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Survey sets benchmarks to measure US commitment to First Amendment rights. Jayson Casper| Image: Mark Wilson / Staff / Getty Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo address the State Department s second religious freedom ministerial. Last year, American support for religious freedom survived COVID-19. The right to free speech held firm amid racial tensions. And vigorous backing of the First Amendment endured a contentious presidential campaign. So concludes the 2020 Becket Religious Freedom Index, which will monitor the resilience of the United States’ “first freedom” through the yearly challenges to come. “Americans understand religion as a fundamental part of an individual’s identity,” said Caleb Lyman, director of research and analytics at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. ....
By Nicole Russell | The Daily Signal A new survey has provided unique insights into what faith-based Americans have been thinking about their beliefs in the wake of COVID-19 and how they feel about state officials imposing pandemic-induced lockdowns. The survey, facilitated by Becket, a legal organization dedicated to religious liberty, is its second annual Religious Freedom Index, which gauges people of faith and their perspectives on current events. The concept of religion as an identity, rather than as an activity or hobby, must seem very foreign to many public officials, which would explains why, throughout this past year, they repeatedly treated churches like nonessential businesses, or, as in the case of some states such as Nevada, seemed to treat churches even worse. ....
(Judy Maltz) 2:04 P.M. Assisted living home staff to be vaccinated Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv will inoculate the tenants and staff of assisted living facilities in Tel Aviv. This is a large campaign that will cover about 40 facilities in the city, covering about 8,000 people and a total of about 16,000 vaccines. Ichilov staff will deploy a large contingent of nursing staff to visit each facility at least four times during the campaign. ( Bar Peleg) Controversy erupts over how coronavirus patients will vote in potential election During the reading of the Law to Dissolve the Knesset, a disagreement erupted regarding how coronavirus patients would cast their vote in an upcoming election, stemming from fears of passing on the virus, scaring off healthy voters or the spreading of fake news. ....
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks to members of the press after visiting an outdoor public art installation Nov. 2, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images) Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has eased restrictions on houses of worship following a lawsuit by the Catholic Church accusing the Democrat of “arbitrary” and “discriminatory” restrictions on churches ahead of Christmas. In a lawsuit filed Dec. 11, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington said Bowser’s restrictions “bear no relation to either the size of the building or the safety of the activity” and “single out religious worship as a disfavored activity, even though it has been proven safer than many other activities the District favors.” ....
December 17, 2020 9:56 AM ET Font Size: Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has eased coronavirus restrictions on houses of worship following a lawsuit by the Catholic Church accusing the Democrat of “arbitrary” and “discriminatory” restrictions on churches ahead of Christmas. The modified order still discourages large gatherings and warns that those who attend large gatherings are putting themselves at risk. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington had said Bowser’s restrictions “bear no relation to either the size of the building or the safety of the activity” and “single out religious worship as a disfavored activity, even though it has been proven safer than many other activities the District favors.” ....