WASHINGTON (RNS) — There may never be a female pastor leading Tony Perkins' Southern Baptist congregation in Louisiana, but there could be a woman taking over the vice president's mansion in Washington. And as Perkins sees it, there's no contradiction…
Torture fails to ensure national security, experts insist
ATLANTA — Retired high-ranking military officers and national security experts at a national summit on torture agreed — a policy that permits torture does not make the United States or its troops safer. Speaking on the seventh anniversary of terrorist…
Four in 10 think clergy should endorse candidates
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Four in 10 Americans believe religious leaders should be permitted to endorse political candidates from the pulpit without risking their organization's tax-exempt status, a new survey by the First Amendment Center shows. Twenty-two percent of respondents “strongly”…
Declaration calls for presidential executive order on torture
Evangelicals for Human Rights, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and the Center for Victims of Torture have drafted a declaration of principles its members want to see the next president include in an executive order on prisoner treatment, torture…
Survey shows megachurches more intimate, less gullible than stereotypes
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new survey by Baylor University researchers suggests megachurches are more intimate, believers less gullible and atheism less prevalent than popular stereotypes would suggest. Results of the 2008 Baylor Religion Survey were released in a Washington press…
Palin terms sexuality ‘choice,’ sidesteps abortion in interview
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin described homosexuality as “a choice” while sidestepping policy questions about it and several other divisive social issues in a television interview aired Sept. 30. But the Alaska governor told Katie Couric of…
American Baptist history archives reunited at Mercer University
ATLANTA (ABP) — Scholars and history buffs who want to learn more about Baptist history now can do so in one place. The American Baptist Historical Society dedicated the Samuel Colgate Historical Library and Archives on Mercer University’s Atlanta campus…
Gay-rights ‘Equality Ride’ targets Baptist colleges
AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — A group that promotes equal rights for gays in religious orgnaizations appears to be targeting Baptist colleges and universities in its third annual tour of faith-based educational institutions. Nine of the 15 stops scheduled on Soulforce…
Veteran journalist Bob Allen tapped as ABP senior writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Veteran Baptist journalist Bob Allen will return to Associated Baptist Press Oct. 1 to fill a newly created senior writer position. It will be Allen’s second stint with the independent news agency, which he had once…
Landrum Leavell, longtime seminary president, dies
WICHITA FALLS, Texas (ABP) — Landrum Leavell, who led New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for nearly three decades, died after an extended illness Sept. 26. He was 81. Leavell was elected the seminary’s president in January 1975, and helmed the…
Cecil Sherman, in hospital, gets ABP freedom award
HOUSTON (ABP) — Associated Baptist Press has paid homage to moderate Baptist pioneer Cecil Sherman even as the veteran of Baptist internal fighting faces a different sort of battle. ABP board member Marv Knox presented Sherman with the news agency’s…
Wyatts’ ministry to internationals broadens with move to Ottawa
ATLANTA (ABP) — A peaceful night’s sleep for a refugee whose run from violence and danger has ended, the sound of fellowship as a Christian connects with a lonely international student and the joy of a congregation that rediscovers its…