Americans of faith contributed to a small decline in overall support for LGBTQ rights in 2023, even as most U.S. adults continued to oppose discriminatory policies and practices aimed at gender and sexual minorities, according to a new study by…
It wasn’t your imagination: New study proves divisions created in churches by COVID
A new study exposes the stress and pain clergy endured during the COVID-19 pandemic as divisions over public health restrictions transformed many churches into culture-war battlefields. “Polarization decreased the middle ground, diminished trust in pastoral decision-making and created a general…
State judge blocks Paxton’s quest to ‘run roughshod’ over El Paso migrant ministry
A state district judge has blocked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to obtain records from a faith-based migrant services shelter in El Paso. Paxton filed suit against Annunciation House, a historic Catholic nonprofit, when the shelter failed to provide…
White evangelicals stand out again in survey of immigration attitudes but other surveys show more openness to a solution
White evangelicals outpace other Christian groups in assuming the worst about immigrants and immigration, Pew Research Center found in a new study. The March 4 report also found Christians overall have more negative attitudes about immigration than those who claim…
New book offers help for churches and civic leaders on how to transition church properties
Congregations facing closure or downsizing must think about more than maximizing profits from the sale of facilities and other assets, social entrepreneur and church finance expert Mark Elsdon said. “The principle here is that we have been entrusted as stewards…
Chaplains and religious leaders mount campaign against school chaplain bill in a dozen states
A growing coalition of faith-based and civil rights groups has launched an opposition movement to bills in more than a dozen states that seek to replace school counselors with untrained chaplains. “Putting chaplains in public schools erodes the separation of…
Christian nationalists are misguided Christians, Anthea Butler says
Christian nationalists are still Christians despite their embrace of white supremacy and anti-democratic violence, scholar Anthea Butler said during an episode of the Interfaith Alliance’s “State of Belief” podcast. “They really believe in their Christianity. It’s just that they are…
Religious leaders decry Louisiana plan to bring back electric chair and gassing for death penalty cases
A cross section of religious leaders gathered on the steps of the Louisiana Capitol recently to offer prayers and protest over the state’s plan to add the electric chair and poison gas to its lineup of execution methods. The representatives…
Biden administration restores religious protections for those receiving federal social services
Religious liberty advocates are hailing a new Biden administration rule that protects the recipients of federally funded social services from discrimination by the religious groups that administer them. The White House measure is designed to prevent faith-based organizations that receive…