost always, these demands are made in the name of sexual freedom—whether we’re talking about nuns being forced to provide contraception, bakers and florists having to participate in gay weddings, or adoption agencies being forced to place kids with same-sex couples.

The Texas Senate appears to be fast-tracking a religious liberty bill that Democrats in the Texas House killed last week with a procedural maneuver. House Bill 3172 appeared to be on its way to passage until Democratic Representative Julie Johnson raised a point of order that ultimately removed the bill from the calendar without debate or a vote.

In a statement on Friday, nearly 100 conservative leaders requested that the White House oppose the Equality Act, which many organizations say seriously threatens religious freedom.

After passing the House Judiciary Committee, the “Equality Act” will soon be passed by the House and will then be sent to the Senate. This legislation would extend the federal level protections of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Equality Act, a sweeping new piece of legislation that elevates sexual orientation and gender identity above religious freedoms, passed the House Judiciary Committee last week and could face a floor vote as early as next week.

Imagine beginning your worship service this weekend with an announcement about where the exits are—in case a shooter attacks and people need to run for their lives. Or locking your doors once the service begins. Or training your congregation in ways to respond to a live shooter.

The coach of a successful high school boys’ basketball team has resigned after an atheist organization complained about the players wearing Bible verse-themed t-shirts.

According to a new report released by Tel Aviv University researchers, anti-Semitism is on the rise. In 2018, attacks against Jews rose 13% worldwide according to CBN News. The U.S. was home to more than a quarter of those violence cases and both France and Germany have witnessed a 70% increase in anti-Semitic violence in the last year.