Victory For Religious Liberty

 

Religious liberty scored a big victory at the Supreme Court today.  The justices heard a case challenging a Maine law that provides state-funded vouchers to private secondary schools. 

 

This is not an uncommon practice in Maine because many rural communities don’t have a public high school.  So, the state provides vouchers to help students attend private schools in their communities.  There’s just one problem:  Maine specifically prohibited religious schools from the voucher program.

 

Today, the justices ruled 6-to-3 that the Maine law unconstitutionally violated the First Amendment by discriminating against religious schools. 

 

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, declared that states are not required to fund private education, but if they do, they cannot discriminate against private schools solely because they are religious.

 

While I am thrilled with this victory, it is very revealing and disturbing that the three liberal justices were perfectly willing to allow government discrimination against religious schools. 

 

Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor issued pointed dissents denouncing the fact that they have lost three significant religious liberty cases in recent years related to government funding of schools and religious organizations. 

 

For decades, the left twisted and distorted Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation between church and state” into an “iron curtain of separation.”  Jefferson wanted to avoid government meddling in the affairs of churches.  But the left demands outright government hostility to faith. 

 

Thankfully, the court’s conservative, pro-freedom, pro-Constitution majority is restoring some common sense to this issue.

 

Once again, we are reminded of how critically important judicial appointments are.  If the 2016 election had turned out differently, Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump, would have filled three vacancies on the Supreme Court, and today’s ruling would have been 6-to-3 against religious freedom.

 

 

 

A Challenge To Churches

 

While today was a good day for religious freedom in America, the fact remains that religious liberty is under tremendous assault.  There are literal attacks taking place against churches all over America.  You can see it here.

 

These hateful attacks are being carried out by radical leftists, many of whom are pro-abortion advocates demanding a “right” to kill innocent babies in the womb.  So, it’s not hyperbole to say that the left hates religion (Christianity in particular), and that the left is attacking churches.  It is!

 

As we have noted, Jane’s Revenge, an extreme pro-abortion domestic terrorist group, is vowing a “Night of Rage” against America whenever the Supreme Court releases its final decision in the Dobbs case.  Dozens of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers have already been attacked.  You can see it here.

 

Let’s be absolutely clear about this:  These attacks are hate crimes.  They are targeting centers that help women in need and people who are trying to save innocent babies. 

 

It’s really not surprising that the pro-abortion left is prone to violence because the act of abortion itself is an act of extreme violence against the most innocent among us. 

 

If there had been dozens of attacks against centers that catered to women in any other situation, it would be 24/7 national news.  All the talking heads on the cable news networks would have their hair on fire.  The president of the United States and the attorney general would not hesitate to condemn it.

 

Men and women of faith must step up!  We cannot be silent in the face of such threats.  The early church faced far worse, as the underground church does today in many Islamic and Marxist nations. 

 

I recently discussed this threat and the challenge to the church with our friends at American Family Radio.  You can listen to the whole interview, which starts at the 18:00 minute mark or jump to the 24:00 minute mark where I am asked about the responsibility of church leaders during such a time as this. 

 

 

 

Pray For America

 

In stark contrast to the left’s campaign of hate and domestic terrorism, I want to urge every reader of this daily report to join me in prayer for America.  You will have an incredible opportunity to do that next Friday, June 30th. 

 

Our friends at Hamilton Flourishing are hosting a nationwide solemn assembly of prayer for America.  Click here to learn more.  If you are in the Chattanooga area you can attend in person.  But everyone can join in virtually.  Attendance is free, but you must first register online.

 

 

 

CRT At West Point

 

Parents and taxpayers all over America were furious to discover that so-called “critical race theory” is being taught in our elementary and secondary schools.  I call CRT the anti-MLK curriculum.  Martin Luther King’s dream was an America where we are judged by the content of our character, not the color of our skin. 

 

But critical race theory is obsessed with race.  It actually increases racism by demonizing white people as hopeless bigots.  It exploits black Americans by telling them that they have no chance to succeed because America is systemically racist. 

 

It’s hard to imagine anything worse than demoralizing little children as being either oppressors or the oppressed.  But maybe now we have something worse. 

 

Our friends at Judicial Watch have just confirmed that critical race theory is being taught at West Point.  This news is literally a threat to our national security. 

 

The military molds men and women of all races into cohesive battle units.  This radical dogma divides Americans into tribes. 

 

President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning critical race theory throughout the federal government.  But one of Joe Biden’s first acts as president was to repeal Trump’s commonsense, pro-America order.

 

 

 

The Fall Of Biden

 

As I’m sure you saw over the weekend, President Biden had an unfortunate fall, oddly after he stopped his bike.  Unfortunately, it didn’t knock any sense into him. 

 

Yesterday, he was asked by reporters about the ongoing crisis of record gas prices.  Biden answered, “We have a chance here to make a fundamental turn toward renewable energy and electric vehicles.”  He also refused to sit down with the leaders of oil and gas companies.

 

Can you be more tone deaf?!  Once again, your pain at the pump is Joe Biden’s plan.

 

The overwhelming majority of Americans cannot afford an electric car!  And even if we magically did put an electric car in every garage, our electricity grid -- powered by coal, natural gas and a few nuclear plants -- could not support the massive increase in demand.

 

Every day someone in the Biden Administration says something that shows how ideology drives everything they do, no matter how much suffering it causes the American people.

 

“Climate Czar” John Kerry flatly rejected the idea that we needed to develop more of our own domestic resources to reduce the price of gasoline. "No, we don't," he said. "We absolutely don't.  And we have to prevent a false narrative from entering into this." 

 

The only false narrative here is Biden’s false narrative that you can replace oil and gas with nothing.  I’m not opposed to alternative sources of energy.  But we are many decades away from alternatives ruling the day.  Wind and solar cannot get you to work, cannot get your kids to school, and cannot power the American economy. 

 

But the Biden Administration continues to demand the closure of coal plants, attacks natural gas, and the radical left blocks the construction of new nuclear plants.  Meanwhile, communist China is essentially opening a new coal plant every week.