GROVEPORT — After fifty years in existence, the City of Groveport decided this past year to ban the sale of “faith-based” items at its annual Apple Butter Day festival. The city’s secular approach to control commerce did not last very long. A legal challenge by one of the seventy vendors
NORTH CENTRAL OHIO — The separation of church and state continues to erode. Although never mentioned in the Constitution, the deep-rooted ‘Lemon Test‘ had been exerted by courts to censor religious speech on public spaces. But at the end of this past Supreme Court session, the High Court cancelled this
WASHINGTON DC — Liberty Counsel has launched its 20th annual Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign that is designed to educate and, when necessary, litigate to ensure that religious viewpoints are not censored from Christmas and holiday themes. Liberty Counsel monitors cases each year across the country where there is intimidation by officials and groups
MANSFIELD — Last month an atheist group wrote city officials saying police chaplains are “unconstitutional.” This group, the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), urged the police chief to end his department’s chaplain program. But after a host of clergymen petitioned the city administration in response, the call to end the
COLUMBUS — In a pointed letter sent June 21st to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Ohio Attorney General David Yost and his counterparts in eighteen states are urging Garland to take swift action in response to recent terrorist acts against Pro-life organizations, calling the lack of action intolerable, politically motivated and
PORTSMOUTH — One Ohio university is learning what it means to ‘mind your p’s and q’s’ when it comes to conduct towards its faculty. In a recent court settlement, a philosophy professor has schooled his own employer after it harassed him over his own First Amendment rights. After a three-year
LEXINGTON — Last month, Village Council voted for the first time in its history to allow a holiday religious display on public property. While the motion passed in his favor, one resident believes the Village is playing favorites and giving an unfair advantage to secular displays in the public forum.
ONTARIO — Last week, a religious display was the talk of the town in Ontario as City Council gave the green light for a religious symbol to be placed on public property. By a 5-1 vote, City Council decided to permit a privately-sponsored menorah commemorating Hanukah to be placed at
Twenty-one years ago, a Governor from the Midwest found himself in a tight spot. He had chosen to display the motto from his state on the grounds of the restored Statehouse. Only problem was the ACLU really hated that motto because it flowed from the Book of Matthew. Ohio had
On Friday, in an act of what can only be described as dereliction, the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear the case of Arlene’s Flowers, Inc. vs. Washington. In refusing to hear this case, the Court has failed to bring clarity to a situation it ultimately created. Despite
CINCINNATI — One Ohio university demanded a Christian professor no longer use pronouns when he addresses his students in class. But after a legal challenge by the philosophy professor, the publicly-funded school ended up not having the last word after all. In a major victory for free speech and religious
NORTH CENTRAL OHIO — Known by its detractors as the “Federal Inequality Act,” H.R. 5 is being debated in the Senate after passing the House along party lines. This bill, along with companion SOGI legislation at the state level, promises to erase freedom of thought and belief, and mandate a
COLUMBUS – On January 22nd, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was the scene of an attack by abortion activists during an annual memorial service for the unborn on the 48th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade. While one dozen riotous protestors burst into the service with signs, bullhorns, shouting profanities at attendees,
CINCINNATI – Last Friday the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order blocking the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department (TLCHD) from enforcing their order closing all in-person education for children grades seven thru twelve. Three private religious schools took TLCHD to court contending that even if the Constitution has taken
NORTH CENTRAL OHIO –Looking back at 2020, it is hard not to think of the role local evangelicals played in the region during the ‘crucible’ of a very chaotic year. While the heat has been turned up, a more resilient Church is being galvanized together by faith. The unforgettable chain
TOLEDO – A coalition of religious schools is saying a health department has gone too far and is overlooking the First Amendment. The group says the Constitution should not be suspended during a pandemic; it looks like now they will have their day in court. The Ohio Christian Education Network
CLEVELAND – After passing a sexual orientation and gender identity ordinance in 2018, Cuyahoga County bureaucrats are now in the business of establishing its own theocracy. Citizens with diverse religious viewpoints inside the County are now punished and face punitive damages. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys representing a Cleveland minister and
A religious test shouldn’t be used for public service, and it shouldn’t be used for public funding either! And thanks to President Trump’s string of announcements Thursday, Christians shouldn’t have anything to worry about. If you tried to keep up with the burst of government regulations, it wasn’t easy. January
