In today’s News:
Nevada church seeks equal treatment
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a church filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme court yesterday that asks it to declare Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s coronavirus restrictions on churches unconstitutional. For months, Sisolak allowed casinos to operate at 50 percent capacity while capping churches at 50 people. That meant a casino with capacity for 2,000 could host 1,000 gamblers, while a church with the same capacity could welcome only 50 worshipers. Although the governor’s newest order increased the cap, it continues the unequal treatment by allowing casinos and other secular establishments to operate at 50 percent capacity with no cap. A procedural rule allows Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley in rural Lyon County to ask the high court to weigh in even while its lawsuit moves forward at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit; the ordinary process could result in the church being subject to unconstitutional gathering restrictions for many additional months.
Number of Christian voters declines
The share of registered voters in the United States who say they are Christian has declined by about 15 percent since 2008 while the number of religiously unaffiliated voters has nearly doubled, Pew Research Center data suggests. Pew drew the data from a balanced survey of more than 360,000 registered voters surveyed over a 25-year span that include over 12,000 voters questioned in 2018 and 2019. The data indicate that 64 percent of all registered voters surveyed in 2019 self-identified as Christian. That figure is down from 79 percent of registered voters surveyed in 2008 who identified themselves as followers of Christ. The study shows that the decline in registered Christian voters is most stark in the Democratic Party. In 2008, 73 percent of registered democrats identified as Christian. But by 2019, only 52 percent of Democrat voters said the same. Registered Republican voters have seemingly moved away from God at a slower rate, dropping from 87 percent Christian in 2008 to 79 percent Christian in 2019. In comparison, the number of religiously unaffiliated voters has almost doubled from 15 percent to 28 percent in the same years.
‘Jesus’ no, ‘Black Lives Matter’ yes
A Mississippi elementary school that allowed students to wear “Black Lives Matter” masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic ordered a third-grade girl to remove her “Jesus Loves Me” mask. On Monday, Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit defending her First Amendment rights. The third-grade pupil, Lydia Booth, aimed to peacefully share her Christian faith by wearing the “Jesus Lvoes Me” mask. She wore the mask without disruption or incident on Oct. 13, but the principal at her school demanded she remove and replace it. Two days later, Simpson County School District administrators announced a policy prohibiting masks that are “political, religious, sexual or inappropriate symbols, gestures or statements that may be offensive, disruptive or deemed distractive to the school environment.” According to the lawsuit, the school has allowed students to wear masks with the logos of local sports teams or even the political slogan “Black Lives Matter.”
