Jan. 17, 2020: Trump protects prayer; Open Doors World Watch List; GK Chesterton home facing demolition
Friday, Jan. 17, 2020
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post
— Open Doors: Over 9,000 churches, Christian buildings attacked in past year
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Leading Christian persecution watchdog nongovernmental organization Open Doors USA released it’s 2020 World Watch List Wednesday, an influential annual data report that this year highlights a drastic increase in attacks against Christian buildings and the imprisonment of Christians.
The report ranks the worst 50 countries in the world when it comes to the persecution of Christians and is based on data compiled by Open Doors’ operations in 60 countries. This year’s list names a number of repeat offenders including North Korea, China, Iran, Somalia, and Eritrea as well as newly added countries where radical Islamic extremism wreaked havoc on Christian communities in 2019.
— Trump announces new protections for prayer at public schools
On National Religious Freedom Day Thursday, the White House announced several new rules and memos designed to roll back "discriminatory" federal regulations as well as promote teachers' and students' right to pray in public schools.
President Donald Trump was joined in the Oval Office by Christian, Jewish and Muslim students who have suffered some form of discrimination as he introduced new regulations and guidance promoting religious freedom.
Among them is the announcement that the U.S. Education Department will send out memos to secretaries and administrators in all 50 states stressing that they can’t prevent teachers or students from praying in public schools.
The goal is to "further safeguard students’ constitutionally protected right to pray in school" and to let public school administrators know that they can lose federal funding if they violate students’ religious freedom.
— Judge temporarily blocks Trump executive order on states refugee refusal
A federal judge has put a halt to an executive order that allowed local and state governments to prohibit the resettlement of refugees, siding with a coalition of faith-based charity groups.
U.S. District Court Judge Peter Messitte of the District of Maryland granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday against the executive order in response to a lawsuit filed by Church World Service, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and HIAS, a Jewish group.
In his decision, Messitte argued that “giving states and local governments the power to consent to the resettlement of refugees … flies in the face of clear congressional intent, as expressed in the legislative history of the statute.”
Last September, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13888, which allowed states and local governments to opt out of resettling refugees, saying, “State and local governments are best positioned to know the resources and capacities they may or may not have available to devote to sustainable resettlement, which maximizes the likelihood refugees placed in the area will become self-sufficient and free from long-term dependence on public assistance.”
In response, the three faith-based groups filed suit last November against the administration over the executive order, being represented by the legal group International Refugee Assistance Project.
— Secular group blasts National Cathedral Bible blessing
A secular legal organization announced its outrage over the blessing of a Bible for the swearing-in of commanders of the newly created Space Force, calling it a “shocking and repulsive display of only the most vile, exclusivist, fundamentalist Christian supremacy.”
On Sunday, the Washington National Cathedral held a ceremony to bless a King James Bible that will be used to swear in all commanders of America’s newest military branch, the U.S. Space Command, if they so choose.
Mikey Weinstein, founder and Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an activist legal group that says it's dedicated to preserving the separation of church and state in the military, condemned the ceremony, saying it was a “shocking and repulsive display of only the most vile, exclusivist, fundamentalist Christian supremacy.”
In response, Mark Tooley, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, pointed out that military commanders are sworn in on whatever book they choose, or no book at all.
— Home of famous Christian writer GK Chesterton threatened with demolition
A house in England where famed Christian thinker and writer G.K. Chesterton used to live could be demolished and replaced with apartments if it's not saved. Octagon Developments, Ltd applied for permission to demolish the Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire home, known as Overroads. A decision about the property's future is expected later this month.
Born in London in 1874, Chesterton wrote hundreds of poems, approximately 200 short stories, more than 4,000 news articles, and around 100 books. Chesterton’s book, The Everlasting Man, was credited with inspiring a young C.S. Lewis to convert to Christianity.
The Beaconsfield Society, the residents’ society formed in the 1960s with the goal of preserving the area’s past, told The Christian Post that "two applications have been submitted to the council" requesting permission to build on the site. The society said they “would like to see the home preserved because it is of heritage importance.”
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