#church-and-state

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History
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 day ago

Slavery bounded his life': Thomas Jefferson's views on race in his own words

Thomas Jefferson's life was deeply intertwined with slavery, influencing his views on liberty and race throughout his lifetime.
#birthright-citizenship
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 days ago
Right-wing politics

Ending birthright citizenship would change the meaning of America | Moira Donegan

Birthright citizenship in the U.S. is typical in the Americas, contrary to claims of its rarity by opponents like Trump.
fromwww.mediaite.com
3 days ago
Right-wing politics

Trump Goes Off on Key Constitutional Tenet: One of the Many Great Scams of Our Time!'

Trump claims birthright citizenship is exploited by wealthy foreigners and contradicts the 14th Amendment's original intent.
US Elections
fromThe New Yorker
2 days ago

The Supreme Court on Who Gets to Be an American

The Supreme Court's ruling on Wong Kim Ark established a crucial precedent for birthright citizenship in the United States.
Right-wing politics
fromwww.mediaite.com
3 days ago

Trump Goes Off on Key Constitutional Tenet: One of the Many Great Scams of Our Time!'

Trump claims birthright citizenship is exploited by wealthy foreigners and contradicts the 14th Amendment's original intent.
#supreme-court
fromJezebel
3 days ago
LGBT

Far-Right Christian Group Gets the Supreme Court to Greenlight Gay Conversion Therapy

The Supreme Court ruled that Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for minors violates free speech, endangering LGBTQ+ youth's safety and wellbeing.
fromTruthout
1 month ago
US politics

Supreme Court Is Going to New Lengths to Hide Its Inner Workings From Scrutiny

The U.S. Supreme Court implemented a stricter nondisclosure agreement after November 2024, increasing secrecy and threatening legal action against employees who reveal internal information.
LGBT
fromJezebel
3 days ago

Far-Right Christian Group Gets the Supreme Court to Greenlight Gay Conversion Therapy

The Supreme Court ruled that Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for minors violates free speech, endangering LGBTQ+ youth's safety and wellbeing.
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
4 days ago

Does the Constitution Protect This Congresswoman From Trump?

The Trump administration uses criminal charges to intimidate dissenters, exemplified by Congress member LaMonica McIver's prosecution for protesting immigration enforcement.
fromAllthingssmitty
5 days ago

You probably don't need to lift state - Matt Smith

Keep state as close as possible to where it's actually used. Lift it when multiple components need it or you need to coordinate behavior between components.
React
Podcast
from99% Invisible
1 week ago

Constitution Breakdown #8: Jill Lepore - 99% Invisible

Article V outlines the amendment process of the U.S. Constitution, which has become increasingly difficult to navigate.
fromwww.mediaite.com
2 days ago

Christian Pastor Tells Trump, No One Has Paid the Price Like You Have'

Paula White stated, 'No one has paid the price like you have paid the price.' She emphasized that Trump faced betrayal and false accusations, similar to Jesus, and that his journey reflects a divine plan.
US Elections
#first-amendment
Law
fromwww.npr.org
1 week ago

Supreme Courtdeclines toreviewpress freedom case

The Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging a Texas law that allows arresting reporters for obtaining information from government employees.
#christian-nationalism
fromTruthout
1 day ago
Right-wing politics

Christian Nationalists in US Government Push Attacks on Iran as Holy War

fromLGBTQ Nation
2 weeks ago
Right-wing politics

Former Trump official admits that their goal is to impose their Christian values on other Americans - LGBTQ Nation

Right-wing politics
fromTruthout
1 day ago

Christian Nationalists in US Government Push Attacks on Iran as Holy War

The rhetoric surrounding Easter reflects a shift towards a militant interpretation of Jesus among some Christian nationalists.
Right-wing politics
fromLGBTQ Nation
2 weeks ago

Former Trump official admits that their goal is to impose their Christian values on other Americans - LGBTQ Nation

