Giorgi Viazovski's 10 days in a Belarus jail confirmed something he already knew: "The freedom of religion we were promised in the 1990s is closed." Police in the capital city of Minsk arrested the Reformed Baptist pastor for holding church services in his private home without registering with the state under a 2002 law that drastically limits evangelism and distribution of Christian literature and makes some church activities subject to state approval.

On a cold, rainy morning in the sleepy town of Cleveland, Tenn., Jen Ham huddles with a dozen young adults in dark blue jackets beneath the only picnic shelter in Deer Park and talks about "relentless, redemptive suffering." Ms. Ham, 23, asks the group if they are willing to deny themselves, serve others, and pursue "purity in what we know is right." She tells the group: "God loves each one of us."

The Campaign to Defend the Constitution (DefCon), a new online group dedicated to "combating the growing power of the religious right," launched its first advertising campaign this month with a series of ads that had little to do with defending the Constitution.

Maurice Atkinson learned everything he knows about politics from Ralph Reed. The vice chairman of the Bibb County Republican Party in central Georgia cut his teeth on political activism in Indiana, where he was an active member of the Christian Coalition when Mr. Reed was executive director of the organization. When Mr. Atkinson moved to Georgia six years ago, he delved into local politics and supported Mr. Reed in his successful bid for state party chairman. "I liked his ideas," Mr. Atkinson told WORLD. "He was extremely effective."