Justice Anthony Kennedy's 7-2 majority opinion in favor of the baker at the Masterpiece Cakeshop focused on evidence that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had demonstrated open hostility towards owner Jack Phillips and his Christian faith. Meanwhile, Phillips says he is looking forward to creating more wedding cakes, now that he is free to do so while following his Christian convictions.
Read MoreThe bizarre, cultish group that made headlines for recruiting women to be “slaves” and “masters” has closed after its leader, Keith Raniere, was denied bail after appealing in court. Raniere’s cult, NXIVM, caught the public’s attention last fall when the New York Times published a detailed exposé that included graphic details about branding of female followers, coerced sexual acts and blackmail.
Read MoreAnger is timely, along with grief, as waves of #MeToo and #ChurchToo messages about sexual abuse and domestic violence have triggered a series of stunning headlines. Most have been linked to the work of Paige Patterson after news about sermons in which he critiqued a teen-aged girl's body, knocked female seminary students who weren't striving hard enough to be attractive, and advised an abused wife to stay with her husband rather than seeking legal help.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Robert E. Lee grew up in a "household divided by a common faith," with a father whose Episcopal convictions centered on honor and duty and an "almost Unitarian" rejection of anything hinting at superstition or human emotions. His mother, however, was a fervent evangelical Episcopalian.
Read More(COMMENTARY) The internet furore over the violent Greek Orthodox baby baptism has seeped into the press. The story in itself is amusing, but it also provides a teaching moment on how not to do journalism.
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(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.
Read More(COMMENTARY) It's an often quoted fact: The number of men ordained each year is about a third of what's needed to replace priests who are retiring, dying or simply leaving. Two decades ago it was common to see between 800 and 900 ordinations a year.
Read More(COMMENTARY) The “trial of the century” of Cardinal George Pell - the Vatican’s “number 3” man and head of its finances - on sexual abuse charges has been passed by a Melbourne Magistrate to the Victoria County Court for adjudication. Magistrate Belinda Wallington found sufficient evidence to justify a trial for the 76-year old former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, who has been placed on leave by Pope Francis to respond to the charges.
Read MoreWhen Larry Norman died in 2008 there was one thing the critics – secular and religious – agreed on: The controversial singer and music maven helped create the "Contemporary Christian Music" industry. For Norman, that was not good news.
Read MoreMegan Kelly discusses her family, career, and Catholic upbringing at the event, “TV Bares Soul: An Intimate Evening of Conversation with Megyn Kelly” hosted by Father Edward L. Beck, religion commentator for CNN.
Read MoreAfter decades of fighting about sex and marriage, the world's 12.5 million United Methodists are still waiting for a final shoe to drop. It's less than a year until a special General Conference that has been empowered to choose a model for United Methodist life after the Sexual Revolution – some path to unity, rather than schism.
Read MoreOne by one, Billy and Ruth Graham's children – Gigi, Anne, Ruth, Franklin and Ned – took the pulpit in a 28,000-square-foot tent erected at the Billy Graham Library, in Charlotte, N.C. They praised their famous father, of course, but also their mother who died in 2007. The family's patriarch died with 19 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
Read MoreThe Media Project is now accepting applications for our 2018 TMP Coaching & Leadership Fellowship Program, October 7-13, 2018 at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. Apply today and spread the word to others. Space is limited to 15-participants.
Read MoreFor Chinese Catholics in the United States, the start of Lent and the Lunar New Year was a crisscrossing of traditions. The solemnity of Lent is a time for adherence to the liturgical calendar as followers await the resurrection of Christ on Easter.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Republican Jeffrey Bell died in February, after a career in which he ran for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey – in 1978 and 2014 – but was better known for work behind the scenes helping others, following beliefs that escaped easy political labels.
Read MoreNot a formal scholar or theologian, Billy Graham was instead in many ways a purveyor of good tidings. Over and over again, he offered what he avowed to be the transformative power of personal faith in Jesus Christ. Graham made that clear and simple proclamation to an estimated 215 million people — through hundreds of crusades and evangelistic rallies over the course of his long life. He reached millions more through broadcast media.
Read More(OPINION) The mood at the recent National Prayer Breakfast was affectionate when Rep. Cedric Richmond of New Orleans introduced House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. People keep asking how the two can be such close friends when they disagree on about "80 percent" of the issues facing America. The key, Richmond said, is to understand that faith can transcend politics.
Read More(COMMENTARY) As Christians enter the season of Lent, the church's mission is as paramount as ever – to spread the Gospel and inform parishioners, through news stories and commentary, about the politics and culture around us. The mainstream press is not the least interested in such a mission – so it has largely become the role of the religious-based press – and the communication tools of the 21st century – to fill the void.
Read More(Commentary) Our review of the U.S. press coverage of claims that Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, the president of the Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (DBK), had given his permission to clergy to bless same-sex unions has sparked rigorous debate on social media. George Conger responds with his perspective on what is causing the discord.
Read More(COMMENTARY) For the Branch Davidians, everything hinged on Book of Revelation texts about the Seven Seals and "the Lamb," a mysterious figure who would open those seals in the Last Days. That was the infamous Branch Davidian drama summed up in one tense exchange, according to the creators of the six-part Paramount Network miniseries "Waco," which runs through Feb. 28.
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