Tributes to the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. took place on Monday across the country and included a mix of politics, faith and community service. This year’s observance — the 38th since its was made a federal holiday in 1986 — commemorated the Baptist preacher and Civil Rights Movement icon's importance to American history.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights religion angles at the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in covers the case of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Black man who died after a beating by Memphis, Tenn., police. Plus, as always, catch up on all the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) An unmarried Catholic school teacher was dismissed from her position because she became pregnant through engaging in premarital sex. While religious freedom should include the right to remove an employee violating the school’s faith standards, the school could have handled the case of an unwed mother choosing life over abortion much differently.
Read More(REVIEW) Marilynne Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005 for her novel Gilead. Jack is the fourth book in her Gilead series that goes back in time to show Jack’s point of view in an interracial friendship and forbidden romance that reflect God’s love.
Read MoreOrlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac, San Francisco Giants reliever Sam Coonrod, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright and other American athletes have stepped into controversy by declining to kneel in protest with their teammates and the Black Lives Matter movement. Their decisions and critics reflect the ideological divisions of the U.S. over religion and race.
Read More(OPINION) A simple removal of the “Whites Only” signs from water fountains, restrooms and waiting rooms missed the larger problem of segregation. The era of legalized racial segregation and discrimination was marked by the economic exploitation, political disfranchisement and social subordination of African Americans.
Read MoreThe voice and legacy of Rev. C.T. Vivian was memorialized at the Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta July 23 during a funeral that captured the faith and spirit of one of the most courageous veterans of the Civil Rights movement. Watch the full recording here.
Read More(OPINION) Atlanta rabbis who have been marching and speaking at protests consider such efforts an integral part of their work as spiritual leaders, and they acknowledge the role played by Rabbi Jacob Rothschild of The Temple and how his forceful sermons on civil rights helped lay the foundation for the path they walk today.
Read More(OPINION) Prayer is paramount and education is critical. But is it essential that they lead us to act. We cannot hide in our prayer closets or behind our books. Perhaps what is most important for the current moment, is for us as Christians to do all we can to support structural changes that will reduce the frequency of incidents such as the death of George Floyd.
Read MoreIn this Friday’s Weekend Plug-in, a tie-in between the integration of Little Rock Central High School in 1957 and a Houston teen who stood up for a friend called the N-word. The teen is the great-grandson of the Arkansas mayor who asked President Dwight D. Eisenhower to send federal troops to allow the school’s desegregation.
Read MoreSt. John’s Episcopal Church, where Trump posed with a Bible on June 1, is known as the “Church of the Presidents.” Here are five facts about the historic church that you probably didn’t know, involving Abraham Lincoln, a marriage record of both enslaved and free African Americans, a presidential pew and more.
Read More(OPINION) Black Lives Matter is a departure from past social justice movements. It is not attached to any religious institution, and it is anonymous with no defined leadership. Unlike past civil rights movements spearheaded by ministers and laypeople, in the Black Lives Matter movement, the church has been relegated to the back seat.
Read More(OPINION) “Race Against Time,” which hits bookstores Tuesday, reflects the deep Christian faith of veteran Mississippi journalist Jerry Mitchell, whose stories have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. (“Weekend Plug-In” is a column by veteran religion writer Bobby Ross Jr. Look every Friday for analysis, insights and top headlines from the world of faith.)
Read More(COMMENTARY) It’s been nearly three years since the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark case that the Constitution provide same-sex couples the right to marry. The justices are soon expected to render a decision on whether it also protects business owners with religious objections from providing their personal wedding services to gay couples.
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