NEW YEAR, NEW TRIAL Texas Churches Will Get Their Day in Court in Battle Over City’s Unlawful “Holy Water” Tax Scheme

 

FIRST LOOK Religious Schools in KY Get a Victory with Governor’s New Executive Order As we kick off 2021, it appears that KY Governor Beshear is seeing the light in regards to the constitutional right of religious schools to practice their faith through religious education. In a victory for religious freedom, the Governor’s new executive order gives faith-based schools the freedom to safely resume in-person classes without discriminatory government interference. Jorge Gomez Senior Writer • 4 min read + video NEW YEAR, NEW TRIAL Texas Churches Will Get Their Day in Court in Battle Over City’s Unlawful “Holy Water” Tax Scheme First Liberty clients Magnolia Bible Church, Magnolia’s First Baptist Church and Believers Fellowship are starting off the New Year with some good news. A Texas state appellate court recently issued a decision that granted these three houses of worship an opportunity to argue their case and stop City of Magnolia officials from imposing a cleverly-disguised “tax” on churches and other tax-exempt nonprofits. Jorge Gomez Senior Writer • 5 min read IMPACT OF JUDGES NATIONWIDE Victories Across All Levels of Federal Judiciary Signal a Resurgence of Religious Freedom in 2021 Entering this New Year, we can be hopeful and encouraged in this Essential Fight for our First Freedom, as we’ve seen victories overturning unconstitutional lockdown mandates at every single level of our nation’s federal courts-from the Supreme Court, to the Circuit Courts of Appeals and the lower District Courts. Jorge Gomez Senior Writer • 6 min read TEAM CHAPLAIN CANCELED FFRF’s Attack on College Football Prayer Shows Why a Victory in Coach Kennedy’s Case is Essential Recently, the FFRF attacked Boise State’s team chaplain for asking players to voluntarily gather together in prayer after a hard-fought game against BYU. Attacks on religious freedom in sports are nothing new, as First Liberty continues to fight on behalf of Coach Kennedy, who was also canceled—i.e. fired—for silently praying on the 50-yard line. Jorge Gomez & Marlee Tomlinson Contributing Writers • 5 min read   GET LEGAL HELP GIVE Sent by First Liberty Institute 2001 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 1600 • Plano, TX 75075 • 972-941-4444