Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
What Apple’s Encryption Fight Has to Do with Religious Freedom
What Apple’s Encryption Fight Has to Do with Religious Freedom
Jan 29, 2026 5:19 PM

The early church father Tertullian once asked, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” by which he meant “What has Greek thought and philosophy to do with Christianity and its Biblical heritage?”

Today we might ask a similar question, “What has Apple to do with Hobby Lobby?” or “What does the conflict between Apple and the federal government over encryption have to do with Hobby Lobby’s struggle with the government over religious liberty?”

The answer is: More than you might think. As Chelsea Langston argues, the tech giant and the craft store share a defense of constitutional protections for institutions:

The continued media coverage of Apple’s case offers an opportunity for religious freedom advocates. Its example reminds us of the broad importance of protecting organizations—both secular and religious, for-profit and pulsion to act against their most foundational values. parison between the Apple case and the Hobby Lobby case is not exact, but the two are closer than we may realize.

Read more . . .

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Religious liberty in employment marches forward across the Atlantic
On Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services issued two interim rules rolling back the HHS mandate, which requires employers to furnish female employees with contraception, sterilization, and potentially abortifacient drugs for “free.” The two rules, which take effect immediately, do not repeal the HHS mandate. One rule grants an exemption to nonprofits, closely held businesses, and some publicly traded corporations that have sincerely held religious objections to its terms. The other allows all but publicly traded corporations to...
Should we be nudged toward libertarian paternalism?
If the boy is father to the man, then I was raised by a profligate dunce. Even though I had learned the power pound interest in high school, I foolishly squandered my trivial savings at a time when the “eighth wonder of the world,” as Albert Einstein called it, would have had the greatest impact. Had I invested a mere $2,000 in Apple stock on my 18th birthday I would now be $252,039 richer and well on my way to...
Does tying benefit social welfare?
Note: This is post #52 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. What is tying and how is this a form of price discrimination? An example of a tied good is an HP printer and the HP ink you need for that printer. The printer (the base good) is often relatively cheap whereas the ink (the variable good) has a high markup, and eventually costs you far more than what you paid for the printer. Why panies tie their...
Department of Justice memo reaffirms our rights of religious liberty
In May President Trump issued an executive order directing Attorney General Sessions to address several issues concerning religious liberty, including: • Issue explicit guidance from the Attorney General to the Treasury Department to prohibit the revocation of tax exempt status to an organization based on its religious beliefs; • Encourage the Department of Health & Human Services to issue the draft interim final rule providing relief to the contraceptive mandate; • Ensure a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) analysis is...
Putting Columbus in context
A few years ago the following quote from Christopher Columbus started making the rounds: For one woman they give a hundred castellanos, as for a farm; and this sort of trading is mon, and there are already a great number of merchants who go in search of girls; there are at this moment some nine or ten on sale; they fetch a good price, let their age be what it will. Sounds pretty damning. Christopher Columbus did, indeed, write that....
The surprising good news about child poverty
Here’s some good news you probably haven’t heard: Over the past fifty years the child poverty rate has almost been cut in half, falling to a record low of 15.6 percent in pared to the 1967 level of 28.4 percent. That’s the finding in a new report by Isaac Shapiro and Danilo Trisi of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The “official” child poverty rate provided by the government, though, is listed as 19.7 percent. Why the substantial difference?...
How Christopher Columbus helped bring the School of Salamanca to the Americas
Every Columbus Day gives rise to endless debates and recriminations over the impact of Christopher Columbus’ expedition upon the indigenous peoples of the Americas. No honest observer can dismiss the injustices perpetrated after Columbus’ landing (nor before it), but one benefit of his voyage has been forgotten: It inadvertently exposed the Americas to theSchool of Salamanca. This late scholastic school of Roman Catholic thought emphasized individual rights, human dignity, and economic liberty (particularly against government-sponsored inflation; for more, see Faith...
Unemployment as economic-spiritual indicator — September 2017 report
Series Note: Jobs are one of the most important aspects of a morally functioning economy. They help us serve the needs of our neighbors and lead to human flourishing both for the individual and munities. Conversely, not having a job can adversely affect spiritual and psychological well-being of individuals and families. Because unemployment is a spiritual problem, Christians in America need to understand and be aware of the monthly data on employment. Each month highlight the latest numbers we need...
‘Work Songs’: A new collection of hymns on work and vocation
In June of 2017, a group of 60 Christian creatives gathered in New York City to discuss and reflect on the intersection of worship and vocation.Known as the The Porter’s Gate Worship Project, the group prised of musicians, pastors, writers, and scholars, aiming to “reimagine and recreate worship that es, reflects and impacts munity and the Church.” Their first album, Work Songs, is a collection of 13 modern hymns, each crafted to connect the meaning and dignity of daily work...
Who’s afraid of the robot revolution?
Forecasters disagree over whether ing wave of robotic automation will usher in a utopia or a wasteland, but none questions a future where automotons increasingly put human beings out of work.“What Jobs Will Still be Around in 20 Years?” asks the Guardian. “The Future Has Lots of Robots, Few Jobs for Humans,”Wired forecast.Robots and artificial intelligence will take up to 38 percent of all jobs in the United States and 30 to 35 percent of jobs in the EU, according...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved