Utah

The 14 crosses standing along Utah roads in memory fallen state Highway Patrol troopers are a violation of the U.S. Constitution because they would be conveyed as an endorsement of Christianity by the state, a federal appeals court decided Wednesday.

In its 38-page ruling, a three-judge panel from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver said the 12-foot-high white crosses “would convey to a reasonable observer that the state of Utah is endorsing Christianity.”

"This may lead the reasonable observer to fear that Christians are likely to receive preferential treatment from the UHP (Utah Highway Patrol)," the justices wrote. more >>

Very few things take church planter Charles Hill by surprise.

But when a group that agreed to support his new ministry work in the middle of a predominantly Mormon community suddenly pulled its financial backing and gave him the boot, he was totally caught off guard.

Hill had just begun to host Bible studies and reach out to the unchurched and those who were seeking something outside of the dominant religious preference in Utah – where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is headquartered – when he got fired. more >>

There are a few places where you will find non-Mormons in Utah: pubs and coffee shops.

And that's exactly where Pastor Charles Hill has set up camp.

Hill, 36, was at a pub in South Jordan on Monday for the launch of his "Beer and Bible" meeting. It was a soft launch with five people but he expects it to "blow up" in the months ahead, he told The Christian Post. more >>

WASHINGTON – For years, the federal government has recommended that pregnant women and young children limit their consumption of fish to avoid exposure to potentially harmful amounts of mercury.

Now, two top consumer protection agencies are at odds on whether that advice should be reconsidered to encourage all people to eat more fish, in order to promote healthy hearts.

The Food and Drug Administration has been circulating a draft report within the government that argues the health benefits of eating fish outweigh the potential ill effects of mercury. But the Environmental Protection Agency has fired off a memo to the White House calling the 270-page FDA study "scientifically flawed and inadequate" and an "oversimplification" lacking analytical rigor. more >>

A Christian legal group asked the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday to review and overturn a lower court decision that ordered a Utah city either to allow a non-mainstream religious group to erect its monument next to the Ten Commandments or to take down all monuments.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) said it filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the case of Pleasant Grove City v. Summum with plans to file a similar petition in a second case involving Duchesne City in Utah. The legal group is representing both cities in the cases.

In both cases, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Summum, an obscure religious movement that began in 1975, had a right to free speech and could demand the city to erect its private “Seven Aphorisms” monument in the city parks because cities already displayed Ten Commandments monuments. more >>

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that memorial crosses erected along Utah highways to honor fallen state troopers communicate a secular, non-religious message and do not violate the Constitution.

U.S. District Judge David Sam ruled in favor of the Utah Highway Patrol Association (UHPA), which was facing a lawsuit from American Atheists Inc. over 13 memorial crosses.

In a 28-page opinion, the judge said he found “no Establishment Clause violation of either the First Amendment of the United States Constitution nor Article I of the Utah Constitution.” more >>