Surrounded by FBI agents attempting to coax them into their vehicles, five of Samuel Bateman’s underaged wives huddled tightly. With trembling arms around one another, they sang, “And he will come again, and one by one we’ll rise, to praise…
The Seeing Stones and the surveillance state
There is something almost too on-the-nose about a company named Palantir releasing a manifesto that reads like a love letter to centralized power. Palantir Technologies does not exist in isolation from American political power. It is one node in a…
What’s the real story with Gen Z and religion today?
Last week, we released the latest PRRI Census of American Religion. Our 2025 data show religious affiliation in the United States has remained largely unchanged since 2024, with 28% of Americans identifying as religiously unaffiliated. Church attendance also has not increased….
The burden of saving everyone
“You can believe whatever you want. Just don’t force it on me.” I’ll be blunt: This take is popular, but it doesn’t work. I understand why people say it, and I agree it sounds reasonable. It assumes something most of…
I watched Angel’s animated Animal Farm so you didn’t have to
An animated version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm opens in theaters May 1 from “values-centric” Angel Studios. To quote the marketing to Christian conservatives, attempting to turn this violent, politically dense classic into a cute kids’ movie is a “cautionary…
‘Crimes against humanity’ and the fight for reparative justice
I recently traveled to Geneva to attend the fifth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, an advisory body to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations. As executive director of JustFaith Ministries, I joined representatives…
Why the faculty’s stand at Southeastern Seminary matters now
In 1987, the faculty of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., faced what many faculty members at colleges and universities across the country are confronting today: The takeover of their institution by outside forces determined to impose ideological…
Church gives away $1 million to stop evictions
Not every headline out of Washington, D.C., or Northern Virginia is about division, Donald Trump or American dysfunction. Every now and then, the light breaks through the legislation and press conferences. Just miles from the corridors of power, in Alexandria,…
As Alliance gathers, questions and hope abound
On the brink of its 40th anniversary, the Alliance of Baptists met near Chicago April 17-19 facing unexpected turmoil about its future. This year’s annual gathering already was planned when the board of directors announced the sudden departures of Co-Directors…
What’s the risk of Trump’s fight with Pope Leo?
I don’t believe President Donald Trump understands the political risk of picking a fight with Pope Leo XIV. My best guess is he believes the unquestioning submission demonstrated by his fawning white evangelical followers exists among all his Christian followers….
What it means: Baylor provost announces retirement
This article has been updated in two ways since its original publication: New information has been added about an interim provost, and the president of the Faculty Senate has issued a categorical denial of any plan to take a vote…
Why Orban’s defeat portends bad news for Trump
The defeat of Viktor Orban in Hungary holds promise for America. In one way, Orban’s demise is a lesson in Political Science 101: Political leaders, even in a quasi-democracy, can’t beat a bad economy. Peter Magyar’s landslide victory in Hungary…