The 3 - February 9, 2020

In this most recent installment of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, I spotlight:
* a march by millions Nigerian Christians protesting sectarian violence in that nation
* the first meeting of a new consortium of nations devoted to fighting for religious freedom
* a California college that is changing its policies as the result of a court ruling in favor of a pro-life group's lawsuit claiming that the school was showing favoritism toward certain views.

Millions of Nigerians march in opposition to continued persecution

Enough!  That's the cry of solidarity from Christians in Nigeria to the continued taking of lives throughout the nation, and according to the website, Evangelical Focus, on the first Sunday of February, approximately 5 million people went into the streets of cities throughout over three-quarters of the 36 provinces of the African nation to protest the deaths of Christians.

One of the most recent high-profile deaths is that of pastor Lawan Andimi, who was beheaded by Boko Haram terrorists in January, according to another Evangelical Focus piece.

The article states:

During the march, organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) as the final event of a three-day fast, participants brought posters which read: “Nigerian Christians are under attack. Buhari acts now”, and “Our values and way of life will prevail, the killings will not”.

Buhari is the President of Nigeria. The World Evangelical Alliance also condemned attacks on Christians in the nation.  The article relates:

Through a statement signed by its Secretary General, Ephraim Tendero, the WEA recalled that “in 2019, Nigeria accounted for some 45% of Christians killed for their faith globally, approximately 1,350 out of 3,000 deaths”.

“We urge President Buhari and the Nigerian government to put an end to these attacks, to decisively combat the prevailing impunity for killings, and to ensure institutional accountability”, it added.

Nations formally join together and pledge to fight for religious freedom

The United States is continuing to take a leadership role in the preservation of religious freedom in countries around the world.  This past week, a total of 27 countries, according to an article at the Religion News Service website, were represented at a meeting in Washington.

The article traces the history of this new Alliance, stating that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo...

...announced plans for the creation of the alliance at the conclusion of the State Department’s second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in July. He and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback have called it a “first-ever” global group to focus on religious freedom.

President Donald Trump also cited the alliance at a September event on religious freedom at the United Nations, where he described it as “an alliance of likeminded nations devoted to confronting religious persecution all around the world.”

At the National Prayer Breakfast, the President made reference to the Alliance, according to the transcript on the White House website, and then stated: "All of us here today reaffirm these timeless truths: Faith keeps us free. Prayer makes us strong. And God alone is the author of life and the giver of grace."

The RNS article said that:

The State Department issued a list of principles for the alliance that included a commitment to “the right to hold any faith or belief, or none at all, and the freedom to change faith.” The new organization’s priorities include challenging blasphemy laws and the denial of registration to nonreligious and religious groups and advocating for people who are imprisoned or otherwise persecuted due to their religion or beliefs.

At this week's meeting, it was announced that Warsaw, Poland would be the site of the next
Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.

Pro-life students gain right to assemble at California college campus

In a resounding victory for a pro-life student group at California State University-San Marcos, the university agreed to pay almost a quarter of a million dollars and to revise its student fee policy, according to the website of Alliance Defending Freedom, which filed a lawsuit against the school after unfair treatment was alleged by the campus group, Students for Life, which is one of over 100 recognized student groups on the campus.

The website states:

The university funded the Gender Equity and the LGBTQA Pride Center with almost $300,000 in mandatory fees while denying Students for Life $500 in funding to host a visiting speaker on “Abortion and Human Equality” to provide a contrasting view.

This was during the 2016-17 academic year.  The website goes on to say:

In August 2019, a federal district court struck down the CSU–San Marcos policy of “back room deliberations” that lead to unequal treatment of student groups and directed both sides to reach an agreement on the policy issues raised in the lawsuit.

That ruling resulted in the school's recent actions. ADF Legal Counsel Caleb Dalton is quoted as saying, “We’re grateful the district court rejected the university’s unfair, secretive, and discriminatory policy, and that the university has agreed to allocate student fees only in a viewpoint-neutral manner, instead of picking favorites. The university system’s policy changes don’t simply benefit our clients but also benefit any student with a minority viewpoint and every citizen who cares about dialogue and intellectual freedom within our public colleges and university communities.”

This court action is reminiscent of a statement made by the President at the recent National Prayer Breakfast, according to the Family Research Council website: "...I also recently took executive action to stop taxpayer dollars from going to colleges and universities that spread the poison of anti-Semitism and bad things about Christianity. We are upholding the sanctity of life. And we are doing that like nobody has ever done it before from this position."