A new report from the Center for American Institutions (CAI) at Arizona State University (ASU) has revealed that faith-based organizations are playing an “integral role” in addressing housing and food insecurity, addiction, at-risk youth, and more.
The report on “Religion, Charity and American Life,” is entitled A Thousand Points of Light Still Shine and was compiled with survey and research data from the CAI with feedback from faith leaders Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., and Rabbi Pinchas Allouche.
In a press release, CAI wrote, “While often overlooked, volunteers from congregations of many faiths feed, clothe, and support our communities, according to the report. They collect and distribute food. They help with rent and utilities and point people to additional organizations that can assist. The authors of the study said it can be seen as a call to action and a reminder of the necessity to affirm the religious liberty necessary to make way for these institutions to do this life-sustaining support and outreach.”
The report noted that in the metro Phoenix area, Jewish Family and Children’s Services is known for providing treatment for illnesses, mental health problems, and drug abuse. It also assists people with food insecurity, offering nutritional assistance and even dental referrals. The Living Streams Church’s food pantry of Central Phoenix feeds approximately 5,000 people per year working Mondays through Thursdays. The Catholic St. Vincent de Paul conferences, small groups of volunteers within local parishes, conduct food deliveries to needy people within their parish boundaries.
A Jewish temple located in Phoenix doesn’t operate a food pantry but rather its members contribute their time and money to two nearby pre-existing food pantries. The CAI observed that other congregations, such as a Disciples of Christ Church in Phoenix, also contributed to nearby pantries.
Looking further, the report found that 86% of food pantries in Detroit, Michigan, that are found on findhelp.org are faith-based with many housed-on church property and run by volunteer staff. CAI also found that four of the seven “best” drug addiction treatment centers in the Detroit metro area, as reported by Addiction Resource, are also faith-based.
The report notes that the role played by faith-based groups in combating food insecurity is crucial.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of Americans are caught in a squeeze. As food prices skyrocketed, along with other basic needs like transportation, housing, and energy, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps) did not keep up. In a 2023 survey conducted by Feeding America, the largest American charity focused on food insecurity, 65 percent of food banks reported increasing demand. Food pantries, meanwhile, found that food inflation meant their contributions did not go as far as they did pre-pandemic, even as lines at their doors grew longer.”
The study also drew attention to the dangers of the heat to the homeless during Arizona summer finding, “Summer in Phoenix can be deadly without access to water and cooling. Alongside public hydration and cooling stations, faith-based groups go to homeless camps and distribute water and necessities. For example, St. Vincent de Paul has trucks that make the rounds to places where homeless people congregate to hand out water, food, and supplies. On a smaller scale, Sunnyslope Ministries of Hope distributes water in central Phoenix most every summer evening, along with personal care items and shoes. Also, in Phoenix, Young Single Adult groups from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) congregations take part in distributing aid to the homeless.”
Rabbi Pinchas Allouche, Founding Rabbi of Congregation Beth Tefillah, also contributed to the report writing, “Faith-based organizations are the lifeblood of America’s moral fabric, calling each of us to fulfill our God-given responsibility to heal the world. Through acts of goodness and kindness, we can restore faith in humanity and remind the world that light can dispel even the thickest darkness. This call to action can propel readers to reflect on how they, too, can contribute to making the world more divine through small yet powerful acts of goodness and kindness. It will also highlight the importance of treating each other with respect, as God’s children who are all part of God’s human family.”
The commission made four key recommendations based upon the collected data:
Faith-based organizations need to do a better job of informing the general public of these programs. On a community level, faith-based organizations should consider creating a collective website to report on their activities.
Greater media attention needs to be driven by individual churches, synagogues, temples, and faith-based charities to newspapers, the media, and social media about the stories of individuals who have benefited from their programs. Americans love success stories.
Media itself should give more attention to the importance of faith-based charities and programs in their communities.
Americans need a better understanding of religious liberty, as embodied in the First Amendment. This should begin in the classroom. State legislators and school boards should require that time be given in the classroom to the foundational concept of religious liberty in American life.
Professor Donald Critchlow, Director of the Center for American Institutions at ASU, explained, “Religion is under unprecedented attack on multiple fronts, with growing secularization, declining attendance, and hate-filled attacks on people of faith. And yet, as this report illustrates in vivid detail, volunteers from various religious congregations are still showing up for those most in need in their local communities.”
He added, “The irony is that while faith-based organizations are more active in our communities today than at any time in modern American history, these good works coincide with a rise in hate crimes.”