A former Trump administration official advocates for Christians to impose biblical morality through legislation at all government levels.
Right-wing politics
fromSlate Magazine
4 weeks ago

How America Became A "Christian Nation" Overnight

The Roberts Supreme Court majority and Trump administration are dismantling the separation of church and state through coordinated legal and political action, enabling Christian nationalism to reshape American democracy.
Media industry
fromThe Nation
2 weeks ago

The Trump Administration Is Casually Torching the First Amendment

The U.S. press faces threats and manipulation under an authoritarian administration, impacting media ownership and freedom.
fromemptywheel
2 weeks ago

Mixing The Mixed Constitution - emptywheel

Burke's was a broadside that not only excoriated the social upheavals effected by the French revolutionaries and (by extension) commended by Marx, but the continual economic and social instability prized by modern liberal economic philosophy and practice. Against a new class of elites-mainly, an alliance between ideological progressive theorists and a rising financial oligarchy-Burke urged protection of the stability, tradition, and social continuities vital for the flourishing of ordinary people.
Left-wing politics
fromThe Conversation
3 weeks ago

What James Madison can teach Americans about religious freedom today

Since taking office for a second time, the Trump administration has issued a number of executive orders on religion that raise new questions about religious freedom. On May 1, 2025, the administration established the Religious Liberty Commission. The commission will advise the White House on policies intended to protect the free exercise of religion and to prevent discrimination against people of faith by the federal government.
Philosophy
Law
fromAbove the Law
2 weeks ago

The Rule Of Law Joins America's Dead Pets On The Rainbow Bridge - Above the Law

Trump attorney John Lauro claimed the DOJ improved under Attorney General Pam Bondi, contradicting legal observers who view current conditions as a constitutional crisis threatening prosecutorial independence.
fromWorld History Encyclopedia
3 weeks ago

Liberty's Grid: A Founding Father, a Mathematical Dreamland, and the Shaping of America

The street plan of the Valley is 'the street plan of America.' By this, he means that streets in cities across the U.S. offer rectilinear uniformity: 'broad, arrow-straight avenues, regularly spaced and perfectly parallel to one another, are met at fixed intervals by equally straight and parallel streets that intersect them at precise right angles.'
History
Philosophy
fromApaonline
3 weeks ago

Secrecy, Democracy, Necessity

Executive officials justify secrecy through claims of protecting decision-making integrity and national security, but such necessity arguments alone cannot legitimize secret governance in democracies.
Miscellaneous
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Religious Freedom Includes the Freedom to Leave Religion

True religious freedom requires psychological capacity to choose freely, not just legal protection of beliefs, as cults use psychological entrapment rather than physical confinement to prevent members from leaving.
LGBT
fromLGBTQ Nation
4 weeks ago

Christian teacher wins right to refuse to read gay children's books in school - LGBTQ Nation

A Nashville public charter school teacher secured an accommodation to avoid reading a children's book about two gay fathers after enlisting a Christian nationalist legal group to threaten the school.
fromBig Think
4 weeks ago

How the U.S. Constitution protects liberty from the powerful's dark impulses

The real Führer is always a judge. Out of Führerdom flows judgeship. One who wants to separate the two from each other or puts them in opposition to each other would have the judge be either the leader of the opposition or the tool of the opposition and is trying to unhinge the state with the help of the judiciary.
History
US politics
fromAxios
3 weeks ago

Axios Finish Line: A consensus Bill of Rights

Americans across political lines support limited government intervention in personal freedoms, secure borders with pathways for legal immigrants, reduced federal spending, and decreased government trust.
Right-wing politics
fromThe New Yorker
2 weeks ago

The New Faces of Christian Nationalism

Mercy Culture megachurch in Fort Worth uses its political arm, For Liberty & Justice, to elect candidates committed to religiously infused far-right politics, exploiting the weakened Johnson Amendment restrictions on church political endorsements.
Law
fromAbove the Law
1 month ago

