Now that the dust has somewhat settled after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), it is important to consider what effect the Supreme Court’s decision has on churches.

The main impact for churches is that, in upholding Obamacare, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) mandate that employers provide contraceptive and abortifacient coverage for their employees is still in effect.  The HHS mandate is one part of Obamacare but it is the most direct threat to religious freedom posed by the law.  Under this mandate, employers must provide coverage in their health insurance plans for contraceptives, including abortion-inducing drugs such as “Plan B,” also called the “morning-after pill,” as well as a new drug named “ella” which is commonly called the “week-after pill.”  This mandate is imposed on employers regardless of their religious beliefs against such drugs.

Unless Congress repeals Obamacare, the law and the HHS mandate are here to stay.  Here are some important take-aways for churches.

Not just a Catholic issue

Churches must understand that the HHS mandate is not just a Catholic issue.  While the Catholic Church is particularly in the crosshairs because of its religious beliefs against contraception, the HHS mandate specifically requires coverage of more than just contraceptive drugs.  It also requires coverage of abortion-inducing drugs that every evangelical Christian should oppose.

Churches are exempt

Churches are exempt from the HHS mandate.  An exception in the law protects churches from having to provide healthcare coverage for their employees that include contraceptives or abortion-inducing drugs.  The exemption, though, is rather narrow and basically only applies to churches or integrated auxiliaries of churches.

Many religious organizations are not exempt

The exception in the law that exempts churches does not exempt many religious organizations, including those reaching out to the poor and needy.  Church, parachurch, and other religious ministries that have more than 50 employees are in danger of being subjected to the HHS mandate, regardless of their religious beliefs.  Christian businesses are not exempt from the HHS mandate.

Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuits against the HHS mandate will continue

Alliance Defending Freedom is currently involved in three separate lawsuits challenging the HHS mandate.  The lawsuits are on behalf of two Christian colleges, Louisiana College and Geneva College, and a Christian business, Hercules Industries.

There are several more lawsuits pending on the same issue in different courts.  These lawsuits will continue and, after the Supreme Court’s decision, are even more important.

What Must Churches Do?

There are several things that churches must do in light of the Supreme Court’s decision upholding Obamacare.

1.  Be informed and aware of the direct threat posed to religious freedom by Obamacare.  Alliance Defending Freedom has put together a great two-minute video that exposes this threat. Share this video with your congregation.  We also have a resource page on our website that explains Obamacare and the HHS mandate.

2.  If your church has a ministry with more than 50 employees or you are part of a religious organization with more than 50 employees, be aware that the HHS mandate that is part of Obamacare may apply.  If you are concerned about the application of the HHS mandate, contact Alliance Defending Freedom to evaluate your situation.

3.  Provide support to Christian business owners in your congregation that are subject to the HHS mandate and help them  know how best to stand against this direct assault on religious freedom.

4.  If you are a pastor, preach a sermon that helps your congregation know and understand the HHS mandate and its application to people of faith.  Help them understand that this HHS mandate is not just a Catholic issue but is a direct threat to the religious freedom of all people of faith.

5.  Support Alliance Defending Freedom and our efforts to have the HHS mandate declared unconstitutional.  Put bluntly, these lawsuits are very expensive and we need your financial support and your prayers.  You can give online at this link.

The church must be engaged on this issue.  As Alan Sears, president and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom, succinctly put it, “If the federal government can succeed in forcing people to violate their faith, it will have the power to force anyone to do anything.”  That’s how stark the battle lines are.  The voice of the church must be heard on this issue.  It’s time to speak up.

Article by Nathan A. Cherry

“I just spent several days with Pastor Jim Garlow of the Skyline Wesleyan Church at a conference we both attended in Naples, Florida. It takes mere minutes to figure out that Pastor Garlow is a passionate preacher of God’s Word, boldly sharing the message of Jesus with anyone that will listen. It takes just another minute to conclude that Pastor Garlow loves America and refuses to see it fundamentally altered into an oppressive tyranny akin to other nations around the world. And to this end Pastor Garlow plans to preach a message that is typically viewed as “off limits” by the IRS. Further, Garlow will record it and send it to the IRS.