The Scottsdale legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) won a religious freedom case at the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).
SCOTUS ruled 6-3 at the end of June in 303 Creative v. Elenis against Colorado’s anti-discrimination law, Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), as unconstitutional. The law would prohibit a Christian wedding website designer from refusing to create a same-sex wedding website.
The plaintiff, Lorie Smith, holds the Christian belief that marriage exists only between one man and one woman, and contests against the possibility that she either must produce content that “contradicts Biblical truth,” such as same-sex marriages, or cease business.
Ultimately, SCOTUS determined in a majority opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch that Smith’s creative expression constituted speech and that CADA therefore violated the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause.
“Ms. Smith’s websites will express and communicate ideas — namely, those that ‘celebrate and promote the couple’s wedding and unique love story’ and those ‘celebrat[e] and promot[e]’ what Ms. Smith understands to be a marriage,” stated Gorsuch.
"This is a victory not just for me, but for all of us. Whether you share my beliefs or disagree with them, free speech is for everyone. And the government shouldn’t force anyone to say something they don’t believe. The Court’s decision means we are all more free today than we… pic.twitter.com/wXHqZgAWL2
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) June 30, 2023
Gorsuch further criticized CADA for its fullest possible outcome: compelling speech of all manners and kinds from any commissioned person if their customer belongs to a CADA-protected class.
“Under Colorado’s logic, the government may compel anyone who speaks for pay on a given topic to accept all commissions on that same topic — no matter the message — if the topic somehow implicates a customer’s statutorily protected trait,” said Gorsuch. “Taken seriously, that principle would allow the government to force all manner of artists, speechwriters, and others whose services involve speech to speak what they do not believe on pain of penalty. The Court’s precedents recognize the First Amendment tolerates none of that.”
Smith does have LGBTQ clients; however, Smith won’t create content that runs counter to her beliefs.
After the SCOTUS ruling, ADF CEO and lead counsel Kristen Waggoner stated that differences of beliefs don’t constitute discrimination.
“Disagreement isn’t discrimination, and the government can’t mislabel speech as discrimination to censor it,” said Waggoner. “As the court highlighted, her decisions to create speech always turn on what message is requested, never on who requests it. [T]he government has never needed to compel speech to ensure access to goods and services.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has rightly reaffirmed that the government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe. The court reiterated that it’s unconstitutional for the state to eliminate from the public square ideas it dislikes, including the belief that marriage is the… https://t.co/9BtiPg0skn
Following the ruling, critics alleged that Smith fabricated a request for a same-sex wedding website after a news article insinuated she did. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser also derided Smith’s complaint as “a made-up case without the benefit of any real facts or customers.” ADF and Smith rejected those claims.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Wednesday, Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-03) requested that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) cease confiscating illegal Sikh migrants’ religious items. Grijalva, along with Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20) and Judy Chu (D-CA-27), insisted that the practice constituted a violation of religious freedom.
Grijalva later told Arizona Luminaria that Americans were too busy complaining about the border crisis to notice that the illegal immigrants were enduring religious disrespect.
“All these festering issues get overwritten because everybody starts screaming about the border and the invasion, and so these go into the background,” said Grijalva. “I don’t think they’re background issues. Border Patrol is the largest law enforcement agency with the least amount of accountability in the country. And that’s the problem.”
Grijalva is worried about religious freedoms for small minority groups but he was absent when the religious freedoms of Catholics and christians were attacked by the government during COVID. Where was he? Where was he when the government shut down our churches. pic.twitter.com/VwU9kNHeG0
Sikhism requires followers to wear a steel bracelet, uncut hair and beards, and a turban. The three representatives admonished CBP for reports of Sikh turbans and other religious items being confiscated at the border.
The trio issued their complaint letter to CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus. The commissioner pledged earlier this month to investigate, but the three representatives insist that there hasn’t been progress.
Grijalva’s religious liberty stance is nuanced. He opposed the Trump administration’s protections for contractors whose religious beliefs dictated their employment decisions for LGBTQ+ individuals.
“Religion is not a license to discriminate,” tweeted Grijalva.
The Trump Admin is attacking #LGBTQ protections under the guise of 'protecting religious freedom.'
