A year ago this summer, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship not only had to hurriedly move its annual General Assembly to a virtual space due to threat of COVID-19, but faced difficult decisions about cutting its annual budget down to a…
Biden Education Department hopes to reverse last-minute Trump allowance of campus discrimination based on religious beliefs
The U.S. Department of Education announced Aug. 19 that it anticipates rescinding parts of a rule enacted by the Trump administration that forces universities to financially support religious student groups that discriminate. This November 2020 reinterpretation of the Free Inquiry Rule…
New lawsuit accuses SBC Executive Committee, Southern Seminary, Lifeway and others of ‘conspiracy’ to cover up sexual abuse claims
A sweeping lawsuit filed by a victim of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of her Baptist pastor father alleges a conspiracy among several Southern Baptist Convention entities and individuals to defame her and squelch her pleas for relief. The…
Church ‘religious exemption’ letters against COVID vaccination mandates likely won’t work
Churches in California and North Carolina are among those now offering congregants documentation for “religious exemptions” to the COVID-19 vaccine, a practice that is legally dubious and likely ineffective, according to labor lawyers. The practice has arisen as more employers…
‘Humanitarian catastrophe’ unfolding in Afghanistan
“What we are witnessing, in real time, is a humanitarian catastrophe.” That’s the grim assessment of the situation in Afghanistan this week by one of the foremost authorities on immigration work in the United States. Ali Noorani, president of the…
The need to be persecuted
Yesterday, I started teaching a new series to my adult Bible study class on 1 Thessalonians. As part of the introduction to this Pauline epistle, I attempted to explain to the class the kind of real persecution these early Christians…
Americans almost as divided over transgender identity as over abortion
American views on people who change gender are nearly as divisive as views on abortion, new polling from Gallup shows, in the first-of-its-kind research by the firm. Gallup has tracked Americans’ views on a range of sexuality issues for the…
CBF General Assembly moves to online-only format as COVID cases climb
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s attempt to plan a hybrid General Assembly in late August has fallen victim to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic across America. What had been planned as a virtual gathering with three regional in-person options now…
What’s wrong with ‘Left Behind’?
One of the biggest lies perpetuated in modern American Christianity is about the end times. Just by paying attention to popular culture and conversation, you would assume that the “Left Behind” theology is the most accepted — and maybe the…
With a school voucher case already teed up at the Supreme Court, Florida adds a twist under the cover of COVID
The political fight over COVID-19 restrictions now has found its way into the debate over taxpayer funded vouchers for private religious schools. ABC News reported Aug. 6 that the Florida State Board of Education will offer private school vouchers to…
Get ready for more claims of ‘religious exemptions’ to vaccine mandates
As children return to school and adults return to offices this fall amid a severe surge in coronavirus cases, expect to hear more talk about “religious exemptions” to vaccine requirements. Even before COVID-19, sincerely held religious beliefs have provided a…
A pediatrician’s advice to parents worried about the COVID vaccine and their children
Even parents who are willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 themselves may be hesitant to have their eligible children vaccinated, according to new data from Public Religion Research Institute and Interfaith Youth Core. That finding doesn’t surprise Rhonda Walton, a…