The Oklahoma Supreme Court said the Ten Commandments Monument at the state Capitol must be removed, Tulsa World reports.
“The plaintiffs said its placement at the Capitol constituted the use of public property for the benefit of a system of religion, which is banned by the Oklahoma Constitution.”
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said that his state will comply with the Supreme Court’s order legalizing same-sex marriage, Politico reports.
Said Jindal: “We don’t have a choice. Our agencies will comply with the court order.”
But he added: “I think it is wrong for the federal government to force Christian individuals, businesses, pastors, churches, to participate in wedding ceremonies that violate our sincerely held religious beliefs. We have to stand up and fight for religious liberty. That’s where this fight is going.”
Pope Francis said that people who manufacture weapons or invest in weapons industries are hypocrites if they call themselves Christian, the Guardian reports.
“Francis issued his toughest condemnation to date of the weapons industry at a rally of thousands of young people at the end of the first day of his trip to the Italian city of Turin.”
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Rick Santorum called the church shooting in Charleston — which left nine people dead — a “crime of hate” and connected the event to a broader “assault on our religious liberty,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Santorum: “This is one of those situations where you just have to take a step back and say we — you know, you talk about the importance of prayer in this time and we’re now seeing assaults on our religious liberty we’ve never seen before. It’s a time for deeper reflection beyond this horrible situation.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told the Christian Broadcasting Network that Christianity faces a “real and present danger” from same-sex marriage supporters who cast opponents as intolerant.
Said Rubio: “We are at the water’s edge of the argument that mainstream Christian teaching is hate speech, because today we’ve reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage, you are labeled a homophobe and a hater.”
He added: “So what’s the next step after that? After they’re done going after individuals, the next step is to argue that the teachings of mainstream Christianity, the catechism of the Catholic Church, is hate speech. And that’s a real and present danger.”
Politico: “Catholic Republicans are developing a pope problem. Earlier this month, Francis recognized Palestinian statehood. This summer, he’s going to issue an encyclical condemning environmental degradation. And in September, just as the GOP primary race heats up, Francis will travel to Washington to address Congress on climate change.”
“Francis may be popular with the general public, but key Republican primary constituencies — hawks, climate-change skeptics and religious conservatives, including some Catholics, are wary of the pope’s progressivism.”
Failled Tennessee congressional candidate Robert Doggart (R) “admitted he spent months gathering weapons and plotting an all-out assault on the small Muslim enclave in Delaware County, New York,” the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.
In a recorded phone call, Doggart told a woman “we’re gonna be carrying an M4 with 500 rounds of ammunition, light armor piercing. A pistol with 3 extra magazines and a machete. And if it gets down to the machete, we will cut them to shreds.”
“The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing,” according to an extensive new Pew Research survey.
“Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups. While the drop in Christian affiliation is particularly pronounced among young adults, it is occurring among Americans of all ages.”
After Gov. Scott Walker read from a book called Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence at an event in Iowa last week, “the book shot to the top of a couple of online retailers’ best-seller lists, including Amazon,” according to Religion News Service.
Pope Francis backed efforts for equal pay for men and women who perform the same work, saying that continuing disparities in pay for women are a “pure scandal,” according to the National Catholic Reporter.
Said Francis: “Why is it expected that women must earn less than men? No! They have the same rights. The disparity is a pure scandal.”
“Today’s Democratic Party has decided there is no room for Christians. There is a liberal fascism that is going after Christian believers.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by The Hill.
“Scott Walker, the son of a Baptist preacher, learned a lot about being a politician by going to church,” the New York Times reports.
“He was introduced to glad-handing while greeting worshipers beside his father after Sunday services. His confidence as a public speaker began at 2, when he delivered a Christmas greeting from the pulpit, and it blossomed when he preached occasional sermons as a teenager. And now, Mr. Walker’s lifelong church involvement may be a powerful asset as he positions himself to run for the Republican presidential nomination and focuses on early primary and caucus states dominated by evangelical voters.”
“I think it’s fair to say that Christian convictions are under attack as never before. Not just in our lifetime, but ever before in the history of this great nation. We are moving rapidly toward the criminalization of Christianity.”
— Mike Huckabee, quoted by Politico.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) sent a letter to public school superintendents across the state vowing to defend religious freedom amid “veiled legal threats” over the distribution of Bibles on campus, Tulsa World reports.
Said Pruitt: “It is a challenging time in our country for those who believe in religious liberty. Our religious freedoms are under constant attack from a variety of groups who seek to undermine our constitutional rights and threaten our founding principles.”
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) announced he will support a controversial religious freedom bill filed by a Louisiana legislator, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
“The Louisiana legislation is not exactly the same as the laws introduced in Indiana and Arkansas, but it deals with many of the same issues related to same-sex marriage and religious protections.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “had strong words for business leaders who haven’t defended religious freedom laws like the one in Indiana, which has sparked a firestorm of debate,” the Des Moines Register reports.
Said Cruz: “The Fortune 500 is running shamelessly to endorse the radical gay marriage agenda over religious liberty to say: ‘We will persecute a Christian pastor, a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi.’ Any person of faith is subject to persecution if they dare disagree, if their religious faith parts way from their political commitment to gay marriage.”
“Indiana Republican leaders are set to announce a deal Thursday morning that alters Indiana’s controversial ‘religious freedom’ law to ensure it does not discriminate against gay and lesbian customers of Indiana businesses,” the Indianapolis Star reports.
“The proposal — which grants new protections for LGBT customers, employees and tenants — is set for a 9 a.m. rollout at the Statehouse and a 9:30 a.m. committee hearing. It closely mirrors a draft plan that was circulated early Wednesday morning and could potentially quell concerns that have made Indiana the focus of national derision for one very intense week.”
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said he “will not sign a controversial religious liberty bill, saying he wants lawmakers to recall the bill and change it so that it more closely resembles federal law,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Hutchinson: “This is a bill that in ordinary times would not be controversial. But these are not ordinary times.”
New York Times: “Several businesses, including the state’s largest employer, Walmart, as well as the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Municipal League and other civic groups have come out against the legislation.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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