California Lawmakers Advance Bill to Increase Penalties for Disrupting Worship Services

California Lawmakers Advance Bill to Increase Penalties for Disrupting Worship Services

California legislators are considering new measures aimed at strengthening legal protections for churches and other houses of worship in response to a series of disruptions reported both within the state and across the country. Senate Bill 1070, authored by state Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, in partnership with The American Council, seeks to amend California’s penal code provisions dealing with interference in religious gatherings.

HHS Invites Faith-Based Addiction Recovery Groups to Apply for Federal Funding

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is formally encouraging faith-based addiction recovery organizations to begin applying for federal funding, just days after Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced expanded eligibility for such groups. An official with HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) told The Christian Post that the agency is eager to collaborate with religious organizations in addressing the nation’s behavioral health crisis.
  • Oklahoma Board Rejects Jewish Charter School Proposal Following Court Ruling on Religious Schools
    Oklahoma education officials have declined to approve a proposal to establish what would have been the state’s first Jewish charter school, pointing to recent legal precedent involving a Catholic virtual charter school. On Monday, the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board voted to deny the application for Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School, a proposed religious public charter institution.
  • Strong Cross-Generational Support for Faith Themes in Film and Television, Survey Finds
    A new national study suggests that most Americans — regardless of age or political affiliation — are receptive to the inclusion of religious themes in movies and television. The 2026 Faith & Entertainment Index, produced by HarrisX in collaboration with the Faith & Media Initiative, surveyed more than 12,000 U.S. viewers and evaluated reactions to over 100 scenes drawn from television series and films.
  • Brownback Warns of Global Authoritarian Alliance Targeting Religious Freedom after IRF Summit
    At a joint Feb. 4 hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Africa and Western Hemisphere subcommittees in Washington, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback warned that a growing alliance of authoritarian states now views religious freedom as a threat to their control.
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  • Texas School District Investigates After Islamic Group Distributed Sharia-Promoting Materials on Campus

    A North Texas school district says a breakdown in protocol allowed an outside Muslim outreach group to distribute Islamic literature to students at a public high school, prompting an internal investigation and staff discipline. The issue surfaced after a student at Wylie East High School in the Dallas suburb of Wylie shared a video on social media alleging that Islamic materials — including a pamphlet promoting Sharia law — were distributed on campus.

  • Trump Says ‘Religion Is Coming Back’ as He Defends Religious Liberty Record at National Prayer Breakfast

    Donald Trump said “religion is coming back” in the United States while highlighting his administration’s record on religious liberty during remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Trump began his address by brushing aside questions about his personal faith, referencing remarks he made last year suggesting he might be “maybe not Heaven-bound,” and insisting those comments were intended as humor and taken out of context.

  • International Religious Freedom Summit Calls for Action Against Rising Religious Persecution

    The sixth annual International Religious Freedom Summit opened Monday with a call to intensify global advocacy for freedom of belief, as co-chairs warned that religious restrictions and persecution are rising worldwide even as the movement to defend conscience rights gains strength. Addressing hundreds of advocates, faith leaders and policy experts at the Washington Hilton, IRF Summit Co-Chair Katrina Lantos Swett, president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights, said the international relig

  • JD Vance Says Abortion Debate Is a Choice Between God and Paganism at March for Life

    Vice President JD Vance framed the abortion debate as a moral crossroads between faith and paganism during remarks at the 53rd annual March for Life rally in Washington, D.C. Addressing thousands of pro-life supporters gathered at the National Mall on Friday, Vance highlighted actions taken by the Trump administration that he said aligned with the movement’s goals.

  • Trump Admin Unveils Policy to Ease Burden on Foreign Religious Workers Affected by Immigration Backlog

    The Trump administration has introduced a policy change aimed at easing the strain on foreign religious workers who have been forced to leave the United States as they await permanent residency amid a growing immigration backlog. the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it had issued an interim final rule intended to streamline the return process for religious workers who either departed the U.S.

  • Virginia House and Senate Advance Abortion Rights Amendment as Catholic Bishops Sound Alarm

    Democrat-led lawmakers in Virginia have moved a proposed constitutional amendment one step closer to voter approval after clearing it through the state legislature. The proposal would amend the Bill of Rights in the Virginia Constitution to establish what it calls a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,”

  • U.S. Religious Decline Appears to Stall as Gen Z Shows Deeper Commitment

    Religious affiliation in the United States appears to have stabilized after years of steady decline, according to new analysis of data from the Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study conducted by Lifeway Research. The findings indicate that 62% of U.S. adults identify as Christian, while 28% report no religious affiliation and 8% belong to other faith traditions.

  • ‘Iran’s in Big Trouble,’ Trump Warns, Vowing U.S. Force if Crackdown Continues

    Iran is facing its most widespread unrest in more than a decade, as Donald Trump warned that the Islamic Republic is “in big trouble” and accused its leaders of losing control of major cities. Trump said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “is looking to go someplace,” citing Western intelligence assessments that suggest Khamenei and senior officials may be preparing escape options abroad by moving assets out of the country.
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