Religious Freedom

Baptist Collegiate Ministry of Vanderbilt University has decided to remain a registered student organization on campus, even with the "All-Comers" policy Vanderbilt has decided to implement among religious groups.

Thom Thornton, director of Vanderbilt BCM, explained to Baptist Press that his group has "been assured by the university that we can select leaders committed to the organization's mission."

In November 2010, Vanderbilt University began to implement rules which mandated that religious organizations allow all students to run for leadership positions, even if the students did not agree with the spiritual aims of the group. more >>

The American Center for Law and Justice has confirmed that Iranian authorities allowed Youcef Nadarkhani's family and local lawyers to visit him while in prison on April 11, which marked the evangelical Christian pastor's 35th birthday.

In addition to the date marking Nadarkhani's birthday, it was also the 913th day of imprisonment for the married father of two. The pastor was arrested in Oct. 2009 for protesting the mandatory teaching of Islam at his children's schools.

His charges were later changed to apostasy and attempting to evangelize Muslims, for which he was sentenced to death. more >>

As North Korea plans a national celebration for the 100th birthday of the late Kim Il-sung on Sunday, Open Doors, an international Christian ministry which serves persecuted believers, is mobilizing Christians around the world to participate in a day of prayer.

While much of the world's media focused on North Korea's potentially dangerous rocket launch this week, Open Doors wants to bring attention to the country that has been ranked No. 1 on the ministry's World Watch List of the 50 worst persecutors of Christians for the last ten years.

"Even with the media attention that the rocket launch is getting, not many are paying attention to the fate of the people inside North Korea, especially Christians," Open Doors USA Media Director Jerry Dykstra told The Christian Post on Thursday. "They have been virtually ignored. We want to get people praying and advocating for them." more >>

Officials in San Juan, Calif., are set to decide within 30 days on the validity of a controversial city code by which a local Christian couple was fined $300 for hosting large Bible group meetings at home last year.

Chuck and Stephanie Fromm received a $100 fine initially when neighbors complained that the Bible gatherings at their home were too big, gathering close to 50 people. But the Fromms refused to pay the fine or heed the warnings. After a second big meeting, they were fined another $200.

The San Juan code states that all religious, fraternal or nonprofit organizations need to obtain a conditional use-permit for hosting meetings – and home Bible studies fall under that category. more >>

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a proclamation Thursday in which it calls for the U.S. government, among others, to stop "discriminating" against the church -- for the sake of all Americans.

The bishops claim in their statement that religious freedom is under attack at home because the U.S. government is exercising nation-wide anti-Catholic policies, mainly in three areas -- enforcing the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate on religious institutions and allegedly driving Catholic foster care and adoption services out of business and discriminating against Catholic humanitarian services.

"What we ask is nothing more than that our God-given right to religious liberty be respected. We ask nothing less than that the Constitution and laws of the United States, which recognize that right, be respected," USCCB said in the statement. more >>

In an act of unity, 11 Christian student organizations at Vanderbilt University issued a joint statement this week, saying they refuse to comply with the university's new "all-comers" policy, which prohibits campus groups from selecting members and leaders based on race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

The Christian groups have adopted the name Vanderbilt Solidarity, and recently submitted individual applications for registration as campus organizations. The constitutions found in the groups' charters include faith-based requirements for leadership positions.

Despite the privileges afforded officially recognized student organizations, Vanderbilt Solidarity, supported by the Alliance Defense Fund, is challenging the "all-comers" policy because it violates "the central tenets of our faith." more >>