Protesters outside the Supreme Court on December 5, when oral arguments were heard in 303 Creative LLC v. Eleni.

The New Faith-Based Discrimination

A sharp uptick in challenges to U.S. antidiscrimination laws threatens decades of progress in extending civil rights to all.
Surgeon General Vivek Murphy, Texas Children's Hospital chief pathologist Jim Versalovic and first lady Jill Biden visit with kids before they receive their coronavirus vaccine shots on Nov. 14 in Houston.
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History Shows That Passing School Coronavirus Vaccine Mandates Could Require Exemptions

Enacting vaccination mandates demands political give and take.
A woman on her knees wearing a cowboy hat with an anti-vaccination protest as the background

The Baffling Legal Standard Fueling Religious Objections to Vaccine Mandates

As anti-vax plaintiffs seek faith-based exemptions, the judicial system will renew its struggle to determine what beliefs are truly “sincerely held.”
A protestor wearing syringes, protesting the vaccine mandate
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Doubters’ Push for Religious Exemptions from Coronavirus Vaccination May Not Work

With all organized religions supporting vaccination, states may question the sincerity of those claiming exemptions from getting vaccinated.
Billy Graham leading a prayer at the Republican National Convention, Miami, Florida, August 1968; Richard Nixon is at right.

Victimhood and Vengeance

The contemporary rise of Christian nationalism in the US is a reactionary response to the country’s liberalization over the past half-century.
People pose in front of the Stonewall Inn on the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York, on June 28, 2019.

The Republican Plot to Ban LGBTQ History in Public Schools

In a growing number of states, the GOP is pushing “Don’t Say Gay” laws to prevent students from learning about the triumphs and struggles of LGBTQ Americans.

The Strange History of the House’s 181-Year-Old Ban on Hats — and the Push to Overturn It

There isn’t any rule against tobacco spitting on the House floor, but there is one against wearing a hat.

The Strange Career of Free Exercise

How efforts to bolster religious liberty set off a chain of unintended consequences.
Supreme Court Justice Harlan F. Stone photographed with a book.

The Supreme Court's World War II Battles

Cliff Sloan’s new book explains how the Franklin Roosevelt-shaped Court wrestled with individual rights as the nation fought to save itself and the world.

The Fight for the Sabbath

The partnership between rabbis and labor that delivered the two-day weekend.
Statue of Jefferson in front of white columns of building facade

The Decline of Church-State Separation

The author of new book explains the fraught and turbulent relationship between religion and government in the U.S.
Cartoon drawing of a shopkeeper in front of a dairy shop.

How Dairy Lunchrooms Became Alternatives to the NYC Saloon ‘Free Lunch.’

Ben Katchor's Brief History of the Dairy Restaurant.

What the Measles Epidemic Really Says About America

The return of the disease reflects historical amnesia, declining faith in institutions, and a lack of concern for the public good.
An American flag flying in front of a large Christian cross.

The Religious-Liberty Attack on Transgender Rights

Conservative Christians are out to restore their historical legal privileges.