White literalists less likely to vote for minority candidates. More than eight in 10 white American Protestants would vote for a racial minority candidate for president, but fewer whites who interpret the Bible literally or who worship in an all-white congregation would do the same, according to a recent survey by Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion. Researchers found 84 percent of non-Hispanic white Americans said they would vote for a racial minority candidate if he or she were the nominee of their party. But only 75 percent of respondents who said the Bible should be taken literally, and 69 percent of those who attend an all-white congregation, would vote that way. Researchers found nine out of 10 whites with no religious affiliation would vote for a racial minority candidate. The findings from a sample of 1,325 non-Hispanic whites were part of the 2008 Baylor Religion Survey. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Schuller and son part ways at Crystal Cathedral TV ministry. On upcoming broadcasts of the Hour of Power from the glistening Crystal Cathedral in Southern California, the featured preacher no longer will be Robert A. Schuller, son of founder Robert H. Schuller. “He's still senior pastor of Crystal Cathedral, the local congregation,” church spokesman John Charles said of the younger Schuller. “He's just no longer the single pastor on the Hour of Power.” The elder Schuller, 82, announced that differences about the future of the ministry have led to a decision to expand the platform of the broadcast.
ORU settles suit with whistleblowing professors.Oral Roberts University has settled a lawsuit with two former professors who claimed their actions as whistleblowers cost them their jobs. In a suit filed one year ago, former professors Tim and Paulita Brooker alleged lavish, unchecked spending and illegal activity by then-ORU President Richard Roberts and his family. The son of university founder and evangelist Oral Roberts resigned last November amid the allegations. He had succeeded his father in 1993. School officials announced the suit involving the Brookers was resolved through mediation, and terms of the settlement were confidential.
Study finds more Orthodox converts than expected. A new study of Orthodox Christians in America has found a larger-than-expected number of converts, mostly from Roman Catholic and evangelical Protestant backgrounds. The report, released by the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute, surveyed 1,000 members of Greek Orthodox or Orthodox Church in America congregations — about 60 percent of America's estimated 1.2 million Orthodox Christians. Although Orthodox churches historically were immigrant communities, the study found nine out of 10 parishioners now are American-born. Thousands of members had converted to the faith as adults: 29 percent of Greek Orthodox are converts, as are 51 percent of the Orthodox Church in America.
Compiled from Religion News Service