All posts tagged: Separation

Rejecting Church and State Separation Is on the Wish List for Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission

Rejecting Church and State Separation Is on the Wish List for Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission

Published by Sam Flores

Another calls for court interventions by the Department of Justice on behalf of Amish parents fighting New York vaccine requirements and Catholic nuns challenging that state’s requirement that they accommodate hospice patients’ gender identities. And the chair of the Religious Liberty Commission is calling for a federal hotline with this automated recording: “There is no separation of church and state.” These are just some of the recommendations that members of the advisory panel formed by President Donald Trump last year want to see included in the commission’s final report. That report is still in the works, but commissioners had an opportunity to describe their wish lists during their most recent meeting in April. There was little dissent as the commissioners, most drawn from Trump’s base of conservative Christian supporters, covered the items they want in the report. Their ideas reflect the prevailing perspectives on the definition of religious liberty among many conservative Catholic and evangelical activists: increasing avenues for religious expression in public schools; expanding opportunities for faith-based organizations to receive public money; and allowing …

Separation of Church and State Was a Baptist Idea. What Happened?

Separation of Church and State Was a Baptist Idea. What Happened?

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — The Baptist preacher (and Texas Lieutenant Governor) who stood before the White House Religious Liberty Commission had a message: There is no separation of church and state in the Constitution. That’s a shift… For two centuries, Baptists didn’t just support the wall of separation between church and state — they built it. They famously asked Thomas Jefferson for it. And then as recently as 1960, Southern Baptist leaders argued that a Catholic president would surely subordinate the Constitution to the Pope. This devotion to a secular state was deep. But that was then, this is now… Baylor University historian Elesha Coffman suggests Southern Baptists have become the very force they feared Catholics would be — a dominant religion using political power to shape society along theological ideals. According to Coffman, the receipts are right there in the historical record.  In this episode, Amanda Henderson talks with Coffman about her recent article, “Southern Baptists have become what they once feared Catholics would be,” about the winding path from Jefferson’s reply to the Danbury Baptists, …

Church-state separation is a ‘lie,’ says Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission chair

Church-state separation is a ‘lie,’ says Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission chair

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — The leader of President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission said that church and state separation is a falsehood at the group’s final meeting, drawing criticism from an advocacy group that supports it. At a Monday (April 13) hearing at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican and the chair of the commission, asked, “Would it not be a good recommendation that every school, every university, every business, has to have that one sheet on the bulletin board about protecting people’s religious liberty, and that the separation of church and state is the biggest lie that’s been told in America since our founding?”  His question was posed to Helen Alvaré, a law professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, as Patrick compared the notion of such a bulletin board announcement to the federal notices from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that are posted in classrooms and other buildings that aim to promote safety and prevent hazards. Alvaré, a onetime top staffer for the …

Coronation Street spoilers next week: Theo drugs Todd after separation

Coronation Street spoilers next week: Theo drugs Todd after separation

Published by Daniella Wilson

The end is nigh for child groomer Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon) in Coronation Street next week as Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan) seemingly reveals everything. A new trailer released last weekend showed her victim Will Driscoll’s (Lucas Hodgson Wale) family reacting to Sam’s claims that they have been pursuing a relationship. Meanwhile, after Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) and Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) part ways, the abuser enacts another cruel move. While they’re in the Viaduct Bistro, drugs are slipped into Todd’s drink… What is his game plan? Elsewhere, Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) fears that her conversations with old boss Rich will be exposed, and Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) is worried when he learns Mal Roper (Tim Treloar) has regained consciousness. Here’s a look at everything happening in Coronation Street between Monday 16 and Friday 20 March. 5 Coronation Street spoilers for next week 1. The walls close in on paedophile Megan Walsh Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon) calls an ambulance when Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan) collapses. ITV Concern grows for Sam when Nina confides in Eva that he …

Scott Foley reunites with bikini-clad wife after 3-week separation

Scott Foley reunites with bikini-clad wife after 3-week separation

Published by Daniella Wilson

Scott Foley’s wife of 18 years, Marika Domińczyk, shared insight into their sweet reunion on social media, revealing that the pair had gone three weeks without seeing each other before enjoying a family vacation in Turks and Caicos.  Marika took to Instagram to share snaps of their tropical trip, which they embarked on with their three children, Malina, 16, Keller, 13, and Konrad, 11.  “Before this trip to @salterraresort, we hadn’t seen each other in three weeks! Getting pampered felt like Christmas. It was beautifully serene. We felt so completely relaxed & rejuvenated,” she wrote in the caption.  Her carousel of photos included several couples shots of the duo enjoying time together around the resort, taking in the sunset and being pampered in the spa. “I’m jealous of my own winter break… take us back,” she added in a separate post, which included a video of their family adventure.  In a third post to her Instagram story, Marika showcased her toned abs and svelte figure in a strapless black bikini as she poured water on …