Standing Up And Cheering For American-ish Principles - Above the Law

Trump's State of the Union challenge to Democrats about protecting American citizens over illegal aliens was a rhetorical trap that oversimplified complex policy issues requiring nuanced discussion rather than simple yes-or-no responses.
Law
fromAbove the Law
1 month ago

Justice Gorsuch: Originalism Requires We Recall That The Founders Knew How To F-ing Party - Above the Law

Justice Gorsuch argues that founding-era 'habitual drunkard' laws cannot justify modern firearm restrictions for drug users, citing evidence that Founders consumed far more alcohol than modern standards would classify as habitual use.
fromLGBTQ Nation
3 weeks ago

The U.S. thinks God is on its side in Iran. Here's why that's a problem... - LGBTQ Nation

So, a Christian Nationalist regime with their Jesus on their side, allied with a Jewish Nationalist regime with their HaShemon their side, have gone after an Islamic Nationalist regime with their Allah on their side, while each Nationalist regime believes they have morality on their side. And religious wars continue to bring humanity to the brink!
US politics
fromwww.npr.org
1 month ago

Court clears way for Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms to take effect

In the opinion released Friday, the court said it was too early to make a judgment call on the constitutionality of the law. That's partly because it's not yet clear how prominently schools may display the religious text, if teachers will refer to the Ten Commandments during classes or if other texts like the Mayflower Compact or the Declaration of Independence will also be displayed, the majority opinion said.
US news
fromThe Atlantic
3 weeks ago

A Word for Our Troubled Times

A record high of adults—80 percent—believes that Americans are divided on the most important values. National pride, trust in government, and confidence in institutions are near record lows. The Princeton University historian Sean Wilentz says the United States hasn't been this divided since the Civil War. Nearly half of Americans think another civil war is likely in their lifetime.
US politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

US judge expresses concern about government's role in Washington Post raid

A federal judge in Virginia on Friday declined to immediately rule on the Washington Post's request for the government to return devices seized from reporter Hannah Natanson in a January raid of her home. But the judge, William B. Porter of the eastern district of Virginia, acknowledged the enormity and significance of the seizure during the afternoon hearing. Ms Natanson has basically been deprived of her life's work, he said.
US news
Miscellaneous
fromEngadget
1 month ago

US website 'freedom.gov' will allow Europeans to view hate speech and other blocked content

The US State Department and DHS are developing freedom.gov to let people view online content banned in their countries, including a VPN to bypass restrictions.
US politics
fromwww.amny.com
1 month ago

Op-Ed | The Trump administration believes that it has the right to decide what the rule of law is | amNewYork

A federal judge invalidated the Trump administration's policy of deporting undocumented immigrants to third countries rather than their home countries, ruling it violates U.S. law protecting against torture and persecution.
fromHarvard Gazette
1 month ago

Excerpt from 'The Cradle of Citizenship' by James Traub - Harvard Gazette

The same deep forces that afflict many Western nations have wrenched us apart: the transition to a postindustrial economy and the attendant erosion of working-class security, the demographic shift toward a "majority minority" nation, the cultural upheaval that has dethroned men, and especially white men, from their age-old dominance - and the rise of entrepreneurs of outrage eager to exploit all that free-floating anger.
Education
LGBT
fromLGBTQ Nation
8 months ago

Church stands by call to execute gay people: "I will not apologize for preaching the Word of God." - LGBTQ Nation

An Indianapolis church leader endorsed a sermon that urged LGBTQ+ people to kill themselves and used violent, demeaning language; YouTube removed the video.
Left-wing politics
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

How the University Replaced the Church as the Home of Liberal Morality

Universities have replaced churches and unions as primary institutions shaping young liberals' moral imagination, community, and political activism.
Law
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Louisiana schools can display Ten Commandments, appeals court rules

The Fifth Circuit lifted a preliminary injunction, allowing Louisiana to enforce a law requiring Ten Commandments posters in every public school classroom.
US politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
1 month ago

