Faith

Episcopal Church U.S. leader sticks to gay marriage stand

Episcopal Church U.S. leader sticks to gay marriage stand

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said Friday the U.S. Episcopal Church will not roll back its acceptance of gay marriage despite sanctions imposed this week by Anglican leaders.

In a phone interview from England, where he attended the gathering of top Anglican archbishops, Curry said he told his fellow leaders they should expect no change. The top Episcopal legislative body, called General Convention, last year voted overwhelmingly to authorize same-sex marriage ceremonies in church. In response, Anglican leaders Thursday stripped the Episcopal Church of any role in deciding doctrine or determining how the Anglican Communion operates for three years, effectively reducing the church to observer status in the 85 million-member global fellowship.

Religious freedom resource planned by Becket Fund
law

Religious freedom resource planned by Becket Fund

Kara Bettis

WASHINGTON – Each year, a presidential proclamation declares Jan. 16 a Religious Freedom Day, honoring a Virginia law written by Thomas Jefferson in 1786. 

The measure formed the basis for the religious freedom provision in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. To commemorate the 230th anniversary of the "Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom," The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit law firm, will set up Religious Freedom Restoration Act Central, a website resource to educate researchers, journalists and lawyers on a 1993 federal statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Americans celebrated the first Religious Freedom Day that same year.

Read More