Baptist News Global

Can Pope Francis help rescue us from Christian nationalism?

Conservative Catholics and their political evangelical allies in the United States have a “Pope Francis problem.” Outbursts of severe criticism of Pope Francis increase regularly from Catholics and evangelicals alike, such as Joseph Edward Strickland, a recently fired bishop in…

Interfaith vigil promotes prayer for power of democracy to bind Americans

People of faith must promote a vision of peace if American democracy is to be protected from the forces that stormed the U.S. Capitol in 2021, urged Jeffrey Haggray, executive director of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies. “We…

Petrostates, tedious regulations and fossil fuel lobbyists doomed COP28 to fail

The United Nations held its annual climate change conference, COP28, late last year but produced little to show for its efforts. The U.N.’s Conference on Parties — meaning “all parties in the world” — met for the 28th straight year,…

Invested Faith selects six fellows to receive social innovation grants

Invested Faith, a fund that supports faith-rooted social innovators, has announced its ninth class of fellows, or grant recipients. Six people representing five causes will receive fellowships to help them address systemic issues of injustice in their communities while building…

Religious freedom commission criticizes failure to name Nigeria and India as Countries of Particular Concern

The U.S. State Department should have included India and Nigeria in its annual list of countries that fail to protect religious liberty, according to a key religious freedom watchdog. The State Department annually assesses countries based on their levels of…

Upward social comparison in the age of social media — and coming to terms with not being an Instagram model

In the age of social media, we constantly are bombarded with heavily curated and often-edited content that displays images advertising the ideal. Ideal bodies, clothing, families, homes. You name it, and there is a social media page for it. For…

When discussing abortion, let’s settle into our ROCKERS

“For the purposes of this class, I don’t care what your position on abortion is. I care that you have a position that is well-informed, well-reasoned and respectfully articulated.” That’s what I’ve told nearly 16 years’ worth of students in…

New study documents how race influenced congregational reactions to COVID challenges

COVID hit Black congregations especially hard in the pocketbook, pew and pulpit. But they have managed to outdo white churches in promoting wellness and vaccines, according to a new report by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Black congregations also…

Silence is not an option for the church on January 6

The church should not remain silent when January 6 rolls around. It was an insurrection. It was incited. It was planned. It was intended. It was a response to a dastardly lie. Trump did lose. Biden did win. People did…

More Baptist leaders cite pattern of bullying from Ezell and NAMB

Bobby Gilstrap seemed to model what Southern Baptists would want in a denominational leader. Educated at two Southern Baptist Convention seminaries, he served as a pastor, then served 10 years as an associational director of missions in Michigan, where he…

BJC essay contest expands to allow TikTok submissions

Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty will expand its annual scholarship contest this year to include TikTok-style video submissions in addition to traditional written essays that explore the link between Christian nationalism and book bans. “It’s critical for us to…

Florida surgeon general spreads more doubts about COVID vaccines

Florida’s controversial surgeon general — who has said his religious faith inspires his opposition to COVID vaccines — began the new year by warning mRNA coronavirus vaccines could contaminate patients’ DNA. That conspiracy theory has been roundly debunked by the…

Theologizing with Larkin Poe, 10 years after Reskinned

Ministry leader with tall tales wins GOP bid for Colorado governor

What Willy Rice once knew

What I learned July 5 at church