Pink dismisses rumors of separation from husband Carey Hart as ‘fake news’

Pink dismisses rumors of separation from husband Carey Hart as ‘fake news’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Pop star Pink has vehemently denied reports that she has separated from her husband, former professional motocross racer Carey Hart, dismissing the claims as “fake news.” The rumors originated from People magazine, which cited an unnamed source in an exclusive report titled, “Pink Separates from Carey Hart for Second Time After 20 Years of Marriage: Source (Exclusive).” Shortly after the story broke, the “Just Give Me A Reason” singer took to her official Instagram account to address the speculation directly. In a video, she sarcastically thanked the publications for the “alert.” “I was just alerted to the fact that I’m separated from my husband. I didn’t know. Thank you People Magazine. Thank you US Weekly. Thank you for letting me know,” she stated in the clip. “I was wondering, would you also like to tell our children? My 14-year-old and 9-year-old are also …

Bronwyn on Separation, Traitors and New Fashion Series

Bronwyn on Separation, Traitors and New Fashion Series

Published by Daniella Wilson

With the conclusion of season six of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Bronwyn Newport is walking into a new era of her life — literally.  Newport is gearing up to debut her brand-new digital series called WALK-IN this spring, which will see her go inside the closets of iconic guests to explore their most treasured fashion pieces, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively announce. With a slate of guests including Laverne Cox, Christian Siriano and Betsey Johnson, she tells THR the project is “something I’ve been dreaming up for a really long time” that marries her personal knowledge of fashion with her witty, shining personality  “Each episode takes place in someone’s closet, literally. But it’s not just about their clothes,” she says. “I think that a closet tells you everything about who a person is, where they’ve come from, who they are, what they’re becoming.” Alongside the arrival of WALK-IN, Newport is embracing several “new beginning[s]” of her own. The fashion historian shared the news of her separation from husband Todd Bradley during the …

France’s rocky road to the separation of Church and state

France’s rocky road to the separation of Church and state

Published by Sam Flores

The 120th anniversary of France’s landmark law codifying the separation of Church and state was commemorated last month. The 1905 law’s ideological origin was of course the Revolution of 1789, which sought to end, through the establishment of a republic, the corruption and excessive power of the monarchs, the aristocracy and the Catholic Church. However, France wasn’t the first jurisdiction to make religious freedom a right and forbid state support for religion – the US state of Virginia was. There, the Anglican Church was established just as it was, and still is, in England. Virginia’s stance formed the template for the first amendment to the US Constitution in 1789, thanks to visionaries James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, the latter of whom devoted his life to replicating these concepts in other countries, starting with France. Now, nearly 250 years later, let’s examine what has been achieved, and what still needs to be done. In 1789 after much bloodshed, French citizens managed to form a unicameral National Assembly, which was eventually supported by Louis XVI, the aristocracy, …

The Separation: Inside the Unraveling U.S.-Ukraine Partnership

The Separation: Inside the Unraveling U.S.-Ukraine Partnership

Published by Sam Flores

By Adam Entous Adam Entous conducted more than 300 interviews over more than a year with government, military and intelligence officials in Ukraine, the United States, Britain, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Turkey. Dec. 30, 2025 The train left the U.S. Army depot in the west of Germany and made for Poland and the Ukrainian border. These were the final 800 miles of a trans-Atlantic supply chain that had sustained Ukraine across more than three long years of war. The freight on this last day in June was 155-millimeter artillery shells, 18,000 of them packed into crates, their fuses separated out to prevent detonation in transit. Their ultimate destination was the eastern front, where Vladimir V. Putin’s generals were massing forces and firepower against the city of Pokrovsk. The battle was for territory and strategic advantage but also for bragging rights: Mr. Putin wanted to show the American president, Donald J. Trump, that Russia was indeed winning. Advertising their war plan, the Russians had told Mr. Trump’s advisers. “We’re going to slam them …