In a year already chock-full of wins for conservative evangelicals in their culture wars, the Internal Revenue Service said July 7 it no longer will enforce the Johnson Amendment that prevents churches and other nonprofits from endorsing political candidates. Although…
Johnson gives ‘glory to God’ for Trump’s big bill but others say God is mocked
While Speaker of the House Mike Johnson gave glory to God for final passage of the “big beautiful bill,” other religious leaders decried the legislation as un-Christian, un-American, evil and dangerous. On July 3, after the House passed the bill…
BJC leader calls Trump’s new travel ban ‘dangerous and discriminatory’
President Donald Trump’s new travel ban against nationals from a dozen countries is “dangerous and discriminatory” and is a significant threat to religious freedom, according to Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler said the ban,…
Judge blocks Trump’s plan to dismantle Department of Education
A federal judge in Boston called out the Trump administration for attempting to abolish the U.S. Department of Education while claiming it was merely seeking to restructure the agency. “The record abundantly reveals that defendants’ true intention is to effectively…
Texas House joins Senate in bill requiring Ten Commandments
The Texas House of Representatives voted 82-46 to require the Ten Commandments be posted in public school classrooms across the state. The May 25 vote followed days of debate and was passed with an amendment requiring the state, not school…
‘Big beautiful bill’ creates school voucher program that benefits the rich
The national school voucher program included in a bill passed by the U.S. House will make the rich richer and further marginalize students based on religious, economic and disability status, panelists said during a recent town hall meeting. The May…
Some Baptist leaders hopeful about Pope Leo XIV
“I did not think this would happen in my lifetime,” Baptist scholar Elizabeth Newman said of the election of an American as pope. Newman, a theologian and ethicist who serves as co-chair of the Baptist-Catholic dialogues convened by Baptist World…
Due process for all Americans now threatened, Melissa Rogers warns
The wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia poses a looming threat to the right to due process in the U.S., said Melissa Rogers, a former executive director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Garcia is the…
Not all conservatives are Christian nationalists, Tyler explains
Simply holding conservative religious or political views does not make a person a Christian nationalist, Amanda Tyler told a group of Texas religion journalists April 7. Tyler, executive director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, was a panelist at…
Sojourners names Tyler among ‘revolutionary women’
Amanda Tyler is one of a dozen women highlighted by Sojourners as “revolutionary women shaping the church” in 2025. Tyler leads BJC, also known as Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, based in Washington, D.C. She also leads the advocacy…
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…
Feeling overwhelmed? Think local, Tyler advises
It can be overwhelming to consider that there won’t be a presidential election for nearly four years, or even the possibility of winning either the House or Senate away from the control of Christian nationalists for another two years. One…