If your pastor were to stand in the pulpit this Sunday and explicitly tell you to vote for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris for president, would your church be in legal jeopardy? Technically, yes. Realistically, no. The potential peril…
‘Theological revolution’ needed to bring liberation to jails and prisons, PNBC panel says
Viewing jail and prison inmates as more than souls to be saved requires the church to apply a social-justice lens to its theological understanding of incarceration and the incarcerated, insisted Jacqueline Thompson, second vice president of the Progressive National Baptist…
The evangelical campaign against abortion faces three big pushbacks this year
Abortion presents a profound moral issue on which Americans have hotly contested emotional arguments. When it comes to the 2024 election, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds women of reproductive age (18 to 49), Black women and women who live…
Etiquette for whites visiting a Black space for the first time
With Black History Month upon us, some white folks will be moving across typical racial dividing lines and entering into what’s known as Black Space, which I define as a place where Black people are in charge and make up…
Black Christian leaders call on White House to help Gazans
It’s been 118 days since Hamas attacked Israel, and for more than 100 of those days, hundreds of Black pastors and Christian leaders have called for cease-fires, humanitarian assistance and peace talks for Palestinians. Many Black pastors have prayed for…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Leonard Hamlin Sr.
Leonard Hamlin Sr. serves as canon missioner and minister of equity and inclusion at the Washington National Cathedral. A Black Baptist pastor, Canon Hamlin oversees the Cathedral’s outreach and social justice work. Given the symbolic importance of its role as…
Black church still needed as much as in MLK’s day, youth leader says
Bianca Howard grew up in the Black church and believes it has a continued role in American faith and culture. On this anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King Jr., she finds his legacy an encouragement for the Black…
Why the Black church must account for and attend to its own marginalized
When you hear the phrase, “the Black church,” what comes to mind? Who do you think about? Maybe high-spirited songs and impassioned sermons fill your ears as you recall attending a Sunday service where the majority of people in the…
Black religion and reparation questions
How many times have you heard Black religious leaders preach, teach and advocate about reparation for racial injustice? I have pondered that question a lot, especially since the murder of George Floyd. I have wondered why Black religious leaders are…