Trump administration charges 30 more people for Minnesota church protest

Trump administration expanded prosecution of church protest attendees from 9 to 39 people, framing immigration policy opposition as religious freedom attacks while critics argue it suppresses dissent.
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

Democracy Dies in Broad Daylight

Last week- after the Wall Street Journal broke more news about the Trump family's dodgy crypto-business dealings and before the President shared a racist video of the Obamas depicted as dancing apes-the Amazon entrepreneur Jeff Bezos decided that one of his smaller properties, the Washington Post, has proved such a drag on his two-hundred-and-thirty-billion-dollar fortune that prudence required that he obliterate much of its newsroom.
Media industry
Philosophy
fromAeon
2 months ago

The West's forgotten republican heritage | Aeon Essays

Power to shape daily life has shifted to markets, corporations, and data systems, leaving citizens feeling powerless and fueling a turn toward authoritarian politics.
History
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

The Provocation That Helped Create America

Common Sense decisively shifted American public opinion toward independence by forcefully arguing for separation from Britain, catalyzing the Revolutionary movement.
US news
fromwww.npr.org
2 months ago

How President Trump has challenged a constitutional foundation

President Trump significantly expanded executive power and eroded democratic checks, pushing governance toward authoritarian practices while provoking widespread disapproval.
fromWorld History Encyclopedia
1 month ago

Antinomian Controversy: Inspiring the Separation of Church and State in the USA

The Antinomian Controversy ( antinomian from the Greek "against the law") ended with the banishment of Anne Hutchinson in 1638. Wheelwright had been banished the year before, and Henry Vane had returned to England that same year (1637). After Hutchinson was expelled, another religious dissenter, Roger Williams (1603-1683), who had been banished in early 1636, began a literary duel with John Cotton over religious freedom and persecution, which addressed a number of points raised by the Antinomian Controversy.
History
LGBT
fromLGBTQ Nation
2 months ago

Conservative Christians beg Supreme Court to let teachers out trans kids to their parents - LGBTQ Nation

Conservative Christian teachers seek Supreme Court permission to immediately out transgender students to parents, challenging school anti-outing policies and asserting religious and parental rights.
fromSlate Magazine
2 months ago

The Supreme Court Was Ripe for Another Ideological Food Fight. Then Something Else Happened.

But inside the courtroom, the argument barely touched speech or religion. Instead, the justices together gravitated toward something else entirely: a problem about time, causation, and whether constitutional authority can be temporally partitioned. Does the Constitution operate only forward? Can a law be unconstitutional tomorrow yet legally untouchable yesterday? And can a single conviction permanently close the courthouse doors to the people most harmed by an unconstitutional rule?
Law
fromSmithsonian Magazine
1 month ago

Commemorate Presidents' Day With 15 Images That Celebrate the Founding Fathers

Observed on February 22, George Washington's birthday, Presidents' Day became a holiday in 1885. In 1971, the day evolved to recognize all presidents, namely Abraham Lincoln, who was born on February 12. Still a federal holiday 140 years later, Presidents' Day is a time to reflect on the nation's leaders, who have shaped life for its citizens and affected the world in immeasurable ways-for better or worse.
Law
fromEsquire
1 month ago

There's No Way Anyone in the Trump Administration Has Read the Declaration of Independence

A federal court ordered release of Adrian Conejo Arias and his five-year-old son, finding the Constitution and Fourth Amendment protect against administrative detention.
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

The Founders Would Have Opposed 'Nationalizing' Elections

State-centered election administration and constitutional limits make nationalizing voting inconsistent with the Framers' intent and vulnerable to judicial resistance.
fromFast Company
1 month ago

Our embrace of individuals over institutions isn't serving us well

In the early 20th century, sociologist Max Weber noted that sweeping industrialization would transform how societies worked. As small, informal operations gave way to large, complex organizations with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, leaders would need to rely less on tradition and charisma, and more on organization and rationality. He also foresaw that jobs would need to be broken down into specialized tasks and governed by a system of hierarchy,
History
#immigration
fromAxios
1 month ago
US politics

