In 1800, 15-year-old Mary Jones hiked 26 miles across the harsh terrain of Northern Wales to purchase a Welsh Bible. Her journey inspired William Wilberforce and his band of social reformers to create what would become the Bible Society, a…
AU warns agencies not to believe Trump’s view on Supreme Court rulings
Don’t be misled about U.S. Supreme Court decisions on religious liberty, Americans United warned 18 federal agencies in a May 15 letter. The letter cited a recent presidential memorandum issued by President Donald Trump that “encourages the unlawful repeal of rules…
6 in 10 US adults say they’re Christians
Six in 10 adults living in the United States today identify as Christian, according to Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study. This percentage has decreased gradually as Pew’s longitudinal survey has tracked it over time, dropping from 78% in 2007…
SBC megachurch in Houston settles abuse lawsuit out of court
Champion Forest Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist megachurch in Houston, has settled with “strict confidentiality” a lawsuit alleging church and denominational leadership’s complicity in the sexual misconduct of former youth pastor Timothy Jeltema. Three women, anonymously referred to as “Jane…
Georgia school expels senior who brought transgender date to prom
An Atlanta-area Christian school expelled a high school senior 12 days before graduation because she brought a transgender date to prom. Fox5 Atlanta broke the story May 19 in an interview with the student, Emily Wright, and her mother, Tricia…
As Biden faces cancer diagnosis, Trump family and MAGA hurl insults
It didn’t take MAGA world long to hurl insults and conspiracy theories after learning former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. While progressive and conservative politicians and pundits alike were quick to offer…
Religious liberty groups oppose federal school voucher plan
Dozens of religious groups and hundreds of faith leaders are speaking out against a federal school voucher program currently under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives. If approved as part of a legislative funding package, the Educational Choice for…
Supreme Court runs on vibes and grievances, new book contends
Supreme Court justices claim their rulings are based on originalism, textualism or other lofty sounding legal theories. But a new book claims the court’s conservative majority decides cases with “a mishmash of law, vibes, fantasy, facts and ‘alternative facts.’” “At…
New book explores the good, the bad and the weepy about church camp
Years attending and later working at Christian summer camps left Cara Meredith feeling somewhat ambivalent about letting her own children experience what is essentially an evangelical rite of passage. So perplexing was the question that it helped inspire her new…
This week on BNG podcasts
After a several-months break, Benjamin Cole and Mark Wingfield are back with a new episode of “Stuck in the Middle with You.” This week’s new episode is one of two recorded in anticipation of the June Southern Baptist Convention annual…
Here’s the back story on the 26 people Trump named to Religious Liberty Commission advisory boards
A Southern Baptist megachurch pastor and a controversial Baylor University professor are among 26 people named by President Donald Trump to serve on three advisory boards of his Religious Liberty Commission. Two weeks ago, Trump named members of the main…
PRRI: Growth of the religiously unaffiliated is slowing
The growth of the “nones” may have decelerated but has not stopped, according to a new study by Public Religion Research Institute. While the share of religiously unaffiliated in the U.S. has been widely reported to have plateaued, the PRRI…