(ANALYSIS) Psychedelics, broadly defined, are a class of psychoactive substances that alter perception, cognition and mood through their interaction with neurotransmitters such as serotonin. As a medical anthropologist I have spent the past 25 years studying the rise of alternative approaches to mental health treatments and have specifically focused in the past four years on the impact of psychedelics on consciousness and spirituality.
Read MoreAfter each and every school shooting, the usual suspects in public life produce their familiar soundbites that draw cheers from the faithful in their various choirs in blue America and red America.
Read MorePastors and college football fans George Schroeder and Dean Inserra have kicked off the third season of “Gridiron and the Gospel,” a podcast dedicated to the sport but also faith. Schroeder’s sports journalism career stretched nearly 30 years and included stops at USA Today and Sports Illustrated as well as Baptist Press editor. He currently serves as pastor of First Baptist Church in Fairfield, Texas.
Read MoreAs Southern Baptist churches in Metro New Orleans commemorate Katrina on Friday, they’ll do so with a New Orleans Baptist Association of churches that is more diverse and more united than it was when the waters dirtied the city.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of the things that we often hear when we tell folks that we are working on a project that is studying the growing number of nones in the United States is something along the lines of, “Oh, I’m not that religious, but I consider myself highly spiritual.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) In what authorities called an “absolutely incomprehensible” act of violence, a gunman opened fire on a Catholic church during morning Mass on Wednesday — killing two children and injuring 17 others. The implications of this tragedy ripple far beyond Minneapolis. It is the latest — and among the most chilling — examples of how places once considered safe sanctuaries have become targets.
Read MoreA Minnesota law that banned certain Christian colleges from a program that enrolls high-schoolers in tuition-free college credit courses is unconstitutional, a federal judge has ruled.
Read More(ANALYSIS) With two dramatic actions, the “Religious Right” is suddenly prodding the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its historic 2015 Obergefell decision, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Such a radical and unpopular switch after only 10 years might seem implausible — but a close parallel already happened in the 2022 Dobbs decision.
Read MoreThe rector of the 160-plus member Good Shepherd Anglican Church near Charlotte, N.C., recently sent an urgent warning to parishioners about an email claiming to be from him. The email requested donations in the form of gift cards — a known tactic used for phishing scams in which criminals deceive victims into revealing sensitive information.
Read MoreWhen it comes to morality, Americans don’t see much wrong with using birth control or getting a divorce, but few support extramarital affairs or human cloning. The latest poll results from Gallup spell out what activities U.S. adults view as morally acceptable and which ones are seen as immoral.
Read MoreThe brouhaha over a certain country-themed restaurant/store’s brand redesign touches on a topic that churches encounter at some point. “Someone in your congregation should want to get a cap or t-shirt with your logo on it, and wear it,” said author Mark MacDonald. “It actually represents them, since they are the church.” It goes much deeper than a shirt and expands beyond the church’s walls.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Every once in a while, someone would ask me how I became a pastor. I completely understand the impetus for the question, by the way. If you didn’t grow up around religion, the pathway to ministry can seem somewhat opaque. Let me just quickly lay out my story.
Read MoreA church in Shelbyville, Kentucky, has encouraged its congregants to check objectionable books out of the public library and not return them — ever!
Read More(ANALYSIS) Students at elite universities tend to talk a good game when it comes to religious pluralism. Many of them show up on day one already saying all the right things about respecting different faiths. Here’s the paradox: They don’t grow from there, according to research published in The Journal of Higher Education. Students at less selective colleges, meanwhile, do develop more pluralistic attitudes.
Read MoreThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has dismissed its lawsuit against Grand Canyon Education over Grand Canyon University’s doctoral programs. The dismissal comes after the case, brought during the Biden Administration, suffered “two losses” in motions to dismiss and after the U.S. Department of Education rescinded its $37.7-million fine assessed against Grand Canyon University in 2023.
Read MoreAt a time when more than three billion people worldwide live without access to a local church, International Cooperating Ministries is inviting Christians to help bridge that gap. The Virginia-based missions organization, which has helped construct more than 13,600 permanent church buildings in 110 countries, recently launched its new Community Impact Partners program.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For decades, one name was ubiquitous in American evangelical homes: Focus on the Family. A media empire with millions of listeners and readers, its messages about parenting, marriage and politics seemed to reach every conservative Christian church and school. And one man’s name was nearly synonymous with Focus on the Family: James Dobson.
Read MoreIt helps to remember that this Lutheran denomination has lost roughly half of its members during the last 50 years and insiders have suggested that it may die by 2050.
Read MorePastors have a lot of thoughts about discipleship, but they aren’t sure it’s happening in their churches. In the first part of the State of Discipleship study from Lifeway Research, U.S. Protestant pastors shared their understanding of what discipleship means and how it best occurs. The full State of Discipleship will be released over the next year, providing the perspectives of both pastors and churchgoers.
Read MoreJames Dobson, a politically influential conservative and anti-abortion activist who founded the Christian ministry Focus on the Family, died on Thursday at the age of 89. Dobson started Focus on the Family in 1977, which had more than 1,000 employees at its peak in the mid-90s, giving him the chance to influence legislation and White House policy for decades.
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