Two-thirds of American adults believe employers who have religious objections to contraception should be required to cover birth control as part of their employees’ insurance plan, according to a new Pew Research Center survey about recent controversies pitting claims of religious liberty…
Former pastor caught in Internet prostitution sting sentenced to prison
A former Southern Baptist pastor in South Dakota was sentenced Sept. 27 to 46 months in prison for attempted trafficking of what he believed to be a 15-year-old girl. Joseph Raleigh, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Miller, S.D.,…
Liberia seminary closure attributed to clerical error
An official in Liberia’s national labor court has been cleared of wrongdoing in a missing check scandal that caused temporary closure of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary and forced its American president into hiding to avoid arrest. Front Page Africa…
BJC’s Walker says Okla. ballot question poses danger to religious institutions
A Baptist expert on religious liberty termed a ballot initiative repealing Oklahoma’s prohibition against using state funds for religious purposes “a dangerous road” toward the intermingling of church and state. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for…
Baptist Joint Committee names executive director
The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty voted Sept. 26 to name Amanda R. Tyler, a former BJC intern and staff member, as its next executive director. Tyler, who currently works as Ways and Means counsel for U.S. Rep. Lloyd…
Pastor quoted as saying people who don’t stand for national anthem should be shot steps down as football announcer
A small-town Southern Baptist pastor in Alabama has resigned from his long-time volunteer job as public-address announcer at local high school football games after controversy over comments he claims were misquoted about fans who choose not to stand during the…
Progressive Christians counter agenda of the Religious Right
Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Jews and Presbyterians were among nearly 100 people gathering Monday, Sept. 12, in Frankfort, Ky., as part of a national march in more than 30 state capital cities across the United States countering the political voice of…
Grocery chain scion-turned-evangelist Howard Butt Jr. dead at 89
Howard E. Butt Jr., one-time heir apparent to run the 380-store H‑E‑B grocery chain before turning lay evangelist during the “youth revival movement” that spread from Baylor University to campuses across the country in the 1940s and 1950s, has died….
CBF coordinator says battling hunger a matter of Christian stewardship
One of the factors dividing U.S. communities is access to food, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leader Suzii Paynter says in a series of videos featuring Christian leaders produced by the anti-hunger ministry Bread for the World. Paynter, executive coordinator of the…
Baptist pastor shows solidarity with Colin Kaepernick
An African-American Baptist leader joined NFL players across the country in a symbolic “kneel-in” Sunday, Sept. 11, to show solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose refusal to stand during the national anthem at a preseason NFL game…
Poll says most Americans want to keep political endorsements out of church
A large majority of Americans don’t want to hear political endorsements from the pulpit, according to a new report by LifeWay Research. Four out of five Americans (79 percent) do not believe it is appropriate for pastors to endorse candidates…
Baptist peace group head receives heritage award
LeDayne McLeese Polaski, executive director of Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America ~ Bautistas por la Paz, was 2016 recipient of Furman University’s Richard Furman Baptist Heritage Award. Polaski, who has worked for BPFNA in various roles since 1998 and…