Steve Gaines, longtime pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis and a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, died March 20 after a long battle with cancer. He was 68.
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(ANALYSIS) Each March, many of the country’s most selective colleges and universities release their admissions decisions, reviving debates over the roles of race, wealth and privilege — and putting Americans’ cultural obsession with rankings back in the spotlight.
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Church leaders across the United States are increasingly embracing technology as a vital part of ministry — even as concerns about authenticity, privacy and spiritual impact continue to shape how digital tools are used, according to a new report.
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Grand Canyon University has entered into an agreement with the Navajo Nation for a tuition discount of 10% for its eligible employees and citizens.
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(ANALYSIS) Silent retreats have become increasingly common in the United States in recent years. To calm down and reset their nervous systems, people relinquish their phones and reading materials and commit to speaking at a bare minimum to learn practices of self-awareness.
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(ANALYSIS) In theory, many Christians support pacifism or non-violent resistance, but for Iranian Christians, those theories are challenged by the harsh realities of a hellish regime and an ongoing war. This question of ‘just war’ has a long history, going back to the first centuries of the church.
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(ANALYSIS) The war in the Middle East is rapidly expanding across the Gulf countries, including Iran and Lebanon. The conflict has already targeted the region’s civilians, natural resources, tourist destinations and U.S. military bases. Some Muslim community leaders in the U.S. warn that people far from the conflict could experience backlash.
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More than 31 million people in the United States claim Irish ancestry — nearly six times the population of Ireland itself. When St. Patrick’s Day — a Catholic feast day originally honoring Saint Patrick, a missionary who brought the Gospel to the island in the 5th century, but is now more widely celebrated with parades and pints of beer — rolls around, Americans go hard.
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While churchgoers may be praying about ways to tell others about Jesus, many aren’t doing much to make that happen. According to Lifeway Research’s State of Discipleship, U.S. Protestant churchgoers often struggle to grow in their own discipleship. The latest findings indicate they also frequently miss opportunities to make new disciples by not sharing their faith with others.
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(ANALYSIS) John M. Perkins rose from orphaned sharecropper roots in Mississippi to become a leading Christian evangelist, civil rights activist, and advocate of racial reconciliation. Founder of the Christian Community Development movement, he preached “Jesus and a job,” combining faith, community and reconciliation throughout a remarkable lifetime of service.
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Muslims in French Guiana are a small minority, making up roughly 0.9% of the population, which equates to about 2,070 people. However, asylum applications from Muslim communities are surging and the small Muslim community that does exist are finding a way to observe their religious traditions.
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Moody Bible Institute will be allowed to participate in Chicago Public Schools’ student teaching program after the college alleged religious freedom violations in being excluded. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) first said Moody couldn’t participate in the student-teacher internship unless the institute abandoned its religious-based hiring practices, but agreed to drop the requirement after Moody filed a federal lawsuit.
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Young men in America are redefining adulthood, prioritizing personal responsibility and financial independence over traditional milestones like marriage and parenthood. Many face economic uncertainty, mental health struggles and doubts about college’s value — yet remain hopeful about meaningful work and family. Trade careers are gaining appeal as paths to stability and adulthood.
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(ANALYSIS) As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, debates about religious freedom continue to occupy the center of American public life.
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Legal experts said that the rise in divorce filings cannot be understood solely through a moral or religious lens. Zimbabwe’s prolonged economic challenges, labor migration and shifts in gender dynamics have also played significant roles. At the same time, many women have long faced persistent abuse within their own homes or at the hands of a partner.
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(ANALYSIS) As the American and Israeli war with Iran unfolds, some American Christians are speaking of the conflict in biblical terms — mapping end-time prophecies on to current events in the Middle East. In a sermon on March 1, for example, John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel, described the war as part of a divine plan.
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(ANALYSIS) During the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 5, Paula White-Cain, senior adviser to the White House Office of Faith, introduced President Donald Trump as “the greatest champion of faith that we have ever had in the executive branch.” Taking the podium after her, Trump declared, “I’ve done more for religion than any other president.”
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Every morning begins the same for Paul Ridlon, who also goes by Magnus de Rhuddlan. No matter the weather, he steps out of the round yurt where he lives in Portland, Maine, and lights incense at his southern altar, a tree stump topped with two crane statues and a figurine of the Egyptian god Horus.
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As you approach Iranian houses of worship, you’ll hear it: Locals striking their chests and rhythmically chanting laments to grieve the recent death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death. Each movement carries a dual meaning — expressing both personal grief while signaling loyalty to both a religious leader and a totalitarian state.
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It’s a rupture that may not be reversible. Conservative Anglicans from around the world voted to part ways with the church’s leadership in England. When Sarah Mullally — the first woman chosen as the Archbishop of Canterbury — is formally installed later this month, she will be inheriting a church already reorganizing itself without her.
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