WASHINGTON (ABP) — Nearly 70 percent of the world's 6.8 billion people live in countries with high restrictions on religion, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life. Titled Global Restrictions on…
Day with a legend: Belmont students meet Baptist activist Will Campbell
Belmont University students pose with Will Campbell outside his cabin in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. MT. JULIET, Tenn. (ABP) — Religion majors at Belmont University ended their semester on a high note Dec. 14, visiting and chatting with legendary Baptist civil-rights…
Oklahoma company debuts funds that keep faith with Christian investors
OKLAHOMA CITY (ABP) — An Oklahoma investment company has unveiled what is believed to be the first Christian-themed line of exchange-traded funds in the United States. FaithShares Trust in Oklahoma City announced two new products, FaithShares Baptist Values Fund and…
Lilly-funded McAfee program to help grads serving in first churches
ATLANTA (ABP) — A $1 million grant is funding a new center at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology that aims to create a new paradigm for transitioning new ministers from the academic setting into the realities of local-church ministry….
U.S. religious groups square off over bill imposing new Iran sanctions
WASHINGTON (ABP) — With a key vote looming in the House of Representatives, religious leaders weighed in on both sides of the debate over new sanctions against Iran. Thirty-four conservative religious leaders, including the Southern Baptist Convention's top lobbyist, wrote…
D.C. set to become 6th jurisdiction in U.S. with legal same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The District of Columbia Council voted overwhelmingly — and despite vocal protests from a coalition of conservative evangelicals and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington — to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation’s capital Dec. 15. Anthony…
National race track chaplaincy group to relocate to Kentucky
GEORGETOWN, Ky. (ABP) — A national chaplaincy group that ministers to the horse-racing community is moving from California to Kentucky at the beginning of 2010. Race Track Chaplaincy of America Executive Director Enrique Torres (center right) shakes hands with Georgetown…
CBF leader says ministry-exellence training can boost clergy’s image
ATLANTA (ABP) — A moderate Baptist leader says a recent poll showing public confidence in clergy at a three-decade low should be a wakeup call for the importance of maintaining excellence in ministry. "In a culture that qualifies success as…
Creating carol for the troops inspires student, prof at Ky. Baptist school
The Chamber Choir at Campbellsville University sings the debut performance of "What is Christmas?" (Campbellsville U.) CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Thousands of American soldiers will be apart from their families this Christmas, but Campbellsville University graduate student Matt Hodge has…