The resolution strongly condemns the Kawel massacre and calls on the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU to “pay particular attention to the deteriorating situation of Christians and all persecuted religious communities in Nigeria. The resolution also calls on the Nigerian authorities to prosecute those responsible for attacks, to “strengthen both counterterrorism operations against armed militants, particularly in the Middle Belt region, and efforts to counter Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province”, and to improve early-warning systems and adequately address the situation of internally displaced persons.
The resolution strongly condemns the Kawel massacre and calls on the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU to “pay particular attention to the deteriorating situation of Christians and all persecuted religious communities in Nigeria. The resolution also calls on the Nigerian authorities to prosecute those responsible for attacks, to “strengthen both counterterrorism operations against armed militants, particularly in the Middle Belt region, and efforts to counter Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province”, and to improve early-warning systems and adequately address the situation of internally displaced persons.
The resolution strongly condemns the Kawel massacre and calls on the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU to “pay particular attention to the deteriorating situation of Christians and all persecuted religious communities in Nigeria. The resolution also calls on the Nigerian authorities to prosecute those responsible for attacks, to “strengthen both counterterrorism operations against armed militants, particularly in the Middle Belt region, and efforts to counter Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province”, and to improve early-warning systems and adequately address the situation of internally displaced persons.
In a Facebook post Tuesday, Franklin Graham thanked President Donald Trump for his role in the release of imprisoned Christian pastor Ezra Jin Mingri—founder of an underground church in China—who had been detained for 266 days. Jin, 57, was released and reunited with his wife and daughter in Los Angeles Friday, roughly two months after Trump pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping to free him during a U.S.-China summit in Beijing. Jin was arrested Oct. 11 after Chinese officials raided his home in Beihai, Guangxi Province, the previous evening and conducted an all-night search. He was charged with “illegally using information networks,” according to The New York Times.
Steven Kefas, the OFRA senior research analyst who authored the article centered on captivity in Nigeria, says “[t]he field research reveals a lesser value is assigned to a Christian life. From the moment of capture, Muslim and Christian hostages enter different realities. It is not about individual captors. It is a system—consistent across multiple states, armed groups, and multiple years of survivor testimony.”
“The whole call of Christ is one of transformation—not condemnation, but renewal. Christians believe that God speaks into every part of our lives, reshaping our identity, our desires, and our direction. When we fall in love with Jesus, we fall in love with His words and the moral code He sets for our life. His blood was shed for our sins. “Under this bill, ordinary Christian life could be recast as something dangerous.”
Every sitting day in WA’s Parliament, before the business of the state begins, the Speaker reads the Lord’s Prayer. It is a short, simple act. And right now, there is a serious push to end it. Labor MP Dave Kelly MLA has submitted to the Procedure and Privileges Committee that the prayer is outdated and should be replaced with a moment of silent reflection. He claims it makes Parliament more “inclusive.” What he’s actually proposing is that we quietly erase one of the most significant threads running through the foundation of Australian democratic life.
A North Carolina man was taken into custody outside a church after police say he was found with an arsenal of weapons, including crossbows, flamethrowers, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
It started Sunday when High Point police received a 911 call reporting an “armed person sitting in the parking lot” at Wesley Memorial Church in High Point. The caller said William S. Milliken III, 44, was wearing camouflage and appeared to be armed.
Suleiman Khalil is the former mayor of Sadad, one of the world’s oldest Christian towns. On Feb. 8, forces belonging to the Syrian Transitional Government arrested Khalil at his home and have held him without formal charges, a right to a lawyer, medical care, and access to biblical resources. His family has been left without communication as to the state of his health, leaving them to believe that he is being tortured.
“No government should single out views they don’t like for disfavored treatment,” said ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart, who argued before the 8th Circuit on behalf of the counselors in May. “The Kansas City and Jackson County ordinances allow counselors to push kids down the dangerous path of gender transition, often leading to harmful drugs and surgeries, but they forbid counselors like Wyatt and Pamela from talking with kids to help them accept their bodies—even when that is the client’s express goal or the reason they seek the counselors’ advice. This is precisely what the U.S. Supreme Court so recently explained isn’t acceptable under the First Amendment.”
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear the case of a devout Orthodox Jew suing the city of University Heights, Ohio, after officials required him to obtain a permit to pray in his home with a small group of friends. Lower federal courts threw out his lawsuit and said he needed to finish the permitting process before vindicating his constitutional rights.
Two former Alaskan flight attendants who filed a lawsuit after they were fired for expressing their faith-based opinions could likely find a jury to rule in their favor, an appellate court decided. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit maintained that a jury trial may find sufficient evidence to rule that Alaska Airlines had discriminated against the employees’ Christian faith, First Liberty Institute, which is representing the flight attendants, announced in a press release.
