As several Adventist religious liberty leaders continue to parrot the Religious Right on matters of personal freedom and church/state issues, increasing numbers of legal professionals and religious liberty advocates are turning to Religious Liberty.TV. In addition to its pioneering use of new media, Religious Liberty.TV combines the traditional Adventist view on church and state with a commitment to exploring how Christians are actually making a prophetic difference in the world.

UPDATE: See church statement in response.

The Ugandan government is considering a bill which states that a person who "commits the offence of homosexuality. . .shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for life."

Last month a group of over 150 Christian leaders from the Evangelical, Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox faiths united to sign The Manhattan Declaration, a document declaring that signers will not compromise on the issues of sanctity of human life, the traditional definition of marriage, and the “rights of conscience and religious liberty.”

ANN reports that James Standish is returning to denominational employ as the Seventh-day Adventist Church's liaison to the United Nations.

Elizabeth Lechleitner writes:

James D. Standish, Esq., formerly longtime director of Legislative Affairs for the Adventist Church, spent the past year as executive director of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent non-partisan federal agency advising the White House and Congress.

An unstable economy, debates about nationalized health care, a new Supreme Court justice, and many other factors have made this one of the most interesting few months for liberty advocates and court watchers alike.

There have been two major legislative victories including the passage of the Tennessee Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA). Some people are getting these bills confused, which is understandable given the alphabet soup that defines the legislation (RFRA and WRFA).

What's happening to Seventh-day Adventist religious liberty?

On February 14, Alan Reinach, head of the Pacific Union Conference's Church State Council and NARLA-West interviewed Erik Stanley,Esq., Senior Legal Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund. They discussed gay marriage.

In preparation for church chats and Sabbath afternoon conversations on what has turned out to be a pretty hot topic in Adventism, particularly in California, here's a roundup of what's been happening.

The Wall Street Journal reports that "Claims of religious discrimination filed with federal, state and local agencies have doubled over the past 15 years and rose 15% during 2007 to 4,515, a record."

The Adventists Against Prop. 8 movement continues with almost 700 signers to the petition and with more than 550 members of the Facebook group.