Posts tagged education
What An Online Theology Course Got Wrong About St. Francis

(OPINION) St. Francis of Assisi, like so many young people today, had experienced the ravages of war, spent time as a prisoner and came out of that trauma seeking something deeper in his life. He hungered for God and had the courage to step out boldly in his search. Heaping extraneous mumbo-jumbo on him really does a disservice. 

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The King’s College Permanently Shuts Down Following Financial Woes

The King’s College, a private four-year Christian school based in New York City, will permanently close, the school said. “Despite a thorough search for such a partner, the Board has been unable to secure the support necessary to present a plan to resume operations by the July 15 … deadline granted to us by the New York State Education Department.”

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Exploring Questions Of Meaning, Ethics And Belief Through Japanese Anime

(ANALYSIS) Anime and Religious Identity: Cultural Aesthetics in Japanese Spiritual Worlds helps students explore questions of meaning, ethics and belief that anime brings to life. It examines themes such as what happens when the past resurfaces? What does it mean to carry the weight of responsibility? And how can suffering become a path to transformation?

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100 Years Since The Scopes Trial: Evolution, Religion and America’s Classroom Conflicts

(ANALYSIS) One hundred years ago this month, Americans were transfixed as a Tennessee courtroom hosted challenge to the state’s new law barring “the teaching of the Evolution Theory” in public schools, including colleges. The prohibition covered “any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible.

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Following Pressure, Baylor Returns Grant To Study LGBTQ ‘Inclusion’

Baylor University’s president announced in a letter Wednesday (July 9) that the school has rescinded a grant toward the study of “disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women” in churches. The move came after Baylor’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work announced on June 30 that it had received a grant of nearly $644,000 toward its Center for Church and Community Impact, also called C3I.

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Supreme Court Rules Parents Can Opt Their Children Out Of LGBTQ-Inclusive Books

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled parents of public-school children in Montgomery County, Md., have a right to opt their kids out of classroom reading times with books the school board labels as “LGBTQ inclusive.” These books were introduced as part of a new curriculum in 2022 for pre-K through eighth-grade students. They promote storylines that teach gender is a construct rather than a biological fact.

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Truett McConnell Trustees Call For Investigation, Place President On Leave

Truett McConnell University President Emir Caner has been placed on administrative leave following a special called meeting of TMU trustees on June 6. The school, affiliated with Georgia Baptists, has been embroiled in controversy following allegations of sexual abuse against a former professor. A growing number of alumni and others associated with the university had been calling for trustees to take action.

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Christians Care For Cambodian Orphans In ‘Jesus Village’

A “Jesus Village” for children in crisis 50 miles west of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, will span about 15 acres and house 240 orphans in 12 houses. Cambodia Christian Ministries has already accepted 65 children, assuming legal responsibility for their care from the Cambodian government.

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GCU Cleared of $37.7M Federal Fine, Retains Tax-Exempt Status

A Christian university in Arizona is no longer on the hook for a $37.7 million federal fine, believed to be the largest-ever financial penalty imposed on a school. Grand Canyon University (GCU), said that on May 16, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) rescinded the massive penalty proposed for the Phoenix-based school in 2023.

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Imam’s Fight For Kids’ Education Following Mosque Demolition

Zakir Hussain, the imam of the ancient Akhunji Mosque in Mehrauli, a section of South Delhi, has a vivid memory of Jan. 31, 2023. He described the terrible events of that morning, when the Delhi Development Authority destroyed not only the centuries-old mosque — but also the nearby Madrasa Bahrul Uloom and the cemetery next to it.

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Supreme Court Deadlock Blocks Nation’s First Religious Charter School

The U.S. Supreme Court could not find five votes for either side in an appeal that would have established the first state-supported religious charter school in the nation. The 4-4 split — made possible by Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s recusal — allowed to stand the lower court’s decision that it would be unconstitutional for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma City to be established with public funds.

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How A Small Nebraska Church Thrives Without A Preacher

“A loss is not the end. Don’t make it one,” proclaimed the Hastings Church of Christ marquee sign. The church lost its minister nearly two years ago and — despite solid finances — has been unable to fill the position. Meanwhile, a university 60 miles away has supplied Sunday speakers.

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School Vouchers Would Expand Nationwide Under New Federal Plan

A federal tax credit proposal would provide up to $5,000 per student in tuition assistance for yeshivas and other Jewish schools nationwide. The proposal, which has been criticized by some as a threat to religious liberty, has been hailed as "historic" by Agudath Israel.

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Liberty University Discloses $15.3 Million Settlement To Jerry Falwell Jr.

Jerry Falwell Jr., the former president of Liberty University, may have resigned in disgrace in 2020 following a sex scandal, but he now has a $15.3 million payment from the school to show for it. In an IRS filing provided by the Lynchburg, Virginia, school to The Roys Report, Liberty said it paid Falwell, son of the school’s late founder, the money in 2024 to settle lawsuits the former leader filed against it.

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Lawsuit Against Grand Canyon University Over Costs Clears First Hurdle

Former doctoral students suing Grand Canyon Education (GCE) over its representations about the requirements of doctoral programs prevailed against a motion to dismiss and can continue their lawsuit.

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How These Supreme Court Cases Could Reshape The Law Regarding Religion

(ANALYSIS) The big U.S. Supreme Court decisions due in the coming two months include three cases on the religion clauses in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. At issue: Can a state deny a tax benefit to religious charities it thinks are not “religious” enough, can parents withdraw public elementary children from classes on gender identity and whether the state can fund a religious charter school.  

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Harvard Releases Long-Awaited Internal Antisemitism Report

Harvard University’s president has apologized for the campus climate over the last year and a half, in a letter accompanying a long-awaited report from a university task force on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.

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Supreme Court Considers First Taxpayer-Funded Religious Charter School

Whether taxpayers should be forced to fund religious charter schools came before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in the first case of its kind. The court is considering whether to overturn a June 2024 Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that a St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School of Oklahoma City would be unconstitutional.

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South Carolina’s Limestone University Needs $6M To Stay Open

A small Christian university in Gaffney, South Carolina, is facing possible closure if it doesn’t obtain immediate financial support of $6 million. Limestone University, founded as a nondenominational Christian women’s college in 1845, is facing imminent decisions about its continuation.

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