As long as Christian Concern has existed, we’ve been defending the freedom of people to receive prayer and/or counselling to help them live in line with the body God gave them: male or female, with sexual attractions and behaviours that match how they are made. We stood by people like Lesley Pilkington and Mike Davidson when virtually no other public figure or organisation would defend them. When Theresa May and Boris Johnson first pushed plans for ‘conversion therapy’ bans, few stood with us to highlight the damage that such a ban would cause. Things have changed.
Although prayer has been preserved at a federal level (in both the House of Representatives and the Senate), individual States are facing ongoing petitions from members determined to see Christian prayer eradicated. This has already happened in the Australian Capital Territory (the location of the nation’s capital city, Canberra). In the Legislative Assembly, the rule in effect is: “Members, at the beginning of this sitting of the Assembly, I would ask you to stand in silence and pray or reflect on our responsibilities to the people of the Australian Capital Territory.” Similar calls are now being made in Australia’s most western State, appropriately called Western Australia. In the name of inclusivity, they want Christian prayer excluded with one person claiming it was “no longer appropriate.”
Since religious freedom has been a hot-button social issue and is more and more frequently covered in secular and Christian news media outlets, we sometimes are asked these questions. Does the Bible address religious freedom, and, if so, what does it say and where? The Apostle Paul (and his traveling companions on various mission trips) is perhaps the most notable example of a biblical figure who suffered religious persecution and also on occasion stood up for his religious liberty. It is interesting that Paul did so in a government that had some similarities to Western nations.
“Luke’s case should concern everyone,” Williams said. “It exposes how ‘inclusivity’ training within the police has, in practice, become a vehicle for enforcing a narrow ideological orthodoxy, where only approved views are permitted and lawful questioning is punished.” Williams continued, saying that the “message this sends is chilling: that Islam and prevailing secular orthodoxy is now treated as beyond question, while Christians and others are subjected to disproportionate scrutiny and sanction simply for asking reasonable questions during training.”
In a letter informing Manfred that the Justice Department was referring MLB to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for investigation, Dhillon wrote: “The three players expressed their opposition to MLB's pro-Pride orthodoxy. The Civil Rights Act prohibits MLB and its franchises from unreasonably burdening the rights of players with religious objections to serving as the League's vehicle for pro-Pride messages.
In spite of America’s founding by people in search of religious freedom, modern critics claim having “In God We Trust” as the national motto goes against the very reason for the founding. However, the courts have made clear that “In God We Trust” is not a government establishment of religion. The term is deeply rooted in history and tradition. We are a people who have confidently placed our trust in God from the very beginning.
These aren’t abstract numbers, OIDAC Europe concludes, but vivid pictures of believers struggling to live out their faith without penalty. A café forced to shutter after relentless harassment. Worship disrupted by violence. These recorded cases reflect “a broader pattern repeatedly documented by OIDAC Europe in recent years, namely the pressure faced by Christian individuals and organisations that publicly uphold traditional Christian beliefs and values.”
As society drifts further from biblical foundations, Christian convictions are often portrayed as harmful, divisive, or intolerant. What previous generations considered religious freedom is increasingly being reframed as a potential threat to social harmony. The concern is not merely that Christianity is unpopular. The concern is that biblical faith is being treated as something that must be regulated. Many institutions that once championed freedom of thought now embrace a new form of tolerance that celebrates nearly every worldview except biblical exclusivity.
Around 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 14, communist authorities raided Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, and arrested dozens of believers. Roughly 30 SWAT officers and another 60 police officers reportedly entered the hotel conference room where the church had gathered for worship, recorded the names of those in attendance, and forcibly removed numerous believers from the building. Three believers were also injured during the raid.
Through the use of targeted examples, overreach and ambiguously drafted legislation and booklets, Victorian faith leaders and parents now find themselves the victims of arbitrary limitations that permit the government a place at the dinner table of families that need to have important discussions regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. A conversation which, if led by the clear teachings of the Bible, will only lead to one conclusion. Although the Victorian Government has attempted to grant clear concessions to parents to raise their children according to Biblical values, the undeniable conclusion is that there are limitations as to what the government will accept.
St. Paul City Attorney Irene Kao said that her office would not charge former CNN journalist Don Lemon and the protestors involved in a planned disruption at Cities Church. On Jan. 18, dozens of protestors interrupted a Sunday morning church service, stopping the pastor from opening the service with prayer while shouting anti-ICE agent chants, and screaming in church members’ faces. The protestors claimed that one of the pastors was an ICE agent.
