Donald Trump’s return to detaining immigrant children and families is reviving a brutal process from his first administration and must be heavily protested, human rights advocate Amy Fischer said during a March 12 press briefing. “It causes irreparable harm for…
Judge appears skeptical of Trump ban on transgender service members
A federal judge appeared reluctant March 12 to comprehend the legality of a Trump executive order that bans transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes repeatedly questioned the government’s lawyers for what she…
Pro-Trump ‘prophet’ Mario Murillo debuts healing film
Mario Murillo, a Pentecostal evangelist and self-proclaimed prophet who preaches about sin, healing and right-wing politics, stars in a new film that opened in hundreds of theaters March 9. I Am Living Proof focuses on three people who claim they…
Pulte Foundation seeks to preserve Catholic churches and schools
While much attention has been paid to the closing of Protestant churches in America, a new initiative seeks to preserve the buildings of Catholic churches and schools. The Pulte Family Charitable Foundation has launched The Catholic Initiative, a Vatican-approved funding…
Robert Morris indicted on child sex abuse charges in Oklahoma
Robert Morris, founder and former pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, and previous adviser to President Donald Trump, was indicted on five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child. The charges relate to alleged child sexual…
White House misjudged support for USAID, Sojourners leader says
The White House grossly misjudged in assuming most Americans would be OK with eliminating the U.S. Agency for International Development and most foreign assistance programs, Sojourners President Adam Russell Taylor said. Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency made…
Cuts to Education Department threaten religious liberty, BJC head warns
The Trump administration’s decision to cut nearly half the U.S. Department of Education workforce is a careless action that will wreak havoc in public schools and erode religious freedom, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty said. “This action is not…
Post about Trump official ignites holy war over Wheaton College
Leaders of evangelical icon Wheaton College thought they could calm things down by deleting a controversial post about an alumnus who works for President Donald Trump. They instead gave fuel to activists who’ve ignited a holy war and claimed the…
House Speaker Mike Johnson rooms with DC-based Christian activist
After his long days leading the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker Mike Johnson retires to a nearby D.C. townhouse owned by a small activist Christian ministry that works to shape legislation on LGBTQ rights, Israel, the downsizing of the federal…
Stakes are high as Supreme Court takes up conversion therapy case
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a Colorado case that addresses one of the most controversial of all debates about homosexuality and the church: Is so-called “conversion therapy” legitimate or abusive? The largely discredited strategy of helping…
Marshall says ‘scandalous providence’ preserved her life’s work
When she was forced off the faculty of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and accused of heresy, Molly Marshall found “a scandalous providence preserved my vocation and my life’s work,” she recently recalled. Marshall, now president of United Theological Seminary of…
Oklahoma Supreme Court blocks Bible curriculum for now
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has temporarily blocked state school officials from purchasing Bibles and Scripture-based instructional materials for use in public school classrooms. The March 10 order bars Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Department…