In a landmark decision for the LGBT community, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled employers cannot fire someone merely for being gay or transgender under federal law.

At issue was Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it unlawful “for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual … because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”

Three LGBT individuals in Michigan, Georgia and New York filed separate suits in federal court, arguing they were fired from their jobs for being gay or transgender and asserting that “sex” in the Civil Rights Act encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity. The Supreme Court consolidated the cases into one.

The court, in a 6-3 decision, sided with the fired employees. Two conservative justices – Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch – joined the court’s liberal bloc in the majority.

It’s the biggest legal victory for the LGBT community since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.

Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion.

“An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law,” Gorsuch wrote.

He acknowledged the authors of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 may not have had LGBT individuals in mind when passing it.

“Likely, they weren’t…

A new survey from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability shows that tithes and donations to most evangelical churches and ministries has stayed steady or grown despite stay-at-home orders across the nation.

According to Christianity Today, in April, giving equaled or surpassed April 2019 giving levels at 66 percent of churches and 59 percent of nonprofits, the report, titled “Optimism Outweighs Uncertainty,” said.

Also, 72 percent of churches and 61 percent of Christian nonprofits in the survey said their April 2020 cash donations met or surpassed January’s level.

Christian leaders had worried that stay-at-home restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic would impact giving.

“For pastors and church staff, there will be difficult days ahead,” State of the Plate founder Brian Kluth had previously said. In a March podcast, the Barna Group reported that 62 percent of US pastors said giving was down at their churches.

But the new survey shows giving has rebounding despite the pandemic.

Half of the leaders in the survey said they were “optimistic” about cash gifts in May through July, while 27 percent said they were uncertain and 15 percent said they were “pessimistic” about summertime donations.

“From what I’m hearing here in the Silicon Valley, we’re not going to be hit that hard,” California Southridge Church pastor Micaiah Irmler…

Grammy award-winning music artist Lauren Daigle recently offered an exclusive performance to a Nashville children’s hospital.

According to a press release, Daigle performed a virtual concert for doctors, caregivers, first responders and patients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. The concert was a part of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s (VUMC) ‘Gratitunes’ campaign.

The special event featured six songs by Daigle, including her crossover hit song “You Say” and hit single “Still Rolling Stones.”

Musicians on Call, a nonprofit organization that brings live and recorded music to hospital patients across the country, distributed Daigle’s performance to 19 pediatric hospitals across the country.

A press release sent to Christian Headlines noted that over 1,200 patients, family members and caregivers nationwide were able to see the broadcast through the hospital’s direct administration.

“We’re incredibly grateful to Lauren Daigle and all our friends in the music industry for the outpouring of support for our staff, nurses, doctors, patients and families, particularly during these unprecedented times,” said Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, President of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

“Music has always been an integral and important part of the fabric of our hospital, with visits in person, and now virtually,…

(RNS) — An evangelical research center focused on disaster response has detailed key steps churchgoers might take as they contemplate attending reopened churches.

Wheaton College’s Humanitarian Disaster Institute in Illinois released a series of documents this week to augment the guidelines of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The institute previously created a website with coronavirus-related resources with the National Association of Evangelicals.

“We are standing in the gap with a series of new resources since the CDC has been suppressed by the current administration on what guidelines it can provide to U.S. faith communities,” Jamie Aten, executive director of the institute, said in a Wednesday (June 10) announcement about “Deciding When & How You Should Return to Church in Person: A Practical Guide for Church Members.”

“Many churches including their pastors and church members are struggling to sort through misinformation and divisive voices because of the lack of detailed COVID-19 guidance for faith communities being provided at the federal level needed to navigate reopening churches safely.”

The new resources follow other initiatives, such as an ecumenical document released Sunday (June 7) by a consultation of mainline Protestant and Catholic experts, to help church leaders cope with the many questions swirling around reopening churches.

The…

A member of Liberty University’s women’s basketball team announced that she will enter the transfer portal because of what she describes as “racial insensitivities” at the evangelical school.

Asia Todd, who averaged 8.9 points a game in her freshman season, said that her decision “has nothing to do with basketball or the program, ESPN reports.

The Clayton, North Carolina native explained that she, developed lifelong relationships that I will cherish forever” during her time at Liberty. “However,” she said, “due to the racial insensitivities shown within the leadership and culture, it simply does not align with my moral compass or personal convictions. Therefore, I had to do what I felt best within my heart, and stand up for what is right.”

Todd’s decision to transfer comes just as a Black faculty member resigned from the university and 35 Black LU alumni demanded Falwell resign for racial insensitivity. According to Religion News Service, communication studies professor Christopher House decided to leave the university after its president, Jerry Falwell Jr., posted a racially insensitive tweet while attempting to poke fun at Virginia Governor Northam’s policy of wearing masks in public. Falwell said he would only wear a mask if it included a photograph of Northam wearing blackface, a reference to a recently unearthed picture from Northam’s 1984…