A new Gallup survey documents a significant decline in the trust of science among Republicans over the past four decades, a downward trend matched by religious conservatives’ embrace of creationism and rejection of climate change. And all this has been…
Research documents how fundamentalists view LGBTQ inclusion as a zero-sum game they are losing
Fundamentalist Christians are more likely than the rest of Americans to see advances by the LGBTQ community as a zero-sum game that proportionately erodes religious liberty for Christians, according to a new set of academic studies. While many previous national…
Ministry jobs and more
Baptist News Global provides a free listing of ministry-related jobs for Baptist churches, theological institutions and organizations across the United States. Each free posting is for 30 days and is limited to 150 words. Postings may be extended another 30…
Conversation growing about COVID vaccine ‘religious exemptions’
The most-read article on Baptist News Global’s website for the month of August was about religious exemptions to employer and school mandates on COVID-19 vaccines. That article was accessed nearly 50,000 times in two weeks and continues to be read…
Supporting the influx of Afghan refugees is bringing divided Americans together
American religious groups, civic associations, businesses and even neighborhoods are enthusiastically responding to pleas to aid tens of thousands of Afghan refugees in need of rapid resettlement across the nation. Officials who oversee refugee resettlement agencies and the leaders of…
As Boys Scouts of America bankruptcy plan proceeds, UMC urges its congregations to consider their legal liability
Should churches that charter Boy Scouts of America packs or troops continue their affiliation with the organization in light of its current bankruptcy proceedings? The answer for United Methodist congregations is “no,” according to an announcement from UMC officials. This…
Reading good literature can develop skills in empathy and compassion, professor says
Reading literature can help Christians develop the Christ-like empathy needed to bring more compassion and healing to a divided world, according to author and scholar Karen Swallow Prior. The Southern Baptist seminary professor spoke during a Sept. 1 webinar examining…
Transitions for the week of 9-3-21
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Timothy Tee Boddie, to National Conference of Black Churches, as project executive. Marc Boswell, to St. Charles Avenue…
Clergy, social workers, counselors fear they could be targeted by new Texas abortion law, which Supreme Court lets stand for now
After initially remaining silent as a highly restrictive new abortion law went into effect in Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a late-night ruling, 5-4, Sept. 1 letting the controversial law stand — for now. Had Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg…
Negative emotions increased worldwide in 2020, and not just because of COVID
New research shows that 2020 gave much of the world’s population a whole lot more to frown about, and not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 Gallup “Global Emotions” survey, which tracks negative and positive experiences, reports that…
LA County and state of California pay settlement to pastor and church who denied reality of the pandemic
John MacArthur’s defiance of California’s public health restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 has netted the church $800,000 — not because MacArthur told the truth about the pandemic but because the U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled that California couldn’t…
Rachel Held Evans started the story, Matthew Paul Turner picked it up, and the result is hope for children of all ages
Parents often are asked more than once this age-old question “What is God like?” Matthew Paul Turner and the late Rachel Held Evans attempt to answer that question for parents and children in a new children’s book, What is God…