WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a sweeping First Amendment decision issued March 31, the United States Supreme Court removed a virtual gag on free speech which the state of Colorado had imposed on Christian counselors when talking to minors about their sexuality. In Chiles v. Salazar, the court held that Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy,” as applied to talk therapy by licensed counselors, is a content- and viewpoint-based restriction on speech that must satisfy strict scrutiny under … [Read more...]
EXPLAINER: Protecting children through the 2026 Chloe Cole Act
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Pathway added reporting at the end of this article, noting that Chloe Cole will speak at Hannibal-LaGrange University, March 25. See more below, or visit the HLGU website here. For many opponents of our nation’s cultural embrace of radical gender ideology, the past several months have been a welcomed reprieve from the madness and a return to truth. Once sworn into office, President Trump began repealing Biden-era policies that pushed gender ideology into every corner … [Read more...]
Protesting: How should churches respond?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Read the latest about the aftermath of the unexpected protest inside a church in St. Paul, Minn., here: "Bills criminalizing protests during worship services proceed through states" The Evangelical world was shocked on Jan. 18, 2026, when a group of roughly 30 protestors invaded Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., during a worship service. While Christians aren’t surprised when unbelievers sin, we were shocked to see the sacred space of religious worship attacked so blatantly. … [Read more...]
2000 Christians call for religious freedom protections amid rising violence in India
NEW DELHI (BP) – Two thousand Christians gathered in India in November to urge the government to protect religious freedoms as violence and legalized discrimination increase in the world’s most populous country. Representatives of more than 200 Christian denominations including evangelicals advocated for religious freedoms at the day-long National Christian Convention Nov. 29, spotlighting a 500 percent increase in targeted attacks against Christians from 2014-2024, religious persecution … [Read more...]
Amid incivility, reaffirm liberty of conscience
The assassination last month of Charlie Kirk brought many Americans face-to-face with a gruesome reality encountered all too often across the globe: namely, that a man might be killed simply for expressing what he believes to be true. “It would be a safe but sad bet that someone, somewhere in the world, is killing someone else at this very moment in the name of religion or ideology,” Os Guinness wrote in the first lines of his 2008 book, The Case for Civility. During the past century, … [Read more...]
U.S. Supreme Court case challenges gag rule on Christian counselors
Chiles v. Salazar could also resolve case on 'counseling censorship' in Jackson County, Mo. EDITOR'S NOTE: Mike and Jon Whitehead practice law in Lee’s Summit, Mo. Mike serves on the Board of Directors for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Mike and Jon volunteer as allied attorneys with ADF. The opinions in this article are their own. Washington, DC – On Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Chiles v. Salazar, a case that strikes at the heart of free speech, religious … [Read more...]
FIRST-PERSON: Hope for the violence that plagues us
EDITOR'S NOTE: Miles S. Mullin II, Ph.D., serves as acting president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). Mullin joined the ERLC in 2023 after serving as a leadership development strategist in the Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) church revitalization network, and previously as a professor and vice president at Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU). The last three days have reminded us, once again, of the frailty of human life in the … [Read more...]
Sex-abuse survivors in Texas, Missouri protected from non-disclosure agreements
AUSTIN, Texas (BP) – Texas and Missouri laws banning nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) in sexual abuse settlements took effect over the Labor Day weekend. The Texas law took effect Sept. 1, banning such clauses for sexual abuse survivors of all ages, following Missouri’s law that became effective Aug. 28 and is limited to minors. The laws also nullify previously signed NDAs, unless specifically upheld by a court. Such bans are now active in three states including Tennessee, where … [Read more...]
Christian baker asks SCOTUS to defend her right to uphold biblical values in work
WASHINGTON (BP) – California Christian baker Cathy Miller is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm her right to refuse to bake wedding cakes celebrating unions that violate the biblical definition of marriage. Miller, owner of Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, Calif., appealed Aug. 27 to the nation’s highest court ahead of its fall term that convenes Oct. 6. The appeal follows a May 29th California Supreme Court ruling that said Miller violated the civil rights of Eileen and Mireya … [Read more...]
Churches, religious broadcasters prevail in lawsuit challenging Johnson Amendment
WASHINGTON (BP) – Averaging just over 200 in Sunday worship, First Baptist Church draws a 10th of Waskom, Texas,—population 2,000—to its sanctuary when it praises the Lord each Sunday. But the small-town Southern Baptist Church carries a big stick, effectively challenging what it called an unequal application of the 71-year-old Johnson Amendment that prevented political comments from pulpits across the nation. The church was among four plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Internal … [Read more...]
FIRST-PERSON: Liberty for all – a Baptist distinctive
EDITOR'S NOTE: Sunday, July 6 is Religious Liberty Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention. As the echoes of Fourth of July fireworks fade and we turn our attention to the week ahead, Southern Baptists also will take a moment to celebrate a key freedom that Americans have long enjoyed and that Baptists have continually sought to defend. The Southern Baptist Convention’s 2025 calendar commemorates July 6 as Religious Liberty Sunday, a day on which we can celebrate religious liberty … [Read more...]
Religious liberty ‘the best blessing’ America has, Baptist immigrants say
NASHVILLE (BP) – For distributing the Bible and sharing the Gospel in the Soviet Union, Aleksei Kharlamov’s great-grandfather was sent to Siberia and never heard from again. His grandfather and father both were persecuted for being Baptist pastors. Growing up in post-Soviet Moscow, Kharlamov was called a cult member for being a Baptist. That family history enhances his love of America’s religious liberty. “This freedom makes this place so unique,” said Kharlamov, pastor of … [Read more...]
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