Dan S. Hobbs, an early trustee of Baptist News Global — then known as Associated Baptist Press — died in Tulsa, Okla., Jan 12 at age 95. Hobbs also was an early leader in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and in…
Church of England won’t allow same-sex marriage but may allow a liturgical blessing of civil unions
The Church of England will not allow same-sex marriage, despite renewed debate and calls for change in the state church. Bishops met Jan. 17 to finalize a recommendation after five years of debate on the issue that already has ripped…
Class-action suit against Department of Education alleging discrimination in Title IX exemptions dismissed
A challenge of the U.S. Department of Education granting religious exemptions to faith-based schools that allow them to discriminate while receiving federal funding has been dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge. Judge Ann Aiken of the U.S. District Court…
Supreme Court will hear former postal employee’s appeal that he shouldn’t have to work on Sundays because he’s a Christian
After denying three similar requests in recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case that challenges a 1977 court ruling defining what constitutes an “undue hardship” for an employer faced with a religious accommodation request….
Religious liberty advocates applaud Biden administration rollback of Trump policies allowing faith-based discrimination
Traditional religious liberty advocates applauded a move by the Biden administration to undo rules created by the Trump administration that allowed faith-based organizations receiving federal fundings to discriminate against clients. Due to the complex nature of changing federal policies —…
Suburban Dallas UMC congregation withholds funds in protest of former pastor’s ‘scapegoating’ by the local bishop
A congregation in suburban Dallas is withholding about $15,000 in dues to the United Methodist Church’s North Texas Annual Conference to protest the “scapegoating” of a former pastor there who is gay. As if the schism in the UMC weren’t…
Does NAMB have no clue?
I’ve kept quiet amid the several years of very public clamoring for more financial transparency at the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board because I no longer have a dog in that hunt. However, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a…
Thanks for visiting the border, but we’ve got some concerns, evangelical immigrant advocates tell Biden
Thanks for what you’re doing, but we’ve got some serious concerns about some of your other policies, members of the Evangelical Immigration Table wrote to President Joe Biden and members of Congress Jan. 10. The group of evangelical immigrant advocates…
Baptists make up 12.5% of the new Congress, while 28% are Catholic
There are more Baptists in the 118th United States Congress than any other Protestant denomination, but Catholics and generic Protestants take the top faith spots. An analysis of the newly seated Congress by Pew Research finds the 534 members of…
‘Amazing Grace’ is 250 years old this week
This week marked the 250th anniversary of the first time “Amazing Grace” was sung. What has become one of the world’s most-beloved Christian hymns debuted on New Year’s Day 1773 at the Anglican parish church in Olney, England. Its words…
Some words I’m working to adjust in my vocabulary this year
On New Year’s Eve, Lake Superior State University released its annual list of English-language words and phrases that should be banished in 2023 because they are overused and trite. Please don’t call this list the Greatest of All Time or…
Children being raised in America today attend church far less frequently than their parents and grandparents did
Children being raised in America today attend church far less frequently than their parents and grandparents did, largely because their parents have stopped attending as adults. Gallup reports that more than a third of American adults have fallen away from…