Religion is not a license to discriminate, and it's time to pass the Equality Act to give LGBTQ Americans the protections they deserve. https://t.co/Hf6xWyPlL6
Grijalva identifies himself a Catholic, but doesn’t believe that Christians may oppose LGBTQ+ lifestyles. He called former President Donald Trump’s 2017 attendance of the Values Voter Summit “repulsive” because of its sponsorship by the religious think tank opposed to LGBTQ+ lifestyles, the Family Research Council (FRC).
Last month, Grijalva voted to codify same-sex marriage into federal law: the Respect for Marriage Act. The law would repeal a 1996 protection for states that don’t recognize same-sex marriage.
Grijalva was joined in his vote Arizona’s other Democratic representatives, who also identify as Catholic: Representatives Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ-01), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-02), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-07), and Greg Stanton (D-AZ-09).
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Thursday, Attorney General Mark Brnovich co-led a 20-state coalition in filing an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case deciding the speech rights of business owners. The coalition filed their amicus brief the day after Pride Month began.
At the heart of the case — 303 Creative v. Elenis — is Colorado businesswoman Lorie Smith, a graphic artist and website designer who refused to design wedding websites for same-sex couples per her religious beliefs. Colorado law C.R.S. 24-34-601 prohibits businesses from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, even due to religion. The state considers any business that sells to the public or offers services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations to the public as a “place of public accommodation” and therefore beholden to their anti-discrimination law.
The amicus brief pointed out that Smith provided other services to LGBTQ+ customers, but that her Christian religion prevented her from providing wedding-related services to those customers. It also pointed out that Smith’s hesitation concerned the message she would convey in being forced to do so; in other words, her speech and not the status of a customer.
The Christian Bible dictates that marriage is the union between one man and one woman, and that homosexuality is a sin.
“Colorado interprets its public-accommodation law to forbid Smith from expressing her desired messages about marriage. In its view, graphic artists who create websites celebrating opposite-sex marriages must do the same for same-sex marriages, and refusing to do so subjects those artists to punishment,” read the amicus brief. “By adopting this position, Colorado violates the constitutional rights of its citizens, because the First amendment prohibits States from forcing individuals, including people who create custom speech for a living, to speak in favor of same-sex marriage.”
In a press release, Brnovich asserted that business owners like Smith have a constitutional right to discern speech as part of their business.
“Owners of small companies do not give up their constitutional rights as a cost of doing business,” said Brnovich. “Freedoms of speech, belief, and expression are at the core of who we are as Americans, and our government is out of line to infringe on them.”
“As a Christian artist, I was really excited to step into the wedding industry and use my artistic talents. Except, there’s a Colorado law that prevents me from continuing my work and forces me to violate my beliefs and speak messages I don’t agree with,” stated Smith. “Every American should have the right to control the content of their own speech.”
Nebraska, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia joined Arizona in the amicus brief.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A new law will take effect in Arizona this summer to prevent state officials from shutting down churches or religious services during a public health or public safety emergency.
Gov. Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2507 on Monday, defining a religious service as an essential service during a declared state of emergency. The legislation also protects the fundamental right of Arizonans to exercise their religion freely during a time of crisis and further protects a religious organization from discrimination when it operates or seeks to operate during a state of emergency.
HB2507, which was sponsored by House Republican Majority Leader Ben Toma, notes the U.S. Constriction expressly protects the free exercise of religion, including the right to hold beliefs inwardly and secretly as well as the right “to act on those beliefs outwardly and publicly.”
Toma, who received bipartisan support for HB2507 in the House, said he introduced the bill to ensure Arizonans’ religious freedoms are forever protected.
“During the pandemic, while Arizona was blessed with government leaders that respected religious freedom and the essential role of religious organizations to the people, that wasn’t the situation in some neighboring states,” Toma said. “This law ensures that religious freedom and services in Arizona will continue to be protected in the future, regardless of any emergency, or who leads the state.”
Rep. Lupe Diaz, himself a pastor, said religion is an essential service and religious freedom is essential, which was especially true during the pandemic when Arizonans were facing so many challenges.
“As we look at being able to exercise our religious liberties, which is a constitutional right, it is amazing that we can be denied gathering at churches, yet have stadiums, malls and box stores open,” Diaz said last week in explaining his vote for HB2507.
Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, also applauded the signing of HB2507 into law. She noted that while public officials have the authority to protect health and public safety, they cannot suspend the First Amendment, including the free exercise of religion.
“By signing HB 2507 the Governor acknowledges the fact that religious organizations provide essential services that are vital to the health and welfare of the public,” Herrod said Monday. “They not only meet the spiritual needs of our communities, but they also support social services, health care, and economic activity.”