Why coercive religious politics undermine Christianity and democracy

MT. LEBANON, Texas (ABP) – Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants to introduce a new level of gambling in the state, and a Baptist legislative expert says it is opening the door to casino-type gaming. The governor's school finance proposal includes…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Although American evangelicals overwhelmingly view themselves as part of mainstream America and believe they hold significant political influence, they nonetheless view themselves as a besieged minority, a new study has found. And the study found evangelicals now…

DALLAS (ABP) — A “strong consensus” has developed regarding the appropriate role of religion in public schools, a church-state legal expert said. Oliver Thomas, a constitutional lawyer who helped draft the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, spoke during a recent “Finding…

(ABP) — A growing minority of Americans believe that Jews were responsible for Christ's death, according to a Pew Research Center poll. Roughly a quarter of the public (26 percent) now expresses that view. This represents a modest but statistically…

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — James Williams has announced he will retire as executive director of the Baptist Medical/Dental Fellowship, an organization that enlists health-care professionals as volunteer and career mission workers. In a letter to the organization's Executive Committee, Williams,…

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — The president of the Baptist Medical/Dental Fellowship has resigned and is withdrawing his membership from the organization over its affiliation with a moderate Baptist group. Danny Barnhill, a medical doctor from Shreveport, La., issued his resignation…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — A landmark study of American evangelical Christians released April 13 determined, among several noteworthy findings, that evangelicals oppose gay marriage but are lukewarm in their support for a constitutional amendment to ban it. The survey of more…

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico (ABP) — A killer flood shattered the heart of Villa de Fuente Sunday evening, April 4. In the days that followed Mexico and Texas Baptists worked side-by-side in the Piedras Negras neighborhood to get it beating again….

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico (ABP) — As the relentless flood poured through the bedroom windows, Romona Juarez calmed her terrified grandson with the story of Noah's Ark. When she stood in the kitchen sink and the water – thick with silt…

ATLANTA (ABP) — An anonymous donor has made a $5 million contribution to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, designated for global missions. It is the fourth anonymous multimillion-dollar donation to CBF missions in the last three years, and the second this…

HOUSTON (ABP) — After a three-year search, First Baptist Church of Houston, one of the largest congregations in the country, elected a 33-year-old college minister as pastor. Gregg Matte, who leads a ministry to students at Texas A&M University, was…

FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustees have elected two of their own board members as deans and agreed to create an undergraduate college on the Fort Worth campus. During their April 6 meeting, trustees elected their…