Posts in News
Did Dobbs Have A Noticeable Impact on Abortion Opinion?

(ANALYSIS) If anything can shift abortion opinion in the general public, it has to be Dobbs, right? It is, without a doubt, the biggest change in policy regarding abortion in the last 50 years. In fact, the last example I can think of a time when the government has taken away rights that were already granted was Prohibition. And we all know how that turned out.

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How Indigenous Peoples Are Reclaiming The Summer Solstice

(ANALYSIS) As a historian of astronomy, I am interested in the role astronomical events had on ancient people and continue to have in modern times. My ancestors lived on the Central Mexican Plateau, where for many Indigenous cultures, both past and present, the rising and setting of the Sun during equinoxes and solstices were sacred events.

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On Religion: Southern Baptists Wade (Once Again) Into Religious Liberty Waters

(ANALYSIS) In the midst of heated debates about female pastors and the morality of in vitro fertilization, the national Southern Baptist Convention recently passed a religious liberty resolution that — in terms of Baptist history — was rather ordinary. But these are not ordinary times in American life.

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Robert Morris Resigns From Gateway Church Following Details Of Abuse

Just days after allegations surfaced that he molested a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s, Pastor Robert Morris has resigned from his Dallas megachurch, Gateway Church. In a statement released to media today, Gateway claimed it did not know the age of Morris’ victim and the length of her abuse.

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Ugandan Church Marks 40 Years Of Transforming Lives Of Most Vulnerable Children

One of the country’s biggest church communities will celebrate its 40th anniversary this month with a series of events, including a book launch by its founders, a new music album and an agribusiness institute. In fact, the celebrations by Watoto Church Ministries highlight their extensive contributions to community development and spiritual growth.

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Ukraine Baptists Seek One-On-One Church Partnerships To Rebuild

The Ukraine Baptist Union grew from 900 churches to more than 2,000 within a decade or so, Bandura told Baptist Press, and amid the current war comprises 2,300 congregations. This time around, members hope individual Southern Baptist congregations will partner with Ukraine Baptist churches to help congregations rebuild after the war.

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Google Is Answering Searches With AI: What Does It Mean For Holocaust History?

What if, when you Googled a question about Holocaust history, instead of being taken to, say, Wikipedia or a news article, you were just given a few bullet points written by artificial intelligence? This is the sort of thing a new UNESCO report, “AI and the Holocaust: Rewriting History?” warns about. 

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‘Loyal To The Oil’: Finding Religion In The Stanley Cup Finals

(ANALYSIS) The Edmonton Oilers showcase a worldview in which triumph, luck and rugged work pay off — beliefs at home on the ice or in the oil field. The Stanley Cup Final offers a glimpse into how the oil industry has helped shaped the religious fervor around Canada’s favorite sport.

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Inside The Beatles’ Abandoned Indian Ashram That Keeps Visitors Coming Decades Later

(TRAVEL) The path to the Beatles Ashram, once the tranquil retreat of the famous British band, is now overgrown with lush plants reclaiming the crumbling structures. Tucked away in the Himalayan foothills, this abandoned Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram was a brief escape for the Beatles from their hectic lives in the spotlight. Decades later, fans find this site a place they must visit.

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SBC Clarifies New IVF And Religious Liberty Resolutions

A flurry of traditional and social media discussion surrounding two SBC resolutions (one on in vitro fertilization, the other on religious liberty) has provoked clarifications among Southern Baptists following the Convention’s Annual Meeting June 11-12 in Indianapolis.

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Louisiana Mandates Ten Commandments Be Displayed In All Public Schools

A specified Protestant version of the Ten Commandments must be displayed in all public schools in Louisiana by January 2025, the mandate of a bill Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law on June 19.

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Crossroads Podcast: Smartphones Are Doors Into Heads, Hearts And Souls

It appears that Emily Harrison — creator of the “Dear Christian Parent” website — is some kind of religious countercultural radical. By the way, for me “radical” is a compliment when discussing matters of digital-screen culture. The question is what brand of faith-based radical she is, since her Substack’s “about” page offers classic nondenominational-era language: “Believer in Jesus. Wife. Mother. Writer & Speaker on kids and screen time. ScreenStrong Ambassador.”

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Why The Anglican Church Faces Existential Challenges

(ANALYSIS) The Anglican Church in North America has been one of the success stories in recent American church history. But the denomination is experiencing growing pains. Its growth has flattened, and there is growing discontent in the denomination about its inability (or unwillingness) to address head-on some vital issues.

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Oklahoma Allows K-12 Kids To Leave School For Religious Lessons

(ANALYSIS) Oklahoma is the most recent state to allow school boards to implement “release time”: off-site classes with religious or moral instruction that K-12 students can attend for part of school days with parental consent. Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 1425 into law, which authorized the program, on June 5, 2024.

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How Climate Change Has Made The Hajj More Risky

(ANALYSIS) Hundreds of people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage as the faithful faced intense high temperatures at Islamic holy sites in the desert kingdom, officials said, as people tried to claim their loved ones’ bodies. While deaths are not uncommon, climate change has made the experience deadlier in recent years.

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Former Grand Canyon Students Sue University, Accuse It Of Racketeering

Grand Canyon Education (GCE), a for-profit marketing agency for Grand Canyon University (GCU), has been sued in federal court for allegedly engaging in a racketeering scheme by students who enrolled in the university’s doctoral programs.

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Christians Establish Boarding School For Girls In Ghana

Volunteers from the village and the Bia Lamplighter College of Education — which is associated with Churches of Christ — mixed bags of cement with water. The material would form the foundation for the first girls’ boarding school for primary education in a region known as the Bia West District, according to Lamplighter founder Augustine Tawiah.  The nearest alternative is 11 hours away in the capital city of Accra. 

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What Churchgoers Say About Pregnancy Care Centers

Two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to an abortion. In the aftermath, many churchgoers say they’ve seen their congregations involved in supporting local pregnancy resource centers. A Lifeway Research study finds three in 10 U.S. Protestant churchgoers have seen at least one type of congregational connection with those local centers.

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Remembering Civil Rights Leader James Lawson And The ‘Power Of Love’

Rev. James M. Lawson Jr., who died on June 9, 2024, at the age of 95, was a Methodist minister and a powerful advocate of nonviolence during the Civil Rights Movement. Lawson is best known for piloting two crucial civil rights campaigns – one in Nashville in 1960 and the other in Memphis in 1968.

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