The question of whether Southern Baptists should be counted among the nation’s conservative evangelicals is not a new one, but it is up for debate again thanks to results from a new Lifeway Research survey on faith and politics. That…
How the abortion debate blew up last week
Abortion, the one issue that for decades united conservative Christian “pro-family” activists and rallied evangelical voters, blew up last week in the days before Americans watched a total eclipse of the sun. First, Donald Trump rattled the anti-abortion movement by…
The war on abortion is now a war on birth control
Inspired by influencers on TikTok, young women are abandoning hormonal birth control and seeking alternative methods of contraception. But not everyone behind the push to “natural” family planning has their best interests at heart. Conservative religious groups and rightwing political…
What happened when Mark Driscoll and Josh Howerton showed up at the Stronger Men’s Conference this weekend
Megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll seethed as Alex Magala, described by two fawning onlookers as “the finest swordsman in all the world,” slowly circled a pole on stage, peeled off his red leather top, slid his tongue up to the tip of…
Here’s how toxic male supremacy keeps on infecting the church, even in a supposed ‘apology’
“So, that’s awesome, man,” megachurch pastor Josh Howerton concluded in what he claimed was an apology to his congregation on Sunday. “Can we move on now? Y’all good with that? We’re gonna do that. That’s what we’re going to do….
America’s changing culture means there’s not much of a rush to the cafeteria for Sunday lunch
The old joke about the Baptists trying to beat the Methodists to the cafeteria for Sunday lunch seems stale these days. You might more easily find a remaining cafeteria in some towns than a plurality of people who actually attend…
Portents in the heavens and signs of the times: An eclipse, Harry Potter and a scholar changing his mind all in the same week
As if it were not enough to have Anne Graham Lotz and Marjorie Taylor Greene warning of God’s judgment on America through a solar eclipse, some in the Religious Right lost their minds over the weekend in two other social…
Even in March Madness, the playing field remains uneven for women
Every March, millions of people locate their yellow highlighters and black pens as they compete against family, friends and coworkers for bragging rights in their March Madness bracket contest. It all started in a Staten Island bar in 1977, where…
What should we make of the curious case of Wendell Berry and a University of Kentucky painting?
Judge Thomas Wingate, circuit judge for the 48th judicial district in Franklin County, Ky., has dismissed a lawsuit filed by writer and Kentucky farmer Wendell Berry and his wife, Tanya. Their suit sought to stop the University of Kentucky from removing a…
Top issues for United Methodists’ Global Assembly taking shape
Delegates to United Methodists’ first worldwide legislative assembly in five years will consider three major issues known as “the three Rs” — regionalization, Revised Social Principles and removal of “harmful language” against homosexuality. This General Conference — technically considered the…
Criswell was Truett on the outside and Norris on the inside, new biography says
W.A. Criswell was George W. Truett on the outside and J. Frank Norris on the inside, according to O.S. Hawkins, whose new biography of the legendary pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas releases today. Criswell grew up in the…
Pastor’s wedding night advice to women opens a conversation on harmful evangelical teaching on sex
On your wedding night, “stand where he tells you to stand, wear what he tells you to wear, and do what he tells you to do.” This is the advice Southern Baptist megachurch pastor Josh Howerton gave the women of his…