WAKE FOREST, N.C. (ABP) — Baptists in North Carolina next month will be asked to place new restrictions on churches that condone homosexuality, creating perhaps the most specific ban of gay-friendly churches in Southern Baptist life. The president of a…
Officials propose grants, other payments to Katrina-affected religious groups
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Hurricane Katrina's storm surge continues to muddy the line between church and state, as administration officials and some members of Congress are proposing aid to religious institutions in the disaster's wake. A group of senators — including…
Iraq constitution survives vote but remains troubling to some
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The new Iraq Constitution, which apparently has gained approval, sets forth two competing visions of democracy and human rights, according to some religious-freedom experts. The current document “sets forth two competing and diametrically opposed visions of society…
Kansas Supreme Court overturns harsher sentence for gay teen
TOPEKA, Kan. (ABP) — In a reverberation from a landmark Supreme Court case on gay rights, Kansas' highest court has overturned a law that differentiated between homosexual and heterosexual statutory rape. The Kansas Supreme Court unanimously overturned a state law…
Americans idolize ‘traditional family’ even if theirs isn’t one, study shows
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new survey shows that, even as Americans have become more accepting of non-traditional family structures, their view of the ideal family has remained the same — a heterosexual couple, married for life, with children. The survey,…
Missouri Baptists will vote again on local-church loyalty to SBC
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (ABP) — No congregation could be a Missouri Baptist Convention church without cooperating with the Southern Baptist Convention, if a constitution amendment is passed next week. Requiring a church to cooperate with the national convention would be a…
Senate panel avoids cuts in food-stamp program
WASHINGTON (ABP) — After pleading from prominent Baptists and other religious leaders, a Senate panel has declined to recommend major cuts in a federal program that subsidizes grocery purchases for the needy. On an 11-9 vote Oct. 19, the Senate…
Support for Baylor’s interim president fuels speculation about permanent job
WACO, Texas — (ABP) Baylor University's interim president is impressing enough people that he still might emerge as a candidate for the permanent presidency — despite the fact he withdrew his name from consideration last month. Interim Bill Underwood, a…
Coordinating Council votes to add ‘Jesus’ language to CBF constitution
ATLANTA (ABP) — National leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship voted Oct. 14 to restore explicit references to Jesus deleted from the group's constitution in July. A preamble to the constitution was approved by the CBF Coordinating Council with little…