While freedom of expression is a fundamental human right in liberal democracies, the right to express one’s opinion can become complex when expressing one’s views clashes with the religious and cultural beliefs of others and when this rhetoric veers into hate speech.
Religion & Beliefs
Court Orders Affirmative Action for Religious Workers, at Other Employees’ Expense
Religious employees may have an easier time getting their companies to accommodate requests. But while on the surface it may seem businesses will bear the costs of doing so, other employees may ultimately pay for much of the burden of accommodation.
Pat Robertson: What We Endured
Televangelist Pat Robertson, who died at the age of 93 on June 8, was a familiar face on television for many conservative Christians, and wielded enormous influence on American politics.
A Former Nun’s Account of Abuse and Brainwashing
“Any thoughts of escaping to a more natural life was regarded as being sinful. The idea of being unfaithful to your vocation was a step on the way to hell. It would be a mortal sin.” So spoke the author’s mother, 15 when she entered a convent in Ireland in 1950 and 34 by the time she finally managed to leave.
180 Palm Coast-Area Muslims and Mayor Alfin Celebrate End of Ramadan on 2nd Anniversary of Bunnell Islamic Center
Palm Coast and Flagler County’s fast-growing Muslim community marked Eid-el-Fitr, the celebratory end of Ramadan, with Mayor David Alfin today at the Palm Coast Community Center and the anniversary of the emergence of an Islamic Center from a founding meeting at Holland Park.
No Overt Prayers: Palm Coast Council Will Stick With Moment of Silence at Meetings to Avoid Theatrics
Rejecting exhortations from nearly two dozen people, there will be no overt, vocal prayer at Palm Coast City Council meetings, though room for prayer in all forms and for all creeds will continue, as it always has, for individuals who choose to pray, whether overtly before meetings or quietly during meetings or during the moment of silence.
‘Salam, Ramadan Mubarak!’: 4 Ways Schools Can Bring Ramadan Into the Classroom
As Muslims begin observing Ramadan, it’s a good time to consider the importance of building a strong sense of belonging at school. Affirming the identities of Muslim students and all minoritized and racialized learners is a way of creating a positive classroom culture.
Palm Coast Council’s Proposed Prayer Policy Draws Out Opponents, Who Urge Silence
A few days after Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko called a constituent a “piece of crap” for allegedly being an atheist and questioning the council’s proposed invocation policy, several people addressed the council this morning, mostly to recommend silence over invocations.
Starting Palm Coast Council Meetings with ‘Invocation’ Would Be Unnecessarily Divisive
At a time when communities are divided enough by party, ideology, color and sometimes geography, the Palm Coast City Council’s proposal to start its meetings with a prayer, or invocation would add yet more divisiveness, when the council should be celebrating residents’ shared humanity and basic decency.
In Riveting Discussion on Prayers at Meetings, Palm Coast Council Defers to ‘Neutral’ Caution
The Palm Coast council discussed a proposed prayer policy today in what turned into an unusually absorbing and equally civil hourlong seminar on the First Amendment, the limits of expressions of belief in government settings, and the unintended and potentially offensive consequences of an open-invocation policy.