By Jeremiah G. Dys Wednesday, Kirsten Powers suggested that there is a new era in “Jim Crow” laws, that of businessmen and women of faith objecting to the participation and endorsement of homosexual marriages by the use of their business.  Thursday, Jonathan Merritt stoked the fire – and extended the analogy – by invoking Martin Luther King, Jr.’s...

By Jeremy Dys When I see the head of the nation’s largest provider of abortion write in reference to the contraceptive mandate of Obamacare, “No one’s freedom to practice religion is compromised,” I tend to think she is attempting her best Obi Wan Kenobi, Jedi mind trick on the nation. But, this is not Tatooine...

The Story:  “Judge Upholds Ban on Gay Conversion Therapy,” by Katie Zezima writing for the Associated Press. The Lead: A federal judge on Friday upheld a New Jersey law barring therapists from trying to turn gay youth straight. Judge Freda L. Wolfson said in the ruling that the law does not violate free speech or...

The Story:  “Does Faith = Hate?” by Rod Dreher writing for The American Conservative. The Lead:  “A consensus is emerging on the right that the most important goal at this stage is not to stop gay marriage entirely but to secure as much liberty as possible for dissenting religious and social conservatives while there is still...

  The Story: “Shutdown Impacts Chapel Services” by John Schlageter writing at the Archdiocese of the Military. The Lead: “There is a chronic shortage of active duty Catholic chaplains. While roughly 25% of the military is Catholic, Catholic priests make up only about 8% of the chaplain corps. That means approximately 275,000 men and women in uniform,...

The Story: “Some Businesses Balk at Gay Weddings,” by Nathan Koppel and Ashby Jones writing at the Wall Street Journal The Lead:“Religious-rights advocates argue that the Constitution affords people the right to abstain from a ceremony that violates their religious beliefs. ‘It’s an evisceration of our freedom of association'” said John Eastman, the chairman of...