Clergy say Jesus' teachings leave Christians no choice but to resist ICE

fromAxios
1 month ago
US politics

Clergy say Jesus' teachings leave Christians no choice but to resist ICE

Law
fromAbove the Law
2 months ago

You Can Say Whatever You Want When You're The Chief Justice - See Also - Above the Law

Roberts is accused of inventing a Paine legacy, Steven Banks is welcomed as corporate counsel, Biglaw recruiting is criticized, DOJ timing questioned, and Lowenstein wins.
US politics
fromAbove the Law
1 month ago

Even A Trump Judge Knows We're In The Middle Of A Constitutional Crisis - Above the Law

ICE's operations at the Whipple Federal Building violate detainees' constitutional rights through opaque transfers, inadequate legal notice, and dismissive government evidence.
fromAbove the Law
1 month ago

Thousands Of Law Students Demand Congress Allow The Constitution To Apply To ICE - Above the Law

A student-led coalition has gathered more than 2,600 signatures from law students, legal academics, and law student organizations across 109 law schools calling on Congress to pass the Federal Officer Accountability Act. As the Department of Homeland Security disappears suspected migrants without due process, arbitrarily harasses citizens, and point blank kills innocent people on camera, a shocked public has learned what lawyers have talked about for years: the government has stacked the immunity deck to functionally shield law enforcement from accountability.
Law
US politics
fromLGBTQ Nation
11 months ago

Donald Trump says America should "forget about" the separation of church and state - LGBTQ Nation

President Trump created a Department of Justice religious liberty commission by executive order and questioned the separation of church and state.
Law
fromAbove the Law
1 month ago

Accountability In An Age Of Unaccountability - Above the Law

Legal system turmoil: arrests, Epstein file fallout, judicial misconduct, and mounting ethical breaches requiring disbarment of dishonest administration lawyers.
Law
from99% Invisible
2 months ago

Constitution Breakdown #6: Adam Liptak - 99% Invisible

Article III establishes the judicial branch and the Supreme Court; recent Court legacy and structural barriers make reform difficult and shape public perceptions.
US politics
fromThe Nation
1 month ago

Freedoms Under Threat

Independent, progressive journalism holds the powerful accountable, centers marginalized communities, exposes distortions, and relies on reader support to sustain urgent coverage.
US politics
fromThe Mercury News
2 months ago

Letters: Trump unequivocally puts himself above the Constitution

A president asserting that only his own morality limits his authority violates the Constitution and risks autocratic personal sovereignty beyond legal checks.
US politics
fromThe Nation
2 months ago

Is It Possible for Speech to Ever Be Too Free?

Free speech empowers dissent and equality but can also inflict harm, spread disinformation, entrench power and privilege, and requires balancing individual liberty with collective protections.
fromwww.mercurynews.com
2 months ago

Letters: Trump unequivocally puts himself above the Constitution

When a president says his authority is limited only by his own morality, the Constitution has already been violated. The oath of office binds the president to law, not conscience, not instinct, not personal judgment. Claiming otherwise is a declaration that constitutional limits are optional. This is not rhetoric. It is an imminent danger. A president who believes only he restrains himself is asserting personal sovereignty. That is the definition of autocracy.
US politics
fromwww.mercurynews.com
1 month ago

Opinion: Liberty doesn't defend itself right now, it needs our help.

