A Fellowship Southwest-backed ministry in Mexico is housing a Russian asylum seeker who fled her country for protesting Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. The organization recently announced that Red de Albergues para Migrante — or the Migrant Shelter Network in…
State support for a religion usually makes that religion decline, new study shows
Achieving the status of a government-backed religion usually creates a dependence on state political and financial support that erodes the ability of faith groups to attract new followers and foster participation, a new study has found. “Further, the involvement of…
Baptist missionaries exported white supremacy to Brazil alongside the gospel, historian says
The gospel Southern Baptist Convention missionaries brought to Brazil in the late 19th century contained at least as much Jim Crow as it did Jesus Christ, scholar João Chaves said during the Baptist History and Heritage Society’s second “Making Baptist…
Number of displaced persons worldwide hits new peak of 100 million
The war in Ukraine has driven the number of forcibly displaced persons worldwide to a record-setting 100 million, according to the United Nations. The 90 million figure reached at the close of 2021 was quickly surpassed after Russia’s Feb. 24…
New study documents pliable influence of partisan media
Partisan media outlets like Fox News pose a hazard to democracy by denying their viewers’ access to information detrimental to conservative candidates and causes while amplifying misinformation about their opponents, according to a study into the role of selective content…
Trump’s anti-immigration policies continue to cost U.S. economy $9 billion a year
Trump-era refugee and asylum policies continue to rob the U.S. economy of $9.1 billion annually and deny all levels of American government more than $2 billion per year, according to new academic research. The study by economist Michael A. Clemens…
They were attending a conference on Scripture and violence when the Uvalde massacre happened
Participants in a May 23-25 virtual conference on Scripture and violence came prepared for discussions on topics such as restorative justice, trauma and biblical interpretation, and criminal justice and the church. What they weren’t ready for was an elementary school…
Title 42 is expelling the good people, not the bad people, border advocate explains
Claims that Title 42 protects Americans from foreign criminals ignore the realities of migrant life at the U.S.-Mexico border, an immigration advocate and attorney recently told a Baptist Sunday school class in Texas. The fact is that the drug cartels…
On three-month anniversary of Russian invasion, Ukrainian Baptists and neighbors keep helping everyone they can
Baptists in Europe continue to be creative, compassionate and relentless in providing humanitarian and pastoral support to Ukrainian refugees three months into Russia’s invasion of its western neighbor. The latest report from the European Baptist Federation says needs continue to…
Hearing from victims’ families changed the death penalty debate in Connecticut
Activists involved in the 2012 abolition of capital punishment in Connecticut say the perspectives of murder victims’ families was the key element in their campaign’s success. Even Michael Lawlor, the state’s criminal justice “czar” at the time, confirmed that those…
Author considers how to mourn what’s lost when the faithful leave church
The rise of Trumpism in U.S. churches and denominations is accelerating Americans’ disconnection from faith communities and leaving many bewildered and grief-stricken, according to the author of a new book about the psychology and hope of religious trauma. Leaving church…
Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation
Baptist church planters and their congregations in Ukraine have been at the forefront of providing physical and spiritual ministry to Ukrainians displaced, surrounded or occupied by invading Russian forces. “A great number of Christian churches and humanitarian organizations from around…