Study: Religious Restriction in Third of all Countries

By CBNNews

Most of the world has some sort of religious restrictions, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.

Nearly a third of all countries with some having large populations, either have laws that restrict religion or citizens who harm people of other faiths.

As a result, the religious oppression actually affects more than 70 percent of the world's population.

Countries most affected include China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia. Those with the most religious freedom include the United States, Britain, Brazil, and Italy.

The study found that religious minorities suffer the brunt of the intolerance.

Administrators Face Charges for School Prayer

CBNNews - Two Christian teachers in Florida are facing jail time for allegedly breaking the law as they prayed at a school-related event.

Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman in Santa Rosa County led the prayer before a meal at a booster club meeting for adults, but a judge said the meeting violated a federal court order banning school officials from leading prayers at school events.

In 2008 the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Santa Rosa County School District. They claimed some of the teachers and administration "endorsed" religion in the classroom and school events. The school district did not fight the suit and consented to prohibiting prayer at school-sponsored events.

Now the two men could be fined or even sent to jail for "criminal contempt."  The Liberty Counsel, a conservative religious rights group, is defending them.

Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, said it is a sad day in America when school officials are criminally prosecuted for a prayer over a meal.

Receive Jesus Christ into Your Life

Jesus Christ, His Son, is the only way to God. Only He can reconcile us to God the Father.

Mankind may seek other solutions and worship other gods, but Jesus Christ, alone, died on the Cross for our sins and rose in triumph over the grave and eternal death.

He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap between God and mankind.

The Bible explains: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

We are also told, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).