Leaders at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship look forward to submitting statements to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights about incidents where universities have attempted to restrict the religious liberties of student groups in the name of non-discrimination, the organization said Thursday.

Over the last several years, some colleges have tried to, and in some cases successfully, implemented policies that call for religious student groups to not use religious criteria in leadership selection. The Civil Rights commission announced last month a briefing to be focused on reconciling non-discrimination policies with religious liberties scheduled for later this month.

"We're very excited and very pleased that the commission is looking into this issue," Intervarsity National Field Director for the Northeast Greg Jao told The Christian Post. "For universities to suggest that leaders don't need to hold their beliefs imposes a very foreign theology on these groups. A theology that says leadership requirements don't matter. more >>

In what many are already deeming a landmark decision, Canada's highest court has ruled that laws placing legal limits on inflammatory speech will remain on the books.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously Wednesday that "hate speech" laws are a constitutionally valid limitation on free speech in the country albeit with the proper process in place.

Don Hutchinson, vice president and General Legal Counsel with The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, intervened on the case, known as Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission v. William Whatcott. more >>

California Baptist University has been sued by a transgender student who was expelled by the academic institute for inaccurately stating that he was female.

Domaine Javier filed suit against the University on Monday in the Superior Court of California in Riverside County.

"CBU suspended her, excluded her from campus, and expelled her for one reason: she is transgender," reads the suit. "As a result of the suspension, exclusion, and expulsion, Ms. Javier has suffered economic damages, including loss of the honors scholarships CBU awarded and loss of wages." more >>

Attorneys for a former New York 8th-grade student have asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to weigh in on a three-judge panel's ruling against a New York 8th-grade student who wanted to include a religious blessing at the end of her graduation speech.

The Alliance Defending Freedom legal group announced Monday that it had filed the "petition for rehearing en banc" last week that seeks to overturn the Second Circuit panel's ruling, which approved the censorship of the student. Co-counsel David Gibbs originally filed the case, A.M. v. Taconic Hills Central School District, in 2010.

"Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas. The personal well-wishes of a student are no different just because they mention God," said Senior Counsel David Cortman. "Public school officials have no legitimate basis to shut down personal speech just because it has a religious reference." more >>

The United States is facing a crisis due to its falling fertility rate, author Jonathan Last argues in What to Expect When No One's Expecting: America's Coming Demographic Disaster.

The myth that the world is overpopulated and disasters will ensue as a result was popularized in Paul Ehrlich's 1968 book, The Population Bomb. The myth remains popular today even as Ehrlich's predictions turned out to be wildly off the mark. Not only was he wrong about mass starvation by the end of the 1970s, notes Last, a senior writer at The Weekly Standard, but he was wrong at exactly the time that fertility rates began a steep drop in the U.S. and across the world.

Last cites studies showing that nations with a growing population, those with "total fertility rate" (TFR) greater than 2.1 babies born per female over the course of her life, flourish, while nations with a TFR lower than 2.1 decline. High fertility nations flourish because they invest in their young and have higher rates of innovation. In low fertility nations, on the other hand, resources shift to caring for the elderly and fewer workers must work to pay for increased health care costs. more >>

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would give federal aid for houses of worship harmed by Superstorm Sandy in response to outcry over FEMA regulations banning churches from receiving such aid. Opponents of the ban argued that there was no justification for banning federal aid to churches.

Daniel Blomberg, legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, told The Christian Post that while his organization neither supports nor opposes the bill, H.R. 592, they did take great issue with the ban by FEMA.

"FEMA's refusal to provide houses of worship equal access to disaster relief funds that are available to similar nonprofits – a position which it has held off and on for each of the last four Administrations – is religious discrimination that should be stopped," said Blomberg. more >>