American confidence in public schools spiked with the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020, but it has dropped to nearly an all-time low, according to a new Gallup poll. The survey reported 28% of U.S. adults expressed “a great deal” or…
Christian Athlete Circles provides alternative space in sports
Georgia McKee excelled at sports throughout childhood and played Division I college softball, which enabled her to know some of the nation’s best athletes. But she also encountered what she recognized as some of its most dysfunctional religious attitudes, practices…
Filmmaker searches for vanished Black graves in Canadian cemetery
James Russell is dismayed by an apparent lack of commitment to preserve Black grave sites in Canada. He’s so disturbed, he has taken it upon himself to secure their dignity. ‘What bothers me is this ground has no markers on…
Iran continues ‘egregious violations of religious freedom,’ watchdog reports
Religious repression remains widespread in Iran, according to a new report released by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Minority faiths — even including some Muslim sects — and women are most vulnerable to persecution in the predominantly Islamic…
Update: ‘ReAwaken’ tour reschedules New York event, denies racism
A nationwide speaking tour featuring prominent white Christian nationalists has rescheduled a stop in New York state after pro-democracy advocates succeeded in urging a venue in Rochester, N.Y., to cancel a mid-August event. Main Street Armory a former military facility…
Fletcher Seminary launches this fall, offering 2 graduate ministry degrees
Jesse C. Fletcher Seminary, a ministry-training school launched in the wake of Hardin-Simmons University’s 2020 decision to close its Logsdon Seminary, will begin offering two graduate degrees this fall. Fletcher Seminary is based in San Antonio in facilities of Baptist…
Pro-democracy pressure forces ‘ReAwaken’ tour to skip Rochester
Opponents of a nationwide speaking tour featuring prominent white Christian nationalists and megachurches has scored a victory. Main Street Armory in Rochester, N.Y., a former military facility that hosts sporting contests, live music concerts, rallies and other large events, canceled…
Immigration advocates urge U.S. to reform cruel, broken asylum system
It’s one thing to hear or read about Title 42 but quite another to experience the Trump-era immigration policy firsthand, a Haitian asylum seeker said during a recent webinar hosted by interfaith immigration advocates. In fact, Title 42 is a…
Arizona shields foster, adoption agencies from discrimination lawsuits
Arizona’s faith-based adoption and foster-care agencies soon may refuse to work with people whose religious views differ from their own. Opponents of the new law protecting those agencies insist it will harm children who need safe, loving homes. The Arizona…
Frowns all around: World drops to new low on sadness scale
Globally, emotions took a deep dive in 2021, surpassing negativity levels documented the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and hitting all-time lows in terms of stress, sadness and worry, a new Gallup poll shows. The June survey revealed negative…
Baylor’s Drew recounts journey from basketball scandal to national championship
When Scott Drew became head coach of Baylor University’s men’s basketball team in 2003, he took on arguably the worst job in all of college sports. Almost two decades later, he looks back on the Bears’ road to recovery and…
Fact-finders highlight ethno-religious violence in Nigeria, while State Department declines to act
Christians and Muslims both fear they will be “eradicated” in Nigeria, a fact-finding team from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom discovered. Last year, the commission, known as USCIRF, asked the U.S. State Department to label Nigeria, Africa’s most…