Christian Persecution Rising as Jihad Infiltrates U.S.

 Christian Persecution Rising as Jihad Infiltrates U.S.

Liberty Sentinel by Alex Newman  

Oct 15, 2026

In a new episode of the Stand Up For The Truth Podcast, host Mary welcomes back journalist and author Alex Newman to discuss mounting legal and cultural pressures on Christian faith and parental rights. The conversation centers on a high-profile Maine custody case in which the state’s highest court upheld an order giving an atheist father sole authority over his 13-year-old daughter’s religious upbringing. The ruling effectively bars the Christian mother from taking her daughter to Calvary Chapel Greater Portland, reading the Bible with her, or exposing her to related teachings—citing alleged psychological harm from church messages (including end-times topics)—while framing the decision as necessary for successful co-parenting.

Newman and the host also examine a proposed California mandate that would require churches to provide “anti-hate speech training” for employees, viewing it as further government encroachment on religious institutions. They address a September Lifeway Research poll showing that while many Christians feel able to defend a Biblical worldview, roughly one-third (and about half of Zoomers) say portions of the Bible can be considered obsolete as culture shifts—prompting discussion of Romans 12:2 and the call not to conform to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind.

The episode closes with election-year notes on a Michigan U.S. Senate candidate who has labeled efforts to ban Sharia law as “white supremacy,” raising questions of inconsistent standards: would similar restrictions apply if the Maine daughter were Muslim and attending a mosque? The discussion underscores Newman’s broader theme of keeping the faith amid selective legal and cultural double standards.