The U.S. Navy in Hawaii faces stiff opposition from faith communities, environmentalists and state and federal legislators seeking the closure of subterranean fuel tanks that contaminated the water supply of nearly 100,000 military and civilian residents on Oahu late last…
Veterans join religious and human rights groups to call for permanent status for Afghan refugees
Religious, human rights and veterans’ groups are stepping up pressure on Congress to provide a pathway to legal, permanent status for tens of thousands of Afghan refugees evacuated to the U.S. last year. Most of those who escaped the fall…
White House event celebrates the diversity of Black America
The assumption that enslaved Africans encountered authentic faith only upon their arrival in America is a stereotype that needs to end, Yolanda Pierce, dean of the Howard University School of Divinity, said during a Feb. 23 Black History Month webinar….
For the first time, CPAC will feature a debate on the death penalty
Death penalty opponents are welcoming news that capital punishment will be debated today during the Feb. 24-27 gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla. “A death penalty discussion at CPAC is further evidence that conservatives are increasingly…
Zoom, zoom, zoom … Some pastors aren’t revved up for continued online church
It took a couple of years, but Elizabeth Mangham Lott finally hit her bottom with doing online church by the end of January. “Y’all, this Zoom church stuff is crushing me today. I don’t wanna do it. And I don’t…
‘Pray-in’ draws attention to the problem of predatory lending
National religious leaders staged a virtual “pray-in” Feb. 22 to emphasize the power of prayer and Scripture in the effort to end predatory lending in the U.S. Members of the Faith and Credit Roundtable, a project of the Center for…
Focusing on the kingdom of God instead of empire can free white people from being so defensive, Meeks says at Baylor seminar on race and the white church
Whites must go beyond acknowledging their part in racism to recognizing how they have been traumatized by it, a noted racial healing advocate said during a three-day symposium on race at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary. “Part of the wound is…
Faith without ethics leave Christians and the church adrift, ethicist says
A faith uninformed by Christian ethics can leave individuals and churches spiritually and morally adrift and susceptible to extreme ideologies, David Gushee said during a Feb. 17 Baptist News Global webinar. “I am seeing a fundamentalist religion with so many…
Research documents slide in respect for pastors and belief in their influence
New research confirms what many pastors already know — that they are decreasingly respected and influential in U.S. society. “Pastors, for the most part, are peripheral and ornamental. Quaint, but not entirely necessary. Kind, but not wholly credible,” Barna senior…