Why coercive religious politics undermine Christianity and democracy

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — Despite a legal setback, Missouri Baptist Convention leaders will continue their lawsuit against five institutions that have removed themselves from the convention's control. The convention's lead attorney in the case, Michael Whitehead, said he will…

CORDOVA, Tenn. (ABP) — Adrian Rogers, one of the most prominent pastors in America, had successful heart bypass surgery March 16. Rogers, pastor of the 27,000-member Bellevue Baptist Church in suburban Memphis, Tenn., was president of the Southern Baptist Convention…

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — A Missouri judge has effectively dismissed a lawsuit filed by Missouri Baptist Convention leaders against five institutions that removed themselves from convention control. Cole County Circuit Judge Thomas Brown ruled March 11 that the suit's…

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — Hoping to put their controversy with the Southern Baptist Convention behind them, members of the Baptist World Alliance's Executive Committee issued a joint statement affirming historic Christian doctrines March 10. The action came during a…

DALLAS (ABP) — A planeload of food sent by Texas Baptist Men arrived March 10 in Haiti, which has been ravaged recently by civil war. More than 300 pounds of nonperishable food landed at the airport in Cap Haitien, where…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — When true love doesn't wait, it also apparently doesn't use a condom. That's one conclusion from a scientific study of teenagers who made pledges to abstain from sexual intercourse before marriage. Researchers announced the study's results March…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — For a change, the Bush administration isn't supporting a bill that would provide federal financial assistance to churches. An official from Bush's National Park Service testified March 9 against a bill that would provide $10 million in…

By WASHINGTON (ABP) — Iraq has a new interim constitution that offers high levels of protection for religious freedom — but one of its provisions still gives pause to some human-rights watchdogs. After a delay due to last-minute objections by…

KIRBYVILLE, Texas (ABP) — Some people see the world in black and white. Charles Burchett, pastor of First Baptist Church in Kirbyville, Texas, aims to end that. The soft-spoken-but-frank minister has become the voice for racial unity in a town…

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Is it possible in today's world for religions to live at peace? It is if they are true to their natures, according to world-religions expert Charles Kimball. “Peace is a central feature of all of the…

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. (ABP) — The NCAA placed Gardner-Webb University on probation for three years for multiple violations, including a lack of institutional control. The penalty, announced March 4, was imposed for violations concerning athletic recruiting, academic eligibility, extra benefits,…

DALLAS (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas will end its exclusive marketing agreement with the Southern Baptist Convention's publishing house, an agreement that for years has given SBC materials a priority position among the state's 5,600 churches. The…