One of the nation’s leading religious freedom law firms, The Liberty Counsel, has recently reported that it is receiving a flood of complaints on behalf of pastors and ministry leaders in 30 states regarding heavy handed tactics singling out churches for punishment during shutdown orders. They are taking legal action in numerous situations to defend the constitutional rights of religious freedom.

If the Governor’s Order prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people in a room, or his subsequent “stay at home” order, has resulted in embers of your church being unable to worship; typical events like funerals, marriages, baptisms being unable to proceed; or substantial financial losses due to decline in donations‍ and if you sincerely believe that restarting in-person church meetings is essential to your church’s ministry, we would like to talk to you about filing a law suit on your behalf.

Illinois law only grants the governor emergency authority for a period of 30 days, the extensions of Gov. Pritzker's "stay-at-home" order, which closes businesses and forbids church services and assemblies in excess of ten citizens, constitutes an overreach of executive authority. Thankfully, State Representative Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) took Gov. Pritzker to court over this very issue and won an important decision that may lead to a definitive strike-down of the governor's dangerous precedent.

We are going to lose 40% of our national GDP this quarter, incur trillions in debt, lose our freedoms and privacy, and shed tens of millions of jobs – including of health care workers – due to the shutdown and panic porn peddled by the political class. But for what? For a virus that had already been spreading for months and has a case fatality rate well below 1%. We will be left with nothing from the lockdowns other than a virus that will be kept alive for longer and kill more people.

Big Brother—er, I mean—the Mendocino County, California Health Department has issued an Order mandating the following for streaming church services. This Order applies to streaming church services even if “Only four individuals" are present and they observe the social-distancing requirements that include the following:

In 2016, IFI was fortunate to have as our annual banquet keynote speaker former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a strong and consistent voice for pro-family values. A former candidate for POTUS, she not only distinguished herself by forming and chairing the Tea Party Caucus in 2010 in the U.S. House. In her speech, Mrs. Bachmann speaks on Christians' responsibility to defend truth in our country. Using the example of the Pilgrims, who came to found a new community on Christian principles, she argues for the good that Christians can do in a society to preserve its culture and uphold truth.

When Sandra (Mendoza) Rojas walked into a local children’s home at 17 years old, she discovered her calling. “Right there and then I knew I wanted to be a nurse and to take care of children. I knew that was my calling, and I knew that is what I was born to be—a pediatric nurse.”

Earlier this month, State Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) introduced a bill in the Illinois House that would require all students in public, private, and parochial schools to receive a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine before entering sixth grade and to complete the series before entering ninth grade. The vaccination (brand name Gardasil, manufacturer Merck Pharmaceuticals) consists of a series of 2-3 shots, depending on the age of the child. We’re already used to vaccination requirements for schoolchildren. Is this one additional requirement a good idea?

Late last week we sent an email alert about a dangerous Illinois House bill (HB 4870) mandating that ALL 6th grade students in Illinois receive the unnecessary and highly controversial HPV vaccine - both boys and girls. Politicians have no business mandating medical treatment for all children to prevent a disease that's contracted solely through sexual activity. Parents should be outraged! But it gets worse.

A federal lawsuit has been filed against New York City and the state, too, over their effort to include abortion in civil rights protections.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has sent a letter to a south central Illinois City seeking removal of a cross from a mural painted near a local high school. A petition, which now has over 23,000 signatures, has been...

I’d like to offer a few words about the separation of church and state—a concept long abused by “progressives.” The religion clauses of the First Amendment were intended to protect religion from the intrusive power of the state, not the reverse. The Establishment Clause states that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.” That does not mean religious convictions are prohibited from informing political values and decisions...

If you missed the Illinois Family Institute’s annual fall banquet back in 2014, or have a vague remembrance of it, you will want to watch this important keynote speech by bestselling author Eric Metaxas. Combining encouragement and a call to action, Metaxas emphasized that “it is time for us to be all in” when it comes to the political and cultural battle.