Staff Report Saturday will mark the 239th birthday of the United States of America. The nation, which in its founding document makes multiple references to man’s creator, is also home to nearly 70 million Catholics. Recent legislation and court decisions have left some Catholics wondering about the state of religious freedom in …

CNA Indiana’s passage of a Religious Freedom Restoration Act last week has created havoc and been met with loud opposition from gay rights activists. But a poll this month found that most Americans agree with such religious freedom laws.

By Nate Madden Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON — Wyoming Catholic College, a Catholic university founded in 2005 in Lander, announced in late February that it “shall not participate in federal student loan programs.” The decision came after months of analysis and deliberations by the college and its board of directors. …

CNA/EWTN News ATLANTA, Ga. — On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta will hear oral arguments in a case brought by EWTN Global Catholic Network against the federal contraception mandate. “EWTN looks forward to being able to make our case against the government’s contraceptive services …

CNA/EWTN News Although religious freedom conditions around the globe are worsening, Americans should see this fact as a cause for motivation rather than despair, said a leading scholar on the issue. “I wish that I could say there has been some improvement in the conditions of religious freedom in the …

By Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Oct. 8 urged the federal government “to reconsider” its new rules to allow religious institutions — and potentially some for-profit companies — to opt out of the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act. On Aug. 22, the …

By Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON — People of various religious groups tend to think followers of their faith are more apt to face discrimination than the general public thinks, but majorities of all backgrounds agree that Muslims, gays/lesbians, blacks and Hispanics face discrimination. According to a Pew Research …

By Catholic News Service ROCHESTER, N.H. — In April 2013, the parents of slain U.S. journalist James Foley attended a prayer vigil at Marquette University in Milwaukee to pray for their son, who at that time had disappeared in Syria.

By Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has filed a brief with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver indicating it plans to develop an alternative for Catholic and other religious nonprofit employers to opt out of providing federally mandated contraceptives they object to including in …

By Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate July 16 voted to block consideration of a bill aimed at reversing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby and forcing businesses to provide contraceptive coverage for employees even if they object to it on religious grounds.