In the United States, we haven't yet seen rifles aimed at large crowds, but we do observe masked federal agents detaining protesters in unmarked vehicles, flashy ICE raids staged like military operations and pardons for political violence all clear warning signs. Ignoring this is the first step toward complacency, which can kill liberty. Fascism is often misunderstood. It is not just political oppression; it is a set of traits, as scholars and observers point out,
US politics
fromemptywheel
2 months ago

This Is Not A Constitutional Moment - emptywheel

This script is based on a theory proposed by Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale Law School. Ackerman's idea is laid out in his 1991 book We The People: Foundations, and is discussed in the second of his Oliver Wendell Holmes Lectures of 2006. It's gained prominence since the 2024 election and the wholesale assault on our governmental system by Trump.
US politics
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

American Democracy Is Showing Signs of Life

American democracy faced severe authoritarian threats under Trump but shows resilience through declining presidential support, mass protest, citizen defense, political opposition, and judicial resistance.
fromHarvard Gazette
1 month ago

What would the Founding Fathers think of TikTok? - Harvard Gazette

By placing 80 percent of its U.S. assets under the control of non-Chinese investors, the joint venture aims to avoid an outright ban. The new investors include the technology company Oracle, the private equity company Silver Lake, and the Emirati investment firm MGX. ByteDance retains a stake of just under 20 percent and will license its algorithm to the new entity.
US politics
US politics
fromHuffPost
8 years ago

Queer Christians Respond To Jeff Sessions' New 'License To Discriminate'

Sessions’ directive and related Trump-era actions empower religious-freedom claims that risk enabling discrimination and undermining civil rights for LGBTQ Americans.
US politics
fromAbove the Law
1 month ago

The Executive Branch Discovers Judicial Independence, Hates It - Above the Law

DOJ solicited prosecutors for examples of judges who ruled against the government to report to Congress for potential impeachment.
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

The Commons: How Originalism Killed the Constitution

Constitutional amendment process has been dormant but historically awakens during crises; worsening polarization and institutional rot make amendments necessary to repair democracy.
US politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Democrats have a constitutional power they aren't using to fight back: state resolutions | Sidney Blumenthal

Democratic state legislatures can revive pre-17th Amendment orders of instruction to pressure senators and counter attempts to impose a police state.
US politics
fromThe Nation
1 month ago

The Antidemocratic Zealots Presiding Over Trump's Makeover of US History

Freedom 250 is being used to infuse MAGA messaging into the U.S. semiquincentennial celebration and reshape national institutions with Trump's branding.
fromwww.mercurynews.com
2 months ago

Bouie: There is a sickness eating away at American democracy

The truth is that as a country we have often found one reason or another to let the powerful escape the consequences of their actions. Consider Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, commander in chief of a rebellion that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Davis spent two years in federal custody after the end of the war. The indictment against him was dismissed following his release, and he spent the rest of his life a free man.
US politics
US politics
fromTruthout
2 months ago

Civil Rights Attorney Faces "Trumped-Up Charges" for Anti-ICE Church Protest

Civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong was arrested for participating in an anti-ICE protest, then released; officials digitally altered images to criminalize peaceful dissent.
US politics
fromwww.mercurynews.com
2 months ago

Letters: Hypocrisy of MAGA repudiates principles of the US

Political hypocrisy and power-driven policies undermine U.S. founding principles, while insufficient healthcare staffing at Kaiser endangers patients and demands increased staffing.
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

Foolery, Foppery, and Finery

These "levees," as they were called, were not loose occasions. Washington stood by the fireplace in a dining room cleared of its chairs. Dressed in a black velvet suit, hair powdered, hat in hand, he greeted guests with a formal bow. Handshakes, familiar and egalitarian, were prohibited. Conversation was sparse. The president, per Alexander Hamilton's instructions, might talk "cursorily on indifferent subjects," but nothing more.
US politics
fromIntelligencer
2 months ago

Is Don Lemon a Threat to Religious Liberty?

The arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon by federal authorities in Los Angeles today for his alleged participation in an anti-ICE protest in a St. Paul, Minnesota, church on January 18 is startling on multiple grounds. First of all, it's not like Lemon was a fugitive from justice. Two judges in Minnesota had earlier denied a requested indictment of Lemon, so he felt free to go to L.A. to cover the Grammy Awards.
US politics
US politics
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

Should Progressive Organizers Lean More on the Church?

Churches have historically provided moral authority, infrastructure, and community essential for sustained protest, and those roles are difficult to replicate in digital-era dissent.
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