This has been the week of the long-awaited Iowa caucuses. Whatever your candidate's outcome, social conservatives are eager to ensure that whoever is serving in the White House one year from now is committed to appointing Supreme Court Justices and lower federal court judges who believe in the Constitution as a text with a defined meaning. They want someone who believes that unborn life has inherent value and should be protected by law, affirms marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and adheres to a philosophy of religious liberty that includes the right to live-out one's faith.
This is not too much to ask: These have been the mainstream convictions of Americans since before the Declaration. That they are under sustained attack is evidence that many of our fellow citizens in our now post-Christian culture require not just education but persuasion in the wisdom and benefit of these tenets of our founding. As Abraham Lincoln said in 1859, "The people are the rightful masters of both Congresses and courts - not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it."
The task described by Mr. Lincoln faces us with renewed urgency today. Let's work and pray to implement it.
Sincerely,
Robert F. Schwarzwalder, Jr.
Senior Vice-President
Family Research Council
P.S. Be sure to register for our upcoming lecture with the eminent historian George Nash on what Herbert Hoover could teach Barack Obama. The registration hyperlink here will connect you (a previous link sent to SoCon Review subscribers apparently did not connect for some).
Religious Liberty
“Free to Believe” –
- Christian High School Banned from Praying Over the Loudspeaker before State Championship Football Game – Liberty Institute
- Federal Court Weighs Practice of Christian Prayers at Meetings – Associated Press
- Texas Supreme Court rules cheerleaders can display Bible verses on banners – Fox News
International Religious freedom-
- In Prisoner Swap, Iran Frees American Pastor Saeed Abedini and Three Other American Hostages – David French, National Review
- Groundbreaking resolution calls ISIS mass murder genocide – Alliance Defending Freedom International
- Christian ‘Untouchables’ Planning Nationwide Rally in India – Veronica Neffinger, Christian Headlines
- New scorecard will grade lawmakers on support for persecuted minorities – Evan Wilt, World Magazine
Religious Liberty in the public square
- Foundation is on the wrong side of history and the law – Michael Berry, The Gazette
- Gay Rights Activist: Christians Shouldn’t Be Forced To Bake Pro-Gay Cakes – Casey Harper, The Stream
- Faith and the 2016 Campaign – Pew Research Study
- The Left’s Political Religion – James Ceaser, Weekly Standard
- American Culture and Potential Christian Suffering: How to Respond – John Piper, Desiring God
- The Rise Of The “God Gap” – Anne Pluta, Fivethirtyeight.com
Life
Abortion
- Calling March for Life ‘Small’ an Epic WashPost Double Standard – Katie Yoder, Media Research Center
- 5 Major Problems with Planned Parenthood's Lawsuit against the Center for Medical Progress – Marissa Poulson, Alliance Defending Freedom
- Liberty Counsel Reveals Truth Behind Pro-Life Grand Jury Indictment – Charisma News
- When Christians Should Be Single-Issue Voters – Joe Carter, The Gospel Coalition
- The Indictment of David Daleiden: The Culture of Death Shoots the Messenger – John Stonestreet, Breakpoint.org
- What Shall We Call the Unborn? – Kevin Deyoung, The Gospel Coalition
- Arkansas Board of Health Strikes “Death of Unborn Child” from Abortion Laws – Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
- The Obama Administration’s Attack on Roe v. Wade – Casey Mattox, Alliance Defending Freedom
- How China's One-Child Policy Led To Forced Abortions, 30 Million Bachelors – National Public Radio
Abstinence Education
- Parents, schools divided as sex-ed controversy erupts in Omaha – Associated Press
- On Teens Making Wise Decisions about Sex, Part 2 - John Rustin, North Carolina Family Policy Council
Adoption
- Here Are Five Things I Learned While Adopting My Two Children – Autumn Miles, The Blaze
- Florida: Adoption Changes Get Unanimous Senate Support – CBS News, Miami
- Couple finds true calling in adoptions, foster care – Marci Miller, Arizona Republic
Bioethics
- IVF: First genetically-modified human embryos “could be created in Britain within weeks” - Steve Connor, The Independent
- Genetic manipulation: Government warming to 3 parent babies – Lauren Neergaard, Associated Press
Healthcare conscience
- Beyond Obamacare: Respecting Conscience through Patient-Centered Health Care – Heritage Foundation panel
- Cost and conscience – why more Christians are ditching health insurance for this alternative – Matt Hadro, Catholic News Agency
Family
Marriage
- Can America’s Religious Traditions Strengthen Marriage?- Amber Lapp, Institute for Family Studies
- Colton Dixon and the “Craziness” of Saving Sex for Marriage – Trevin Wax, The Gospel Coalition
- Soul Mates: Religion, Sex, Love, and Marriage Among African Americans and Latinos - W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas H. Wolfinger, American Enterprise Institute
- What I’m doing to protect my kids from sexual abuse – Boz Tchividjian, Religion News Service
- Boys Need Their Moms – Tim Challies, The Gospel Coalition
- Teaching Your Kids About Racial Harmony – Jane Gilbert, Focus on the family
Human Sexuality (Homosexual/ gender issues)
- Transgenderism and Fairness to Female Athletes – John Stonestreet, Breakpoint
- 20-year-old Norwegian Believes She is a Cat: “I was born the wrong species” – Mark Hodges, LifesiteNews
- South Dakota Could Become First State to Stop Transgender Students From Using Opposite-Sex Bathrooms – Kelsey Harkness, Daily Signal
- Mennonite pastor convicted of helping woman the country rather than share custody of child with her former same-sex partner ordered to prison – Associated Press
- 50 Years of Sex Changes, Mental Disorders, and Too Many Suicides – Walt Heyer, The Public Discourse
Human Trafficking
- Federal Government Handed Immigrant Children Over to Human Traffickers – Joe Carter, Acton Institute
- Males Often Victims of Human Trafficking - Yoojin Cho, TimeWarnerNews/Charlotte, North Carolina
- FBI's new approach to crack down on Super Bowl sex trafficking – CBS News
Pornography
- U.S. Department of Justice Named A Top Facilitator of Sexual Exploitation – Dawn Hawkins, National Center on Sexual Exploitation
- FBI Ran Website Sharing Thousands of Child Porn Images – Brad Heath, USA Today
- The Porn Phenomenon: New Study Launched by Barna Group – David Kinnaman, The Barna Group
- Utah Senator Calls for Recognition of Pornography as “Public Health Hazard” – Thomas D. Williams, Breitbart Big Government
- Pornography Leads to Sexual Aggression, New Study Says – Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post
Welfare Reform
- With election in November, clock is ticking on welfare reform – Susan Ferrechio, Washington Examiner
- Liberal Distortions of Welfare Reform – Robert Cherry, RealClearPolicy