(ANALYSIS) ”Women are much more supportive of the LGBT population than men.” That came up in a Q&A session that I did after a talk. The person asked if women were leaving conservative churches more quickly because of their views of same-sex marriage and gender identity. OK, so let me just figure out if that’s true or not.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I thought the Google Maps website could provide me with crucial information for this post. Alas, that was not the case. I thought that I could call up a map of Burnsville, North Carolina, and then, after enlarging it, I would be able to count all the Baptist churches between I-26 near Mars Hill and Burnsville on U.S. Highway 19 — but very few of them showed up.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Earlier this year, “God Versus Aliens" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The documentary, directed by award-winning filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee, shines a light on the Vatican's secretive investigations into UFOs. It suggests, in no uncertain terms, that the Vatican has been quietly exploring extraterrestrial phenomena for years.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I am not young, but I too have turned to Anglicanism. In fact, I did so many years ago. For me, it was a much longer journey than it has been for many of the young people Sarah Carter describes. It is a journey that, with your permission, I will describe here.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I have studied the complex and ever-evolving role of religion in American politics. I argue that this election year, while the Christian character of each candidate is discussed everywhere, religious freedom, one of the core freedoms of American democracy, is not.
Read MoreEvangelicals may be bigger on cultural engagement in theory than in practice. They say they want to share biblical truth but don’t always take the opportunities in front of them. Some don’t even spend time regularly reading Scripture.
Read MoreThe effectiveness of collegiate ministry depends on how you play the long game. And that doesn’t happen without support. “The Cooperative Program is vital for our work,” said Michael Ball, director of the Baptist Student Union at Mississippi State. “When BSU was formed, it was a cooperative effort of churches coming together to have a presence on the campus.”
Read MoreThe Vatican’s doctrinal summit opened this week with one issue deemed to be out of bounds: female deacons. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernandez, the Vatican’s prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that the church was not “rushing” on the issue.
Read MoreThe Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, no stranger to reducing tremendous suffering and damage in communities all over the world, has had to find a way to help others as well as themselves. In fact, once Hurricane Helene robbed millions of Americans of their electricity and running water, the focus had to become more local.
Read More(REVIEW) “Do Right: The Stallings Standard” is a heartfelt documentary that focuses on the life of former football coach Gene Stallings. The film primarily shows his time as head coach with Texas A&M University (1965-1971) and the University of Alabama (1990-1996). However, the film goes deeper than just football.
Read MoreA Fulton County judge struck down Georgia’s six-week abortion ban Sept. 30, declaring it an unconstitutional violation of a woman’s rights to “liberty of privacy” and the control of her body. “When a fetus growing inside a woman reaches viability, when society can assume care and responsibility for that separate life, then ... may society intervene,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert C.I. McBurney wrote.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As a professor of nonprofit law, I believe some groups that aren’t churches or associations of churches want to be designated that way to avoid the scrutiny being a charitable organization otherwise requires. At the same time, some other groups that should qualify as churches may have difficulty doing so because of the IRS’ outdated test for that status.
Read MoreLast month, the pastors of Winder Church (formerly War Hill South) found themselves locked out of their own sanctuary in Winder, Georgia. The move to have the locks changed came, they said, without warning, but was not entirely unexpected.
Read MoreThe storm, which made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane, left a wide swath of destruction from storm surge, wind, landslides and flooding through Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee. There have been at least 121 reported deaths. Churches are sending aid throughout the Southeast as damage and needs are assessed.
Read MoreSpearheading one of a growing number of attempts among evangelicals to empower clergy and laypeople to reframe the political divide, the creators of “The After Party” hope to foster conversations that will not only promote healing but enable those engaged to participate in public life in ways that are constructive, rather than chronically divisive.
Read MoreEntering into the final months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, former President Trump holds a sizable lead over Vice President Kamala Harris among evangelicals. Likely voters with evangelical beliefs are twice as likely to plan to cast their ballot for Trump than Harris (61% to 31%), according to a study from Lifeway Research. Few say they are still undecided (5%) or supporting another candidate (3%).
Read MoreVice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris told an interviewer Tuesday (Sept. 24) that she would be in favor of eliminating the filibuster for votes on abortion-related legislation in the Senate. Harris has made abortion a centerpiece of her campaign, pledging to sign any bill that “restore[s] reproductive freedom nationwide,” according to her website.
Read MoreControversial pastor Mark Driscoll is citing First Amendment rights in his fight against the city of Scottsdale, Arizona, to display a sign to vote for Jesus in property adjacent to his church. The sign reading, “Jesus Christ ’24,” is posted on the right of way property bordering the street in front of Driscoll’s church, Trinity Church in Scottsdale.
Read MoreEight years ago, Lifeway Research asked Protestant pastors who they planned to support in the presidential election and only three percent declined to answer. That number didn't change much in 2020, when four percent declined. But things changed recently, when almost a quarter of the pastors refused to voice their choice in the 2024 White House race.
Read More(ANALYSIS) How Catholic voters view the candidates and issues could nudge margins enough to swing the election, and so could many other factors in such a nail-biter. Though political coverage emphasizes evangelicals, shifts by the two different Catholic segments are usually much more important in general elections.
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