The United States is a much more hostile place for transgender people since 2016 when conservatives promoted bathroom bans to stoke fear against one of the most vulnerable populations in society, Baptist News Global Executive Director Mark Wingfield said. “It…
How the SBC employs the Sodom Strategy to avoid talking about real sexual abuse
Growing up in the Atlanta suburbs during the 1990s, I roamed about with much greater freedom than 9- and 10-year-olds enjoy today. But each time my mother released my sister and me to gallivant unsupervised around the mall or Six…
American support for Equality Act ideals still growing, new polling shows
As the Equality Act languishes in the U.S. Senate due to Republican opposition, the percentage of Americans who favor laws that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing continues to increase. Public Religion Research Institute released…
Anti-transgender bills introduced in more than a dozen state legislatures
While transgender rights are being expanded by the Biden administration in Washington, D.C., bills have been introduced in more than a dozen state legislatures that would narrow rights for transgender persons, especially minors, and for their parents and caregivers. This…
Court extends protections for transgender students in public schools
Seemingly lost amid a holiday weekend, a global pandemic and a presidential election, a federal appeals court ruled Aug. 26 that federal protections banning sex discrimination in public schools include protections for transgender students. In a 2-to-1 ruling, the United…
Pastor says not all Baptists support ‘bathroom bill’
A Texas Baptist pastor joined interfaith clergy in a rally outside the state Capitol Aug. 1 challenging the narrative that the faith community as a whole supports proposed legislation to require transgender people to use public bathrooms that match the…
Baptist-backed ‘bathroom bill’ advances in Texas
The Texas state senate voted July 25 to advance a controversial “bathroom bill” backed by social conservative groups including the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
Progressive clergy oppose ‘bathroom bills’ in Texas
Faith leaders across the country and in Texas wrote letters May 3 urging state legislators to reject proposed “bathroom bills” similar to North Carolina’s controversial HB2, a measure partially repealed due to pressure from economic boycotts. Clergy gathered Wednesday morning…
The fallacy in opposing ‘bathroom bills’
Franklin Graham is wrong again — and, once again, giving a bad name to my religion and my church. We could hope that if a Christian minister with a worldwide voice (often mistaken for “the” Christian voice), was going to…