Legislation that would require posting the Ten Commandments in every Texas public school classroom has gone largely unnoticed nationally, but it hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, its leaders said recently. Senate Bill 1515 “hasn’t…
These Christians are praying for an end to the death penalty
Death penalty abolitionists are turning to organized prayer in the national movement to end state and federal capital punishment. The approach began with a virtual gathering of faith and social justice leaders May 4 — the National Day of Prayer…
To understand pluralism, think of a potluck
Promoting diversity in American culture and democracy is like hosting a potluck gathering, author and interfaith activist Eboo Patel said. “Maybe there’s something about a potluck that just brings out the best in pluralism,” Patel, founder and president of Interfaith…
Momentum is building to stop an execution in Oklahoma
Legislative and religious momentum is building to spare the life of a condemned Oklahoma inmate and to seek a moratorium — if not an outright ban — on the state’s capital punishment system. Lawmakers and a former parole and pardons…
19th century Baptist influence in Northeast India continues
The Christianity introduced to Northeast India by Baptist missionaries in the 19th century inspired advances in education, communication and ethnic cohesion but also left descendants coping with fundamentalism and patriarchy that persist today, experts on faith in the region said…
Restrictions on abortion making Americans believe in greater accessibility
The more restricted abortion access becomes, the more likely Americans are to believe in the legal accessibility to the procedure, according to a new study by Pew Research Center. The poll conducted in late March and early April compared attitudes…
These countries are called out for severe religious freedom violations
The oppression of Ukrainian religious communities should be added to the war crimes charges already filed against Russian leaders by judges in the Hague, an official with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said May 1. Brutal and ongoing…
Karen refugees demonstrate remarkable resilience, researcher says
Burmese refugee youth resettled in Texas exhibit amazing courage and resilience in negotiating American life and helping older relatives and community members overcome language and cultural barriers in the U.S., ethnographic researcher Diane Mitschke said during an April 28 lecture…
High recidivism rates keep the Prison Industrial Complex humming, authors contend
The U.S. prison system intentionally promotes recidivism rates high enough to guarantee the continued existence and growth of a thriving, profit-driven incarceration system, according to Fox Richardson, the subject of an Academy Award-nominated documentary about the power of faith over…