(ANALYSIS) MLK Day volunteers typically perform community service that continues King’s fight to end racial discrimination and economic injustice — to build the “beloved community,” as he often said. But King does not fully explain the phrase’s meaning in his sermons and writings.
Read More(REVIEW) “Brave the Dark” is easily the best movie the faith-based film industry has released about the struggles of young men. It’s by far the best Angel Studios movie to date. There’s a major gender shift happening in American Christianity. Church pews have largely been filled by women, even as the pulpits were dominated by men. Women are abandoning church and men are starting to flock to it.
Read MoreBy mid-January, the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires in the Los Angeles area destroyed thousands of homes and other buildings — including many churches — in an area of greater than 62 square miles, killing at least 24. But Christians outpoured support and supplies.
Read MoreThe Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a case involving a Texas law requiring adult websites to verify the age of their users. Known as Texas House Bill (H.B.) 1181, the legislation requires websites to verify their users are at least 18 years old if at least one-third of their hosted content is considered “harmful to minors,” such as pornography.
Read MorePete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, avowed that he is a Christian who “robustly supports” Israel and its war against Hamas in Gaza. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, provided favorable coverage of Israel on the network and said that his time in the U.S. Army turned him into a supporter of the Jewish state.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Any presidential election causes a real problem for me. I do get asked to talk to reporters and do webinars and write pieces for major outlets about the role that faith played at the ballot box. There’s one issue: I just don’t have access to any reliable data for a very long time after an election.
Read MoreDepending on the source, Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that Meta platforms will jettison fact-checking protocols in favor of community notes is either a threat to democracy or a return to the spirit of free speech from when he co-founded Facebook in 2004.
Read MoreLaws in 20 states aimed at shielding minors from online pornography are under fire as the U.S. Supreme Court hears a legal challenge this week. At issue is Texas House Bill 1181, one of a string of 20 such laws passed since Louisiana began the charge in 2022 to require websites containing at least 33 percent pornographic materials to verify that a user is at least 18.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Could it possibly have been coincidence? The very day Congress certified Donald Trump’s election as the next U.S. president, the Vatican announced the transfer of San Diego’s Cardinal Robert McElroy to become the politically significant archbishop of Washington, D.C. There’s no doubt Pope Francis wants McElroy to keep an eye on Trump.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It will be years before we know all the causes and contributing factors for these California fires. What I can say, though, is that local, faith-based efforts are – once again – among the first responders. They ignore the political questions and arguments about blame and are instead rolling up their sleeves and getting to work.
Read More(OPINION) The first vote I ever cast was against Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election. I was 20 and in college, trying to leave behind my strict Southern Baptist upbringing. Carter seemed to embody much of what I hoped to escape. It took me a while to realize how mistaken I’d been about the man.
Read MoreJared Osselaer isn’t sure how many people will need a generator or place to stay as fires continue across Los Angeles County, but Story City Church will be ready. More than 28,000 scorched acres show the devastation of the fires, with officials confirming five deaths but expecting that count to rise. Some 2,000 structures have been destroyed and 130,000 residents placed under evacuation orders.
Read MoreThe Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center stood for over a century, its campus a sanctuary of faith and history in a community nestled just beyond the urban sprawl of Los Angeles. By Tuesday night, it was one of more than 1,000 buildings reduced to ash.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Truth is, the former president was part of two endangered groups — populist Southern Democrats and progressive Southern Baptists. In 1976, he fared well with evangelical voters, for a Democrat, but exit polls basically showed a toss-up. In 1980, many evangelicals rejected him and helped create Ronald Reagan's landslide win.
Read MoreLouisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has told school boards how to comply with the state’s law requiring public classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, despite a federal district judge’s November 2024 ruling declaring it unconstitutional and prohibiting its enforcement.
Read MoreWhen Plains Baptist Church voted overwhelmingly in the 1950s to bar Blacks and “racial agitators” from membership, Jimmy Carter and a handful of his family members were the only ones opposed to the restriction.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Let me noodle around on that topic of polarization by using a nice question battery in the Cooperative Election Study. Along with religious affiliation, it asks folks to put themselves on an ideological scale that ranges from 1 (meaning very liberal) to 7 (meaning very conservative), while 4 is “middle of the road.”
Read MoreChurchgoers may hear the Bible preached every Sunday — but their pastors also want them to engage with Scripture during the week. Almost all U.S. Protestant pastors say they encourage those in their church to read the Bible on their own using at least one of seven methods, according to a Lifeway Research study. On average, pastors say they use around five ways of encouragement. Less than 1% say they don’t use any or are unsure.
Read MoreMost American Jews do not believe President-elect Donald Trump will effectively address rising antisemitism or manage the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a new survey, but a larger portion have confidence in his nominee for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio. The survey did not break out responses based on who respondents had voted for in November.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On Jan. 20, Donald Trump will take the presidential oath of office. And then he will probably add the phrase “so help me God.” Those four little words are not in the Constitution, but for many Americans, the phrase has been a part of the oath ever since George Washington was said to have added it 236 years ago.
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