Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt is mounting “an attack on science” with a directive disqualifying scientists who receive federal grants for studies from serving on EPA boards, a group of scientists says in a federal lawsuit filed Jan. 23….
Trump insult making life difficult for overseas missionaries
The outrage over the comment made to senators in a meeting on immigration, and which the president eventually denied, has faded as Trump deals with newer scandals, including revelations of a tryst with a porn star. But there are those who continue to simmer about the “shithole” reference, including American Christians who have served as long- and short-term missionaries in some of the African and other nations Trump disparaged.
Transitions for the week of 01.26.18
Staff changes, congregational news and more from across the nation.
Pressler seeks gag order in lawsuit; SBC added as defendant
A prominent Southern Baptist layman is seeking a gag order in a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse, saying pretrial publicity jeopardizes his ability to receive a fair trial. Paul Pressler, architect of a strategy credited with a rightward shift in leadership…
Baptist upbringing inspires sociologist’s study of SBC controversy, American faith
Growing up as a child of a Southern Baptist minister, Nancy Ammerman developed an early interest in the role congregations play in nurturing the personal faith of individuals. Now a sociologist at Boston University, Ammerman has turned the insights she gained toward a study of American religious life, including controversies that have confronted Baptists.
BWA head protests Bolivia’s religion law
The head of the Baptist World Alliance has criticized a new law in Bolivia that various faith organizations say could curtail religious freedom. BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown wrote Bolivia’s legislature Jan. 17 voicing concern that ambiguity in the country’s…
Supreme Court to hear challenge to so-called Muslim ban
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to accept a case to decide whether President Donald Trump’s latest travel ban unconstitutionally discriminates against Muslims. On Jan. 19 the high court asked lawyers on both sides to address whether the president’s third…
Judge says employment interference lawsuit against NAMB can proceed
A federal judge in Mississippi has turned down a request to dismiss a lawsuit against the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention on religious liberty grounds. Senior U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled Jan. 18 that…
Do-it-your-self faith on the rise thanks to the web, study finds
It seems religion in America just can’t catch a break. Religious affiliation and participation continue to dive, driven in part by young generations uninterested in belonging to anything, least of all churches. And now newly published research suggests that the Internet — which faith communities had hoped would bridge the gap with Millennials and the “nones” — may have a hand in keeping those and other demographics away.
White House considering rollback of payday lending rule
The interim leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to reconsider regulatory rules for short-term, high-interest borrowing commonly known as payday lending. The federal agency, which was created in response to the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the…
Criticized for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, White House cuts funding for Palestinian refugees
The United States is withholding more than half of its planned funding of a United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, renewing debate over the Trump administration’s controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Transitions for the week of 01.19.18
A listing of staff changes, anniversaries, retirements and other announcements from across the country.