“In the Supreme Court’s 8-1 decision in Chiles v. Salazar, they made it clear that government cannot censor voluntary conversations directed at the client’s goals,” Frampton told Decision. “Kids deserve real help affirming that their bodies are not a mistake and that they are wonderfully made.”
Over the past few years, I have spoken with countless believers who feel increasingly hesitant to express their faith openly. Teachers are unsure what they can say in the classroom. Healthcare workers worry about the consequences of acting according to their conscience. Employees feel pressure to keep their beliefs private in the workplace. Parents are concerned about the values being promoted in schools and public institutions. Perhaps the most significant finding is not that Christians are facing challenges. Jesus told us to expect opposition. Rather, it is that many believers are quietly withdrawing from public life. They are self-censoring.
The three men have continued to request Bibles to continue their studies and build their faith while they face terrible conditions. One of the men’s wives filed a complaint against the prison, noting that its own regulations allow detainees to receive reading materials from relatives after inspection.
“Censorship is one of the greatest existential threats to today’s democracies in Europe. You do not need to agree with my beliefs to see the danger of criminalizing peaceful speech. When the state controls which ideas and beliefs may be expressed, democracy becomes fragile. My case reveals where this path can lead. My experience in Finland has shown me that laws which criminalize speech have a very real cost not only to individuals, but also society at large. They encourage law-abiding citizens to censor their speech, and deprive wider society of conversations of critical importance."
“God is still sovereign, still calling people to Himself, and still able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. The cultural battles matter—Christians must engage. But we fight not as those who have only earthly weapons. We contend, knowing that the Gospel remains ‘the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,’” she said, quoting Romans 1:16. “Ultimately, the tide will turn not merely through better policies or political victories, but through faithful witness, fervent prayer and the transforming power of Christ at work in human hearts.”
Imagine the government made it a crime to say “Merry Christmas” on public streets, but people could still offer non-religious season’s greetings. This war on Christmas would infringe the First Amendment three times over. First, the law prohibits a message based on its content, a violation of the Freedom of Speech Clause. Second, the law targets the sincerely held religious beliefs of only one faith—Christians—in violation of the Free Exercise of Religion Clause. And third, the law favors secularism over faith, in violation of the Establishment Clause.
An Illinois grade school has banned prayers at graduation ceremonies. Last year, Lisbon Grade School had invited a local youth ministry leader to deliver an invocation and a benediction for eighth graders. The Freedom From Religion Foundation got wind of the prayers and fired off a threatening letter to the school district
Christian persecution monitors have also warned that pastors and Christian community workers in Mexico are often targeted because their ministry, anti-drug work, and youth outreach can undermine cartel control. Open Doors says criminal violence remains a major danger for Mexican Christians, particularly church leaders who confront evil with good in cartel-dominated areas. Yet even amid violence and intimidation, the evangelical witness in Mexico continues to grow.
Months after protesters stormed a Minnesota church, turning a sacred space into a scene of chaos, Louisiana is taking decisive action to shield its own congregations from similar threats. Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has signed two bills designed to safeguard the sanctity of worship and ensure that prayer and reflection are not interrupted by intimidation or disorder. “In Louisiana,” said Landry, “we are committed to maintaining the right to worship without interference, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to safeguarding religious liberty. With the signing of these two bills, those protections just became stronger.”
In America, citizens should not lose access to banking services, digital platforms, public credibility, or physical safety because they believe in biblical teaching on marriage and human sexuality. When government-regulated institutions can apply ideological labels in a coordinated fashion to silence, isolate, or financially cripple opponents, we allow political targeting by proxy, and freedom is at risk. SPLC was the hub, but there were many spokes that made up this wheel designed to crush Christians and conservatives — the congressional inquiry should not stop with SPLC.
Residents described Oyedokun as a committed teacher and Christian who served his community with dedication. Church leaders and civil society groups have called for the release of the abducted victims and for the arrest of those responsible. Local officials and education advocates said the attack has renewed concerns about the security of schools in parts of Southwest Nigeria, where kidnappings for ransom have become more frequent in recent years.
ADF legal counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole described the police’s decision to drop the November charges as a “vindication” of Moodley’s conduct. He said the case is a symptom of a wider pattern and called on Parliament to take action. “The war of attrition against free speech in the U.K., demonstrated in Pastor Dia’s case, must end,” Igunnubole said. “Censorial laws need to be repealed urgently, and stronger protections, including a Free Speech Bill, are needed to reverse the growing culture of censorship within law enforcement.” Meanwhile, Moodley will continue expressing his faith in the public square. “I will continue to share my faith publicly, undeterred by the police’s censorship and the threats and violence I have faced, and will stand for free speech not just for myself, but for the rights of all people in the U.K.”