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Thank You, Mark Oppenheimer

From First Thoughts

Two days after the Obergefell decision, New York Times columnist Mark Oppenheimer suggested that it is now time to rethink the idea of tax-exempt status for religious institutions: “Rather than try to rescue tax-exempt status for organizations that dissent from settled public policy on matters of . . . . Continue Reading »

#LoveWins—Or Else

From First Thoughts

In the aftermath of Friday’s Supreme Court decision, attention is turning toward the future of religious liberty. And if you read Justice Kennedy’s opinion on the ruling, you’ll quickly learn that if there’s to be any semblance of our historic understanding of religious liberty, there . . . . Continue Reading »

A Note from Creator Cakes

From First Thoughts

A fictionalized note from a Christian baker:To our dear and beloved customers, Creator Cakes has served this community for over two decades. That we run our business in accordance with our Christian faith is well known in the community. We've grown very concerned over the last week's events that saw . . . . Continue Reading »

Willing Incompatible Worlds

From First Thoughts

To find the words that describe with accuracy the media hysterics involved with Indiana’s passing of a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) may be impossible. The sanctimonious moral preening offered via social media from such figures as Apple’s Tim Cook and the historically amnesiatic Hillary Clinton are both laughable and inexcusable for their dedication to spreading flavor-of-the-moment distortions. Continue Reading »

Selma and Humane Democracy

From First Thoughts

Over the weekend, President Obama and other national leaders traveled to Selma, Alabama to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the march on Selma. The events of that day in particular, and of the Civil Rights movement in general, remind us of an important truth: Religion and politics do go together—a democratic version of the latter cannot be sustained without the former. Continue Reading »