Acting on an executive order by President Trump, the Department of Labor issued a new directive and guidance Friday ensuring that religious and faith-based organizations are treated the same as secular organizations when partnering with the federal government. 

The guidance from Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia says religious organizations “are eligible, on the same basis as any other organization” to participate in the Department of Labor programs. The department “must not discriminate for or against an organization on the basis of the organization’s religious character or affiliation.” Otherwise, it could be violating “the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.” 

“The directive and guidance issued today acknowledge the central role that religion and religious freedom play in civil society,” Scalia said. “The directive and guidance … send a clear message that the Department of Labor will continue to uphold religious liberty for America’s workforce, employees of the Department, and religious organizations.”

The guidance follows a Trump executive order from 2017 promoting religious liberty in several areas, including within the federal agencies.  

A Department of Labor memo says the directive also:

• Ensures “religious liberty protections” for all department employees.
• Ensures religious organizations “are given the opportunity to…

Beloved Christian author and apologist Ravi Zacharias has died at the age of 74.

According to a press release from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Zacharias died in his Georgia home on Tuesday morning after a short battle with cancer.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, in March, Zacharias revealed that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of malignant cancer called Sarcoma. The cancer was discovered in the form of a tumor on his sacrum bone during back surgery.

Following his diagnosis, Zacharias began receiving chemotherapy treatments at the renowned M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, in April.

Unfortunately, while the tumor on his sacrum was responding well to chemo, the cancer had metastasized and worsened in the areas where it had spread, Zacharias’ daughter Sarah Davis shared in a statement last week.

“We have just learned that while the tumor in my dad’s sacrum has been responding to the chemotherapy, the area where the cancer metastasized has actually worsened,” Davis wrote in a statement. “His oncologist informed us that this cancer is very rare in its aggression and that no options for further treatment remain. Medically speaking, they have done all they are able.”

Zacharias then returned to his home in Alpharetta, GA from the cancer treatment center where he spent his last days on Earth.

Zacharias, whose full name is Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar…

Chinese schools are requiring Christian teachers within the nation’s school system to renounce their faith or risk being fired, according to a new report by a religious liberty watchdog. 

Bitter Winter, which monitors religious freedom in the country, said the pressure on Christian teachers intensified after Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2018 said one goal of education was to raise the next generation of socialists. The speech was reported by state-run media. 

“The state’s control over ideology is becoming stricter and stricter, particularly in the field of education,” a Catholic kindergarten teacher told Bitter Winter. “If teachers hold religious beliefs … this becomes a political problem for the government.”

The teacher told Bitter Winter she has received criticism for her faith in staff meetings. Additionally, the school principal warned her that a “spiritual civilization award” worth several million yuan that was given to the county could be withdrawn if the government learns of her faith. 

“I learned that another county had all of its civilization awards revoked because an inspection team discovered two primary school students singing Christian hymns,” the teacher said. 

Teachers in multiple provinces have reported persecution for their faith. 

Bitter Winter reported:

• A school in Heilongjiang province last June threatened to dismiss a…

“American Idol” contestant Just Sam was named season 18 winner after she performed the Christian song, “You Say,” with singer Lauren Daigle.

Just Sam, whose real name is Samantha Diaz, has been open about her faith throughout the competition, the Christian Post reports.

“Thank you, Jesus,” Diaz, 21, said on the show’s final episode.

“‘You Say’ seriously speaks to my heart and I feel like that’s what brought me to tears at my audition,” Just Sam said in a recorded FaceTime call with Lauren Daigle.

Celebrity judge Katy Perry and Luke Bryan both praised her performance in the show’s final episode.

“The Lord doesn’t give you more than you can handle,” Perry told the singer after her performance of Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger.”  

Brian added, “You are a wonderful, blessed, singer.” 

Diaz shared her testimony earlier in the show’s season, saying she was adopted by her grandmother after her parents abandoned her.

She said she earned money by singing in the subways.

During the “American Idol” series she also asked the judges if she could pray for them.

“Can I pray with you guys. Is that OK?” she said. “I have a prayer I want to do with you guys.”

“So repeat after me,” she told the judges as they all held hands. “Heavenly Father, Lord make my life brand new right here, right now, with my friends and my new…

Charges against Florida Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne have officially been dropped.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, in March, Pastor Howard-Browne of the River Tampa Church in Hillsborough County was arrested for unlawful assembly after hosting church services larger than 10 people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, however, Liberty Counsel, the legal group representing Howard-Browne, reported that the charges against the Floridian had been dropped.

Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver argued in a written statement that Howard-Browne’s arrest was “politically motivated.”

“Neither the pastor nor The River at Tampa Bay Church did anything wrong,” he added.

Soon, Howard-Browne’s arrest would gain national attention, something Staver argues led to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis eventually declaring attendance at houses of worship to be an essential activity. “This arrest freed up every church in Florida to meet,” he asserted.

Staver added that for Howard-Browne and all others impacted by his arrest, “It is now time to move forward with healing and restoration.”

A Notice of Termination was also published on Friday confirming that the charges had been dropped.

“Having reviewed the charge(s) contained in the Criminal Report Affidavit and/or Notice to Appear, the State Attorney’s Office informs you that the charge(s) contained therein is/are…

A Detroit, Michigan church is mourning the loss of its pastor and his son from COVID-19 just days from one another.

Rev. Nathaniel Slappey Sr. who served as pastor of St. Luke Baptist Church for 50 years, died on April 30 from COVID-19 complications at the age of 80.

Two days later, on May 2, his son, Nathaniel Slappey, Jr., a girls’ basketball coach and graphic design artist, would also succumb to the novel coronavirus. Last weekend would have been his 50th birthday.

“I never would have thought in a million years that I would bury my husband and a son on the same day,” Josephine Slappey, who along with Slappy Sr. had five children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, told the Detroit Free Press.

Meanwhile, Slappey Jr, leaves behind his wife Toy and their three sons.

Slappey Sr. is known for establishing the Early Start Mission program at his church which worked to get youth off of the streets as well as to feed and clothes those in financial crisis.

Wallace Mills, who now serves as the pastor of New Ebenezer Baptist Church, revealed how Slappey Sr. impacted his life as a teenager.

“I was one of the mischievous fellows growing up. I was always getting into fights,” Mills told the newspaper.

“One day he sat me down and he told me: ‘You don’t always win battles by fighting. You win battles by sharpening your mind and then making a difference in your community,'”…