American confidence in public schools spiked with the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020, but it has dropped to nearly an all-time low, according to a new Gallup poll. The survey reported 28% of U.S. adults expressed “a great deal” or…
Christian Athlete Circles provides alternative space in sports
Georgia McKee excelled at sports throughout childhood and played Division I college softball, which enabled her to know some of the nation’s best athletes. But she also encountered what she recognized as some of its most dysfunctional religious attitudes, practices…
Immigration advocates urge U.S. to reform cruel, broken asylum system
It’s one thing to hear or read about Title 42 but quite another to experience the Trump-era immigration policy firsthand, a Haitian asylum seeker said during a recent webinar hosted by interfaith immigration advocates. In fact, Title 42 is a…
Frowns all around: World drops to new low on sadness scale
Globally, emotions took a deep dive in 2021, surpassing negativity levels documented the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and hitting all-time lows in terms of stress, sadness and worry, a new Gallup poll shows. The June survey revealed negative…
Baylor Collaborative on Hunger proves success of summer food program, gets $5 million grant from USDA
The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty has received nearly $5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to maintain a summer program that delivers nutritious meals to at-risk children residing in rural communities in four U.S. states. The federal…
Supreme Court’s abortion ruling ignites the center and left as single-issue voters now
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s June reversal of Roe v. Wade, Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans to say they will support only those political candidates who share their stance on abortion, according to a recent poll by Public…
White blindness is a barrier to racial justice, Boesak tells BWA
A major obstacle to racial justice and reconciliation is white blindness to the systemic nature of racism and the refusal to acknowledge and seek redemption for past and present oppression, a South African anti-apartheid activist said during the Baptist World…
Here’s why cremation is now chosen after 57% of all U.S. deaths
The ongoing surge in U.S. cremation rates can accurately be described as “stunning,” author and grief educator Harold Ivan Smith said. “When I was in mortuary school in 1966, cremation was probably done in 1% of cases,” said Smith, also…
Churches can talk about issues and advocate for voting rights without running afoul of the law, BJC leaders explain
Even in the midst of a highly charged 2020 election cycle, most American houses of worship have protected their tax-exempt status by avoiding candidate endorsements and direct involvement in political campaigns, said Amanda Tyler, executive director of Baptist Joint Committee…