The kerfuffle over Baylor University’s rejection of a $634,000 grant for academic research now has produced a third public letter of concern, this time focused on a perceived threat to academic freedom. The two earlier letters, as reported by BNG,…
MAGA is making an ‘all-out assault on Black life’
It is naïve and uncritical to describe the racial injustice dominating American culture and politics as simply the latest iteration of bigotry to plague the nation, Willie Francois III said during the Progressive National Baptist Convention’s 64th annual session in…
Gloomy James Dobson urges ‘patriot pastors’ to lead believers into battle
James Dobson has much to celebrate. Roe v. Wade is history. President Donald Trump is reversing transgender gains, targeting elite universities and defunding Planned Parenthood and public broadcasting. Dobson’s disciples lead the Senate and House, and conservatives have a majority…
Tennessee governor urged to commute death sentence of intellectually disabled man
Advocates and families of people with intellectual disabilities are pleading with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to halt the Aug. 5 execution of an inmate suffering from brain damage, dementia and lifelong cognitive impairment. While federal legal precedent and state statute…
Republicans are more likely to identify as evangelical Protestants than are Democrats
Republicans are significantly more likely to identify as Christians than Democrats, and they have a distinct preference for evangelical Protestant denominations. Pew Research Center’s recent Religious Landscape Survey looked at the correlation between political party (Republican and Democrat) and political…
US may follow states in funding for crisis pregnancy centers
Red state legislatures are spending more tax dollars on faith-based anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers, and federal funding may soon follow. Meanwhile, Texas is increasing oversight of wasteful state-funded centers, and a Massachusetts lawsuit over botched diagnosis could slow the movement’s…
UMC immigration webinar gives facts, cautions and hope
More than 2,100 participants logged in July 17 to a United Methodist-sponsored webinar that gave 90 minutes of spiritual encouragement, prayer and information — but not legal counsel — on birthright citizenship and immigration enforcement. United Methodist leaders organized the…
Trump administration arrests ‘Interfaith Imam,’ setting off protests
Tensions are boiling over in Ohio as immigration authorities continue to detain Imam Ayman Soliman, a former Cincinnati Children’s Hospital chaplain whose asylum status was revoked last month. More than a dozen demonstrators have been arrested at vigils organized since…
Baptists in Australia, New Zealand and Canada wrestle with LGBTQ inclusion
Like it long has in the U.S., disagreement over same-sex marriage and congregational autonomy are also driving a wedge between Baptists in Australia. Divisions began to simmer in 2022 when the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Baptist Association…
Trump administration won’t consider violence against women in immigration
The Justice Department has determined women no longer may cite gender-based violence as grounds for seeking asylum in the U.S. The agency’s Board of Immigration Appeals ruled July 18 “that a particular social group defined by the alien’s sex or…
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…
New book explores missions from viewpoint of MKs
Mission work historically has been key to evangelical self-understanding and their view of the United States as a Christian nation favored by God, historian and author Holly Berkley Fletcher said. “Christian nationalism is based on this grandiose idea of what…