The Alliance of Baptists joined more than 60 U.S. faith-based organizations March 14 to plead with Congress to redirect defense spending to bolster funds available for education, housing, health care and other community reinvestment initiatives. The groups sent a letter…
Inflammatory language of Christian nationalism is a real threat, Hollman and Tyler say
The use of dehumanizing language against people of faith who reject Christian nationalism is an attack on the religious freedoms guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, leaders of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Freedom said in a recent podcast. BJC General…
Three hate groups drove spike in antisemitism and racist propaganda last year
Incidents of racist, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ propaganda increased substantially in 2022 as major white supremacist groups boosted disinformation campaigns in numerous U.S. states, according to new research by the Anti-Defamation League. The March 8 report documented spikes in the distribution…
Griffen and Ravitch warn Floridians of dangers of DeSantis’ attack on public education
Baptist minister and retired Arkansas judge Wendell Griffen stood before an audience of faith leaders and education advocates in Tallahassee, Fla., March 9, pointed to his lapel and dared Gov. Ron DeSantis to have him apprehended for being politically and…
Foundation grant will expand prenatal vitamin ministry from Texas to Georgia
A Texas-based nonprofit that provides vitamins to expectant mothers is expanding into Georgia thanks to a grant from a Baptist health care ministry. The Vitamin Bridge recently announced it plans to serve 10,000 low-income pregnant women in 2023 through a…
Faith-based immigration advocates finding little difference between Biden administration and Trump administration
President Joe Biden just keeps digging himself into a deeper hole with the nation’s immigration advocates. Groups that serve migrants and refugees have been outraged in the weeks since the White House announced its intention to implement an asylum ban…
BJC acquires Center for Faith, Justice and Reconciliation
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty has acquired the Center for Faith, Justice and Reconciliation in an effort to expand its work promoting racial and religious freedom. BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler said the move announced March 6 also will…
Her ‘Damascus Road’ led to campaign against the death penalty
Joia Erin Thornton underwent a self-described “Damascus Road experience” that altered her career track from magazine writing to criminal justice policy work, community organizing and anti-death penalty advocacy. “I was living and working in New York, and I had this…
There’s a better metaphor for America than the ‘melting pot,’ author says
Author, minister and scholar Jonathan Augustine suggests replacing the “melting pot” metaphor for American religion and society with one taken from a stew famous in his hometown of New Orleans. “I think about the ability of people to be like…