A native of the Dallas area, Associate Pastor Scott Turner previously played football and ran track at the University of Illinois. He was drafted as a cornerback by the Washington Redskins in 1995 to begin an eight-year NFL career that included stops with the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. He continues to serve as a senior advisor to the NFL’s executive vice president of Football Operations.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Whatever their partisan preferences, Americans can agree that the coming four years under President Donald Trump will bring major disruptions and contentions in politics. How might that affect religion?
Read MorePolitics is the topic Americans are least interested in hearing ministers address and is among the top three topics pastors feel least equipped to handle, Barna and Gloo found in a study conducted in advance of the contentious 2024 U.S. elections.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For decades, Catholics recited this prayer after Mass, a practice continued by some Catholics and opposed by others. Thus, former President Donald Trump triggered debates by posting this prayer on social-media platforms on Sept. 29, the Catholic feast day of the archangels, in the ledad-up to Election Day.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Earlier this month, 45 Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders were sentenced to years in jail for “subversion” following a controversial National Security Law trial. The group of human rights defenders, scholars and lawmakers were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion for taking part in an unofficial primary to select opposition candidates in July 2020.
Read MoreManipur is burning yet again, marking its third major escalation since the violence began in May 2023. The initial outbreak and the three subsequent flare-ups have almost seemed predictable, each coinciding with challenges to the leadership of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. Let’s start with the latest escalation, which is still ongoing.
Read MoreAbout 150 Baptists forcibly displaced from their homes in Hidalgo, Mexico, since April have sought refuge in a neighboring state after Catholic village leaders reneged on an agreement that would have welcomed the Protestants home.
Read More(ANALYSIS) We examined how religious organizations actually engage in political activities, providing a window into the behavior of congregations in ways often not explored. Our findings challenge common perceptions about the relationship between religious institutions and political behavior.
Read MoreA native of Gainesville, Ga., Doug Collins was senior pastor of Chicopee Baptist Church from November 1994 through October 2005, according to the church’s annual church profile reporting. He also served as chaplain for Chattahoochee Baptist Association and earned his Master of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Lisa are members of Lakewood Baptist Church in Gainesville.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The 2024 election faced a situation that echoes the circumstances of 2004. In the Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court essentially turned the question of abortion regulation back to the states. That means that the ballot initiative/referendum has become the instrument through which states can set limits (or not) on abortion access.
Read MorePete Hegseth wears his Christian pride on his sleeve — literally. The Minnesota National Guard veteran, TV host and now nominee for U.S. secretary of defense has a slew of religiously inspired tattoos that have drawn attention as Hegseth's public vetting for a senior position in President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet has begun.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Does anyone remember Oct. 7, 2023? Do you recall the heart-stopping morning news, declaring that Hamas terrorists had carried out the most horrifying, brutal massacre imaginable?
Read More(ANALYSIS) Turnout! Due to the stay-at-home factor, Democratic votes for president fell by some nine million from 2020, causing political scientist James Galbraith to say the party had committed “suicide.” Kamala Harris and the Democrats had a problem with men. Donald Trump’s Republicans had a big problem with women (though Harris did a bit worse with them than the male Joe Biden had).
Read More(ANALYSIS) Democracy depends upon using words wisely. With the right words, citizens can live and work together, even in disagreement – and resolve conflicts peacefully. A lesson from Buddhism seems particularly apt in this moment of enemyship: Treat the people you disagree with as mistaken rather than evil.
Read More(OPINION) So what are we to do? Wring our hands and swallow nerve pills like they’re Pez? Stay hopping mad at those on the other side of our political barricades? That’s sure no way to spend the next four years. That’s a recipe for madness, both personal and societal.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Now, thanks to a brave young Yazidi woman, Mediha Ibrahim Alhamad, the struggle to reestablish life after years of enslavement is brought to the surface, with a documentary from director Hasan Oswald and executive producer Emma Thompson.
Read More(REVIEW) In 2018, Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appeared on the East African nation’s political scene almost from nowhere. Claiming to be responding to an assignment by God, the young Pentecostal Christian promised democratic salvation and national unity to a hopelessly divided nation.
Read More(OPINION) It was all the rage back in 2020. A chorus of prophetic leaders announced with certainty that Donald Trump would be reelected and serve a second term in the White House, but he did not — at least, not in 2020.
Read More(ESSAY) When we finally arrived, I was greeted with an obvious sort of curiosity. I later learned that I was the first white person to visit the city since the violence broke out over a year ago. I was stunned by this revelation. In a city that is under siege and giving refuge to 40,000 people, not a single emissary, journalist or missionary from a Western nation had bothered to visit?
Read MoreFreedom of religion or belief, a right that speaks to something so deep-seated in each of us that it practically defines what it is to be human, is under attack in many parts of the world. Repressive laws, exclusion, deportation, imprisonment and out-and-out genocide threaten the liberty of far too many religious communities in far too many places.
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