Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt is mounting “an attack on science” with a directive disqualifying scientists who receive federal grants for studies from serving on EPA boards, a group of scientists says in a federal lawsuit filed Jan. 23….
Pressler seeks gag order in lawsuit; SBC added as defendant
A prominent Southern Baptist layman is seeking a gag order in a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse, saying pretrial publicity jeopardizes his ability to receive a fair trial. Paul Pressler, architect of a strategy credited with a rightward shift in leadership…
BWA head protests Bolivia’s religion law
The head of the Baptist World Alliance has criticized a new law in Bolivia that various faith organizations say could curtail religious freedom. BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown wrote Bolivia’s legislature Jan. 17 voicing concern that ambiguity in the country’s…
Supreme Court to hear challenge to so-called Muslim ban
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to accept a case to decide whether President Donald Trump’s latest travel ban unconstitutionally discriminates against Muslims. On Jan. 19 the high court asked lawyers on both sides to address whether the president’s third…
Judge says employment interference lawsuit against NAMB can proceed
A federal judge in Mississippi has turned down a request to dismiss a lawsuit against the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention on religious liberty grounds. Senior U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled Jan. 18 that…
White House considering rollback of payday lending rule
The interim leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to reconsider regulatory rules for short-term, high-interest borrowing commonly known as payday lending. The federal agency, which was created in response to the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the…
Criticized for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, White House cuts funding for Palestinian refugees
The United States is withholding more than half of its planned funding of a United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, renewing debate over the Trump administration’s controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Evangelical supporter sees nothing racist about Trump immigration stance
There is nothing racist about basing immigration quotas on race, according to Trump evangelical adviser Robert Jeffress. Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist in Dallas, told Washington Post writer Sarah Pulliam Bailey that while he would not have used the vulgar language…
White House says no one should have to choose between faith and law
In a presidential proclamation Jan. 16, President Donald Trump claimed America’s “cherished legacy of religious liberty” is undermined by threatening tax consequences for churches that endorse political candidates and by requiring persons or organizations to obey laws that violate their conscience.
Son of Francis Schaeffer calls out Trump’s evangelical enablers on Twitter
The son of the late theologian and author Francis Schaeffer challenged evangelical supporters of Donald Trump to try to defend the president’s reported foul-mouthed description of Haiti and African nations which he made during a White House meeting with a bipartisan group of senators Jan. 11.
Baptist church fighting deportation of member with dire health concerns
A North Carolina Baptist church claims immigration officials entrapped a long-time church member held for deportation after applying for permission to stay in the United States due to a life-threatening medical condition.
#MeToo spotlight turns on Southern Baptist megachurch
A Southern Baptist megachurch in Memphis, Tenn., is standing by a teaching pastor caught in the spotlight of the #MeToo movement exposing histories of sexual abuse by powerful males.