HARTFORD, Conn. (ABP) — Baptists may be the grayest of any major religious group in America, according to a study released March 9 by Trinity College of connecticut. The 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, the third set of data in…
Bill Leonard stepping down as dean of Wake Forest divinity school
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — The founding dean of the Wake Forest University Divinity School is stepping down next year, school officials announced March 5. Bill Leonard Bill Leonard will retire from that post June 30, 2010. But he will continue…
Eye-catching, eco-friendly church structure turns heads in North Carolina city
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) —Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, which celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2009, is turning heads with a new eco-friendly building addition that eases overcrowding, allows for expanded missions and establishes a strong architectural presence along a prominent business…
The City of God: Upsurge of urban ‘creative class’ poses challenges to evangelicals
Busboys and Poets offers affordable gourmet meals and a performance venue to edgy artists, sells books on political topics and provides a chic meeting space for activist groups. WASHINGTON (ABP)—If ever there were an archetypal hangout for what author and…
Young-earth creationists value literal reading of God’s word over human intellect’
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — In his 2006 best-selling nonfiction book, The God Delusion, British biologist Richard Dawkins said he is hostile toward religion because of what it did to Kurt Wise. Wise, a Harvard graduate who studied under paleontologist Stephen…
Evolution Sunday says dichotomy between faith and science is false
INDIANAPOLIS (ABP) — While many Christians view evolution as a threat to religion, a growing number of churches view Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of his seminal work The Origin of Species as something to celebrate. More…
Obama’s anti-torture directives place activists in good news/bad news posture
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Religious opponents of torture expressed simultaneous approval and concern about a series of executive orders by President Obama upending his predecessor's policies on detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects. On his second full day in office, Obama…
Pick Pepsodent or Presbyterian?
PHOENIX (ABP) — Protestants in the United States are about as loyal to their brand of toothpaste as their denomination, according to one research firm. A new poll by Ellison Research asked churchgoers who attend worship services at least once…
Obama rearranges faith-based office, vows to maintain church-state wall
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Obama announced a revamped version of his predecessor's office on faith-based charities Feb. 5, restructuring it with a broad advisory council and vowing to pay close attention to church-state concerns. “The goal of this office will…
First regional New Baptist Covenant event focuses on reconciliation
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Former President Jimmy Carter went to a shrine of the Civil Rights Movement Jan. 31 to drive home a point about racial reconciliation among Baptists, stepping up into the pulpit of the Birmingham, Ala., church where…
Monkey business
Two hundred years after his birth on Feb. 12, 1809, British naturalist Charles Darwin remains controversial. His theory of evolution became the linchpin of modern science, but a majority of Americans believe God created humans in their present form. And…
Intelligent design renews debate between science and religion
WACO, Texas (ABP) — If there ever were a chance that conflict between evolution and religion might die a natural death, it ended with the birth of intelligent design. Just ask William Dembski. Educated as a probability theorist, Dembski had…