A federal court has ordered the Trump administration to dismantle a massive database created to investigate and potentially purge U.S. citizens from voter rolls nationwide. Maintained by the Department of Homeland Security, the databank was formed by merging sensitive data…
US Supreme Court denies Rastafarian damages for illegal haircut
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 23 that inmates cannot seek damages if their religious rights have been abused or denied by prison officials. The 6-3 decision along ideological lines came in the case of Damon Landor, a Rastafarian whose…
Trump EEOC claims more religious discrimination on vaccine mandates
In another instance of the Trump administration punishing companies for past demands that workers get vaccinated against COVID-19, Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay $358,000 to resolve a dozen claims. Under the second presidency of Donald Trump, the Equal Employment…
Except for white evangelicals, Americans have soured on Trump’s leadership
Nearly 70% of Americans agree that core democratic freedoms are in danger of being lost while 59% consider President Donald Trump to be a “dangerous dictator” whose powers should be limited, according to a new survey by Public Religion Research…
CBF approves $16 million budget, leaders challenge more mission
A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Missions and Ministry budget of more than $16 million was adopted June 19 during CBF’s General Assembly in Jacksonville, Fla. The $16,118,827 spending plan for 2026-2027 is close to the previous year’s budget and supports ethnic…
Rise of American authoritarianism demands a choice, Perryman says
The rise of American authoritarianism frees people of faith from having to question how they would have responded during the Civil Rights Movement, Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman said. “If you ever wondered what you would do then, guess what…
Tell the stories of women in church leadership, Vanderbilt dean urges
Women have served in ministry throughout the history of the church even as their courage and tenacity have been mostly overlooked and forgotten, said theologian Yolanda Pierce, dean of the Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Therefore, it is important to begin…
BJC speakers inspire with tales of fighting authoritarianism
Fighting authoritarianism doesn’t require being violently forced to the ground and handcuffed by police outside an immigration detention center, said Michael Woolf, a Chicago-area Baptist pastor, author and activist who experienced that very thing. “There’s something for everybody to do,…
‘Be careful of Scripture heavy in law but light on grace,’ Wesley warns
Christians who vilify the poor, LGBTQ people and women practice a version of the faith that is heavy on the Bible but light on words of Jesus, said Howard-John Wesley, senior pastor of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in…
‘Show up and do something,’ ACLU leader urges
Opposing American authoritarianism will require dedicated action and avoiding the temptation to fall into “grim despair” over its advances, said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. “It is always a matter of courage and,…
Nonprofits aiding immigrant kids say Trump admin intimidating them
The Washington, D.C.-area offices of nonprofit groups that provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children were recently visited by federal agents in what some of the organizations described as a campaign of intimidation. Kids In Need of Defense, or KIND,…
Report documents Trump admin’s neglect of children in detention
An average of 25 children age 3 or younger are in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody daily while no fewer than 500 infants and toddlers have been detained since President Donald Trump took office last year, according to a study…