Freedom of Religion Archives - Universal Life Church Monastery Blog

Is Sunday Only For the Lord? NJ Town Sues Mall for Opening on the Sabbath

September 4th, 2025

Bergen County, New Jersey, one of the few places left in the US with "blue laws" restricting commerce on Sundays, is facing off with a popular mall which refuses to close. Should Sunday shopping bans still exist?

Political & Religious Controversy 103 Comments

Rastafarian Prisoner Whose Head Was Forcibly Shaved Appeals to Supreme Court

May 31st, 2024

Damon Landor, a Rastafarian man with dreadlocks down to his knees, says his religious freedom was violated when his dreadlocks were shaved in prison per the jail's grooming policy.

Political & Religious Controversy 95 Comments

Satanic Holiday Display Destroyed, Beheaded in Iowa Capitol

December 18th, 2023

A holiday display of Baphomet in the Iowa capitol building was recently destroyed by a Christian man who says he found the display offensive. Now, debate is raging over how far freedom of speech and religion should go.

Political & Religious Controversy 167 Comments

Judge Rules City Can't Ban Anti-LGBTQ Vendor From Farmer's Market

August 28th, 2023

First Amendment win or blatant anti-LGBTQ discrimination? A Michigan vendor banned from selling his wares at a local farmer's market over his anti-LGBTQ views was just reinstated after a lengthy legal battle.

LGBTQ & Human Rights 427 Comments

Aztec Dancers Allege Religious Discrimination After Tribal Feathers Seized at Border

August 10th, 2023

A group of Aztec dancers say they are the victims of religious discrimination by U.S. border agents, who seized some 1,500 feathers from them under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Political & Religious Controversy 68 Comments

Is This the Future? More Businesses Refusing to Serve LGBTQ Customers

July 13th, 2023

Following a recent Supreme Court ruling which granted an evangelical wedding vendor the legal right to turn down same-sex couples, some businesses have been emboldened to deny service to LGBTQ customers.

LGBTQ & Human Rights 200 Comments

Native American Student Forced to Remove Tribal Feather at Graduation, Lawsuit Alleges

June 1st, 2023

A Native American student in Oklahoma alleges that she was denied the right to wear a sacred eagle plume on her graduation cap. Now she's suing her former school, alleging her religious freedom was violated.

Political & Religious Controversy 57 Comments

School District Bans Bible Verse From Teacher's Email Signature

April 7th, 2023

A public school teacher in Virginia's Loudoun County was told by administration to remove a Bible quote from her email signature. Now she's fighting back, arguing that her religious freedom was violated by the request.

Political & Religious Controversy 99 Comments

Missouri Clergy Unite to Oppose State's Abortion Restrictions

January 26th, 2023

An interfaith group is challenging Missouri's strict anti-abortion law, arguing that lawmakers were blatantly imposing an evangelical Christian view of life and conception when passing the law.

Political & Religious Controversy 74 Comments

Expelling Satan: Parents Want Metalhead High School Principal Fired

October 15th, 2021

A high school principal is under fire from concerned parents, all because she loves the metal band Iron Maiden and posed with a handmade '666' sign. Students love her, but some parents think she's downright demonic.

Pagan & Wiccan 51 Comments

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