It’s all part of Pulpit Freedom Sunday, a day of speaking up to defy unconstitutional speech limitations the IRS and government try to bully pastor’s with in order to keep them silent (ironic for a group that wants to pass “anti-bullying” legislation). Come Sunday, Oct 7 Pastor Garlow an hundreds, perhaps thousands of other pastor’s will say “enough is enough” and preach biblically based messages on social issues like marriage, family, abortion, and religious freedom.”

Since the adoption of the “Johnson Amendment” in 1954 churches…..Read the rest at http://engagefamilyminute.com/2012/07/wanted-bold-pastors-to-preach-without-fear/

Check out www.PulpitFreedom.org for more information on Pulpit Freedom Sunday.

Hope renewed: Weekend worship services will continue at NYC schools
6/29/2012 News Release Federal court issues permanent order protecting equal access rights

NEW YORK — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys won a permanent injunctionFriday that allows churches and other faith groups to continue to meet in New York City public school buildings for worship services after hours.“Churches that have been helping communities for years can continue to offer the hope that empty buildings can’t,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence, who argued before the court on June 1. “The court’s order allows churches and other religious groups to meet for worship services in empty school buildings on weekends on the same terms as other groups. ADF will continue to defend this constitutionally protected right if the city chooses to continue using taxpayer money to evict the very groups that are selflessly helping the city’s communities, including the public schools themselves.”

Churches meeting in New York City public schools for worship services have fed the poor, have assisted in rehabilitating drug addicts and gang members, have helped rebuild marriages and families, and have provided for the disabled. The churches have also helped the public schools themselves by volunteering to paint the interiors of inner-city schools; donating computers, musical instruments, and air conditioners; and providing effective after-school programs to help all students with their studies.

“There is no reason to exclude worship services from these empty school buildings, especially when the school allows all other community groups to meet,” Lorence explained. “Why exclude churches that are helping their neighbors in so many significant ways?”

In February, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a preliminary order that allowed Bronx Household of Faith and other religious groups to conduct worship services in schools while the ADF lawsuit against the city proceeded. The new order makes the preliminary order permanent.

The permanent injunction is part of a 17-year legal battle in Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York. The city has been trying to eject worship services from their public school meeting places under the claim that their presence violates the U.S. Constitution, but the court Friday disagreed with the city’s policy, Chancellor’s Regulation D-180.

“Having considered the latest evidence and the parties’ respective arguments, the Court determines that its reasons for granting Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction were sound and that implementation of Ch. Reg. D-180 violates both the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause…,” the court’s order states. “Defendants are permanently enjoined from enforcing Ch. Reg. D180 so as to deny Plaintiffs’ application or the application of any similarly-situated individual or entity to rent space in the Board’s public schools for meetings that include religious worship.”

Gary McCaleb has a column running on Townhall.com that is worth your attention.

Gary’s column looks at the effort to limit Christians’ religion freedom to the confines of their homes and churches.

Titled, “Putting Faith Under House Arrest,” the column also looks at the effort to remove Christian texts from public view as well.

It can be viewed here
“The bottom line is that your choice as to whether you can worship God and live out your faith as a free citizen is, at this very moment, being shaped by the demands of leftists and proponents of the homosexual agenda who have sworn fealty to the force of law rather than theology.”

We recently received an exciting update on a previous situation ADF assisted with in Northern Arizona. Based on some confusion about the First Amendment, the Northern Arizona Council of Governments (NACOG) Area Agency on Aging told all of its service providers, including Meals on Wheels, that they were no longer permitted to allow any collective prayer before the meals they served at area senior centers. For many years, seniors at the centers had been saying a short, voluntary prayer together, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, prior to eating the lunch provided by Meals on Wheels.

ADF offered to provide assistance to NACOG free of charge and drafted a new policy on prayer and religious expression. We recently received word that NACOG adopted the policy and sent it out to all of their service providers.

Kudos to NACOG for correcting its policy and protecting the First Amendment rights of the senior citizens it serves!