Minnesota Lawyer

In case you missed it, on Thursday the president of the United States called the nation to prayer - just as past presidents have done on the first Thursday of every May since 1952.

More than 2 billion people across the globe have Internet access, and there are some 5 billion mobile phone subscriptions, according to the 2010 Human Rights Report released this month by the U.S. State Department.

Just when First Amendment principles seem to be working in public education, new fights over student religious speech threaten to reignite culture-war battles in schools across the country.

In my last column, I sounded an alarm about the rise of Islamophobia in the United States, calling attempts in various states to pass anti-Shariah legislation an attack on religious freedom.

Throughout our history, the United States has endured periodic outbreaks of fear and hysteria - from the Red Scare to the Yellow Peril. To that ignoble list, we can now add the "Muslim Menace."

The revolutions sweeping across northern Africa and the Middle East could mark the beginning of a historic advance for democratic freedom - ranking in significance with milestones of liberty like the American Revolution of 1776 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In the perennial post-game buzz about Super Bowl ads, the buff body of the new GoDaddy girl (aka Joan Rivers) was a big hit this year.

It's not every day that a school board votes unanimously to ignore legal advice, defy Supreme Court precedent and invite litigation.

Each Jan. 16, Americans are supposed to celebrate Religious Freedom Day, our least known, most neglected national holid. But if people did pay attention to Religious Freedom Day, they might not find much to celebrate.

The No. 1 religion story of 2010 was the emotional, often ugly debate over plans for an Islamic center two blocks from ground zero in Manhattan, according to Religion Newswriters Association members - and just about everyone else making a list.