It shouldn’t feel so hard to write about voting rights in a way that will not offend partisan sensibilities. It didn’t used to be this way. In 2006, Congress reauthorized the 1965 Voting Rights Act with a unanimous vote in…
Interpreting the data: Why are some Christians getting vaccinated and others aren’t?
It is well-documented by now that white evangelical Christians are among the largest groups resisting vaccination against COVID-19. But the reason for this might not actually be rooted in vaccine denial, according a new analysis in The Atlantic. “The pattern…
Dissident Episcopalians awarded $100 million worth of property as U.S. Supreme Court declines to take up Fort Worth case
In a case little heralded outside North Texas and outside Episcopal Church insiders, the United States Supreme Court in February opened the door for more litigation nationwide over disputed church property as churches split over social issues such as women…
Buckle up: Global turbulence ahead
As much as we might wish otherwise, living in the post-COVID world promises to be a pretty rough ride over the next 20 years. So buckle up. Not just because of the global impact of the pandemic itself, but because…
Biden administration skewered for keeping Trump-era cap on refugee resettlement
Immigration advocates — including numerous faith-based groups — reacted harshly to the Biden administration’s April 16 announcement that it would not, after all, raise the ceiling for admission of refugees this year. The blowback was so swift and harsh that…
Texas takes the spotlight as statehouses across the nation seek to restrict trans teens and voter access
Some Texas legislators want to outdo Georgia and Arkansas with a combination of bills restricting transgender teens and voting access for poor and minority citizens. The Texas bills — four concerning transgender health care, six concerning transgender athletes and two…
American Christianity in China also imports gender bias and Calvinism
Imagine if America’s coalition of conspiracy theorist, cowboy Christianity had colonized its way into the world of international politics and sexual abuse cover-ups under the guise of spreading the gospel. Research scholar Mary Li Ma believes this isn’t an imaginary scenario,…
Understanding human capital makes volunteer recruitment easier
This is the fourth in a series created by a partnership between Baptist News Global and the Campbell University Center for Church and Community. Each month’s columns explore one of the seven types of capital described in the Community Capitals Framework…
United Methodist leaders speak out against anti-Asian racism
Like any other American institution whose roots date back to the Revolutionary era, The United Methodist Church suffers from endemic institutional racism. Last year, leaders of the worldwide denomination declared their intention to focus on “dismantling racism” both within and…