Anne Reiner

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Representatives from nine state legislatures have announced the formation of state-level religious freedom caucuses in a new nationwide effort to combat religious discrimination. "There is a renewed interest in religious freedom in the country, and this growing attention is bringing together people of all religious faiths and political ideologies," Tim Schultz of the American Religious Freedom Program (ARFP) said during a teleconference Oct. 9. "Freedom of religion is a right that all lawmakers, and this includes state legislators, have a role in protecting and defending. "This is not an issue just for the courts," Schultz noted. With the assistance of a bipartisan group of more than 120 lawmakers -- 16 were present for the teleconference -- ARFP plans to inaugurate religious freedom caucuses in all 50 states by the end of 2013. The current states with caucuses are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The formation of these caucuses is based on two ideas, Schultz said: 1) Religious freedom is important to the majority of Americans from all faiths, and these individuals oppose "state-sponsored injury to religion" and 2) the free exercise of religion is a constitutional right that is foundational to all freedoms and must be protected by state lawmakers. Schultz -- state policy director for the AFRP, which is an initiative of the Washington-based Ethics and Public Policy Center -- explained how the caucuses will function: -- Even though these are the first state caucuses with a religious freedom agenda, they will work in a manner similar to other legislative caucuses. -- Each caucus will consist of lawmakers who come together to discuss various public policy issues pertaining to freedom of religion both in their state and throughout the country. -- There will be a multi-state information-sharing component to connect the caucuses across the country. This will help build legislative expertise beyond that of a single caucus in one state capital. State Rep. Stephen Precourt of Florida said during the teleconference, "Religious freedom caucuses -- that is, legislators of all political and religious affiliations working together ...

WASHINGTON (BP) -- "Go to war on student debt." R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, voiced the exhortation during the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee in mid-September. "If your concern is to get young people into the churches or on the mission fields, the greatest enemy other than Satan himself is educational debt," Mohler said, "because there are far too many young people graduating who are slaves to that debt when they need to be unfettered slaves to Christ." [QUOTE@left@180="You feel like when you start after college you're not starting fresh and clean, you're starting, like, way in the negative."
-- Chelsea Weikart]Chris Gacek of the Family Research Council, in a panel discussion hosted by the FRC in late September, likewise underscored the specter of collegians sinking into debt they may require a lifetime to repay. "It's time for us all to get real about college education and what it is, what it entails and what it's going to cost us and what it produces," Gacek said. Student loan debt, which surpassed $1 trillion in late 2011, surpassed credit card debt ($975.7 billion) in 2008 as the leading cause of debt in the United States. While credit card debt is decreasing, student loan debt continues to rise, with the average student amassing $25,250 in educational loans, according to the nonprofit Project on Student Debt. Unlike credit card debt, which can be refinanced or wiped out with bankruptcy, student loans will not go away. Even in bankruptcy, the individual is expected to repay his or her loan. During the FRC panel discussion, college debt experts encouraged students to make college choices in cooperation with their parents, talk about college goals and reduce spending before and during college. The student debt problem begins when students and families do not prepare for college spending, said panelist Sophia Ephraim, a Dave Ramsey-certified financial counselor and founder of Haven Financial Counseling Services in Laurel, Md.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- "Go to war on student debt." R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, voiced the exhortation during the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee in mid-September. "If your concern is to get young people into the churches or on the mission fields, the greatest enemy other than Satan himself is educational debt," Mohler said, "because there are far too many young people graduating who are slaves to that debt when they need to be unfettered slaves to Christ." [QUOTE@left@180="You feel like when you start after college you're not starting fresh and clean, you're starting, like, way in the negative."
-- Chelsea Weikart]Chris Gacek of the Family Research Council, in a panel discussion hosted by the FRC in late September, likewise underscored the specter of collegians sinking into debt they may require a lifetime to repay. "It's time for us all to get real about college education and what it is, what it entails and what it's going to cost us and what it produces," Gacek said. Student loan debt, which surpassed $1 trillion in late 2011, surpassed credit card debt ($975.7 billion) in 2008 as the leading cause of debt in the United States. While credit card debt is decreasing, student loan debt continues to rise, with the average student amassing $25,250 in educational loans, according to the nonprofit Project on Student Debt. Unlike credit card debt, which can be refinanced or wiped out with bankruptcy, student loans will not go away. Even in bankruptcy, the individual is expected to repay his or her loan. During the FRC panel discussion, college debt experts encouraged students to make college choices in cooperation with their parents, talk about college goals and reduce spending before and during college. The student debt problem begins when students and families do not prepare for college spending, said panelist Sophia Ephraim, a Dave Ramsey-certified financial counselor and founder of Haven Financial Counseling Services in Laurel, Md.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The United States must ration health care for the elderly through the use of "death panels," a former Obama administration adviser is saying, but other experts disagree.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The United States must ration health care for the elderly through the use of "death panels," a former Obama administration adviser is saying, but other experts disagree.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- President Obama has issued an executive order to strengthen the United States' zero-tolerance policy against human trafficking through government contractors and organizations.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- President Obama has issued an executive order to strengthen the United States' zero-tolerance policy against human trafficking through government contractors and organizations.

WASHINGTON (BP) — Cohabitating couples are 30 to 50 percent less likely to have successful marriages, statistics show. “We now know unequivocally that cohabitation doesn’t work. Churches — the gatekeepers of weddings — can delay no longer. They must educate, equip and elevate marriage to the position it deserves,” Mike McManus wrote in his book […]

WASHINGTON (BP) — Cohabitating couples are 30 to 50 percent less likely to have successful marriages, statistics show. “We now know unequivocally that cohabitation doesn’t work. Churches — the gatekeepers of weddings — can delay no longer. They must educate, equip and elevate marriage to the position it deserves,” Mike McManus wrote in his book […]

[QUOTE@right@200="[W]hen government gives you a right, they can take that right away."
-– Rick Santorum] WASHINGTON (BP) -- American politics needs more of God, not less, a pro-family leader asserted during the three-day Values Voter Summit in Washington.