Posts in North America
Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit: Advocates Spotlight Growing Global Tensions

The theme of the conference, which took place at the school’s campus in South Bend, Indiana, was “Depolarizing Religious Liberty,” which still depends too much on one's race, faith or nationality. The highlight of the summit was an awards program and gala where the Religious Liberty Clinic was named after Lindsay and Matt Morun, who have supported such efforts financially since its inception.

Read More
Cross-Racial Louisville Baptist Community Thrives Since 1914 Partnership

In 1914 Louisville, when Blacks and whites lived in communities segregated by a city ordinance signed May 11 of that year, Black and white Baptists formed a community partnership that survives to this day. Only five decades since the Civil War and 46 years after the passage of the 14th Amendment, the partnership was born amid exacerbated racial disparities.

Read More
What Do We Do Now: A Christian Response To The Attempted Trump Assassination

(OPINION) We forget that Christians with no political power whatsoever, believing in a risen Christ who never sought nor espoused any earthly power, changed the world in a generation. They did it without a bully pulpit, without a 24/7 news cycle, without social media. Amid war, disease and disaster, they fed the hungry, rescued abandoned babies and created hospitals to care for the sick and dying.  

Read More
How JD Vance’s Catholic Faith Influenced His Politics

In accepting the invitation to be Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance could become the nation’s second Catholic vice president, after Joe Biden, should the GOP win the White House this November. Vance is also only the second Catholic GOP veep nominee after Barry Goldwater chose William Miller in 1964. Here’s a deeper look into Vance’s faith and how it has influenced his evolving political philosophy.   

Read More
Educational Disputes With Religious Angles Central To GOP’s Agenda

(ANALYSIS) The lavish over-use of capital letters in the 2024 Republican Party platform, set for approval at this week’s Milwaukee convention, demonstrates that this is wholly a Donald Trump production. So does the Trumpublicans’ softened stance on abortion, which has dominated the news coverage.

Read More
Gloo Acquires ChurchSalary And Church Law & Tax From Christianity Today

Gloo, a technology company that describes itself as helping “build a more connected ministry” has acquired two sister news sites from Christianity Today: Church Law & Tax and ChurchSalary. The deal closed on May 1, but the financial terms of the acquisition were not made public.

Read More
Christians Pray For Trump — And The Divided Nation — After Assassination Attempt

The morning after a gunman perched atop a roof narrowly missed killing former President Donald Trump, Christians across the U.S. came together Sunday — as always — to worship God and pray. Many preachers addressed the assassination attempt from the pulpit.

Read More
Why As Few As 5% Of Americans Attend Church Each Week

(OPINION) If just 5% — or 6%, or 7% — of Americans feel committed enough to darken the doors of their churches for even an hour a week, then we no longer need to worry about becoming a post-religion culture. We’re there. Secularization has won.

Read More
Jamaican Christians Show ‘The Church At Its Best’ In Response To Hurricane Beryl

Before the storm plowed into Texas, Hurricane Beryl skirted the southern coast of Jamaica, bringing damaging winds and flooding to the parishes of Saint Clarendon, Saint Catherine, Manchester, Saint Elizabeth and Westmoreland. The storm tore roofs from buildings, destroyed mango orchards, flooded farmland and knocked out power.

Read More
Tennessee Baseball Player With ‘A Servant’s Heart’ Celebrates National Championship

Players shared hugs and smiles on the infield clay. The occasion marked a first national championship for the University of Tennessee baseball team — and for freshman Hunter High, a member of the Brentwood Hills Church of Christ in Nashville. High said he always prays the same thing before games, telling God, “You are good. Whatever happens in this game, let it be your will. Without you, I am nothing.”

Read More
Trump Survives Assassination Attempt As Lawmakers Call For Prayers

A rally for former President Donald Trump was interrupted Saturday afternoon following what appeared to be gunshots. Trump was speaking at a campaign rally when several pops rang out. After lifting his hand to his ear, Trump ducked to the ground as the crowd behind him scattered.

Read More
Please, Please, Please — We Must All Tone Things Down

(OPINION) As we all sit here stunned watching the footage of the attempted assassination of President Trump, it really is a time for reflection. Are we contributing to this atmosphere of hatred and violence? What kind of emotions do we stir up with the words we speak and the memes we post? What are we fomenting? To what end?

Read More
Christian Billionaire Bill Hwang Convicted of Fraud

A Christian billionaire and philanthropist accused of inflating a business portfolio to $36 billion was convicted Wednesday on several counts of financial fraud. Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang, founder and co-CEO of Archegos Capital Management, was convicted by a federal jury on 10 criminal counts,

Read More
Pro-Life Voters And The New Trump Platform

(OPINION) There is a new challenge for pro-life voters as we approach the 2024 elections. On the one hand, it’s impossible for a truly pro-life voter to vote for a Democratic presidential candidate given the radical, pro-abortion stance of that party. That holds true as well for the positions of President Biden, which continue to lurch farther to the left. But now that the RNC has embraced the watered down platform crafted by the Trump team, do we acquiesce and vote GOP?

Read More
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Units Ramp Up In Response To Hurricane Beryl

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief units have deployed in and around Houston up into Texarkana in response to Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall early Monday morning, July 8. Units with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC), Texans on Mission, Arkansas and Alabama are providing meals, showers and chainsaw work to survivors.

Read More
On Religion: RFK Jr. On Faith, Sin, Heroin — And Fighting His Demons

(ANALYSIS) After he decided to kick heroin, the young Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to think about daily life in a totally different way. Rather than trusting his willpower to do the right thing for a whole day, he began dividing each day into 40 or more decisions. After 14 years of addiction, Kennedy said he tried to act as if each decision was a moral test. This was a leap of faith, since his addiction attacked the Catholic faith of his childhood.

Read More
In Quitting Church, Americans Gave Up More Than They’d Bargained For

(OPINION) I’ve long argued it’s difficult — really, next to impossible — to practice Christianity effectively without becoming (and staying) an active member of a local church congregation.  Not only Christianity but the other major faiths are, by intention and maybe by definition, communal pursuits rather than solitary ones.

Read More
Southern Baptist Leaders Take Aim At RNC’s Potential Abortion Shift

A release of the Republican National Convention’s (RNC) platform reveals a potential shift in the party’s focus on a federal abortion ban. The announcement came hours after the RNC’s platform committee met on Monday.

Read More
How An Oklahoma Pastor’s Ministry Thrives Amid Personal Challenges

When Brad Graves began pastoring Cross Church San Diego in 2007, wildfires forced his evacuation before his moving truck arrived. Afterwards, Graves led the church in disaster relief as San Diego County recovered from a series of wildfires that killed two people. And the adversity he has faced doesn’t end there.

Read More