Many Black American pastors aren't jumping on the spiritual caravan with White evangelical churches that largely vote Republican. Black churches have a complex relation with religion and politics on the topic of abortion and other issues. So while some Black churches and pastors support the ruling, plenty of others do not.
Read More(OPINION) The Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade is just the beginning of a new battle to be fought for the unborn, state by state, life by life, heart by heart. But this is also a massive, unprecedented victory — one that, for many years, seemed completely out of reach.
Read MoreAfter half a century, Americans’ constitutional right to get an abortion has been overturned by the Supreme Court. The Conversation asked Nicole Huberfeld and Linda C. McClain, health law and constitutional law experts at Boston University, to explain what just happened, and what happens next.
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court overturned both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey on Friday, ruling that there is no constitutional right to abortion. ReligionUnplugged looks at what six religious subgroups in America believe about abortion.
Read More(OPINION) Americans have seen how ugly culture wars can become when electoral politics are caught in its talons. Witness the vitriol that dominates the news out of Washington and various state capitals these days. The situation in India — the world’s largest Hindu-majority nation with the third-largest Muslim population after Indonesia and Pakistan — is arguably even worse.
Read MoreJoseph Kennedy, a high school football coach in Bremerton, Washington, is waiting for a ruling to emerge from the Supreme Court any day in his case about prayer. And he insists he is a centrist that most Americans would agree with on religious freedom issues and the Constitution.
Read More(OPINION) In Corinthians, Paul writes that when Jesus comes for his bride, the quality of our work will be revealed with fire. Therefore, the size of our cups of joy is determined by the size of our generosity here, which is formed by the marital gospel: preparing to be presented as a pure bride. Will you drink from a goblet or a thimble?
Read MoreSoul food, dancing and laughter are the makings of any memorable Black get-together. But this weekend, African Americans around the nation are gathering for more than just another fun summer cookout — it’s Juneteenth. This vibrant celebration, considered the longest-running African American holiday, honors the liberation of enslaved ancestors.
Read MoreThe U.S. may see 100,000 churches close, and this issue could help determine the success or failure of many downtowns and neighborhoods over the next three to four decades. There is no easy solution to guarantee a successful initiative. The process requires attention to issues of real estate, faith institutions, communities and resources. The skills of urbanists are needed in America’s heartland.
Read MoreDavid Bauer coached Canada’s men’s ice hockey team at the 1964 Winter Games. Largely credited with creating the first truly national Canadian hockey team, Bauer left a truly great legacy. An educator and Catholic priest, Bauer was a pioneer and remains a Canadian icon admired to this day.
Read More(OPINION) Currently, there is a season of speculation about Pope Francis’ future and whether his newly chosen cardinals are his final bid to shape the conclave that will elect the next pope. Francis has hinted he might consider the idea of resigning, but Vaticanologists figure Francis will not do so as long as another former pope is alive.
Read More(OPINION) In Southern Baptist polity — with sprawling structures of autonomous congregations that, to varying degrees, fund state, national and global ministries — there are no leadership structures resembling local Presbyterian presbyteries, regional annual conferences among United Methodists or the powerful diocesan structures of Catholics, Episcopalians and others. Local churches ordain, hire and fire clergy.
Read More(OPINION) A Page 1 analytical feature in the Los Angeles Times about Biola University suggested it was on a downward spiral, perhaps part of an impending implosion of similar schools nationally. And it pointed at Michael Longinow, without naming him, as the faculty adviser to a campus newspaper in which free thought — particularly about race — was not allowed.
Read More“Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey” tells the story of Warren Jeffs’ rise in the FLDS church after the death of his father Rulon and the way women were treated as property under the practice of polygamy. ReligionUnplugged.com talked to Rachel Dretzin about the series and why she focused on the heart-wrenching stories of women who left the church.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Fifty years ago, on June 3, 1972, as Sally J. Priesand became the first woman ordained a rabbi by a Jewish seminary, her 35 male classmates spontaneously rose to their feet to acknowledge her historic feat.
Read MoreWhen tragedies strike and people are hurting, Lutheran Church Charities’ K-9 ministry deploys its teams of cute and cuddly comfort dogs to relieve stress and get people talking about their trauma.
Read More(OPINION) On June 2, the U.S. State Department delivered its annual report to Congress on international religious freedom. The report identifies the numerous challenges to the right to freedom of religion or belief worldwide. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized some of the main findings of this in-depth research into the situation around the world.
Read MorePope Francis’ trip to Canada next month will have a rather dour feel. The pope will make the transatlantic trip so he can apologize in person for past abuses suffered by Indigenous people at the hands of the Catholic Church. The pope will be in Canada from July 24 to 29 with stops in Edmonton, Quebec City and the small town of Iqaluit, where nearly half the population of 8,000 is Inuit.
Read MoreGuidepost Solutions, the firm leading the Southern Baptist Convention investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, tweeted support for the LGBTQ movement June 6 as part of Pride Month. Several SBC leaders have responded with criticism, calling for the church to cut ties with the firm.
Read MoreThree activists with a Texas pro-abortion rights group interrupted a service at Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch last weekend by stripping to their underwear and shouting, “My body, my choice,” “Overturn Roe,” “Hell no” and other epithet-laced slogans.
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