Presented here are BNG’s top 25 news and opinion articles during the past decade.
Is Christian decline in U.S. prompting evangelicals to seek government endorsement? Maybe.
Eighty-three nations have an official, state-endorsed religion or give preferred treatment to one over others, according to a Pew Research Center study, which lists the United States among 106 countries that have no official or preferred faith. But is that changing? It might appear so, as the increasingly rapid descent of organized religion may be fueling some Christians’ drive to codify faith in America.
Ruling removes what has been called the most important tax benefit available to ministers
(ABP) — A federal judge said Nov. 23 that an IRS rule allowing clergy to avoid paying taxes on a part of their income designated as a housing allowance violates the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. Senior United…
Bible Belt Baptists can learn from small Baptist minorities overseas
If they have ears to hear, Baptists in places like the United States’ Bible Belt, where Christianity is the norm, can learn lessons from Baptist minorities in other parts of the world, Baptist World Alliance leaders insist. Many Baptists in…
Humanitarian aid, human rights advocacy bolster Baptist witness
Aid and advocacy create a positive witness for Baptists globally, leaders of the Baptist World Alliance noted. When Raimundo Barreto, director of the BWA division of freedom and justice, was in Vietnam a couple of years ago, a government official…
Baptist minister Dana Trent details marriage to Hindu monk in just-released ‘Saffron Cross’
North Carolina Baptist minister J. Dana Trent got more than she bargained for when she tried to broaden the field on a dating website application by checking boxes for other religions along with Christian and “spiritual but not religious” —…
Small churches currently unable to afford health insurance for staff may benefit from Obamacare
(ABP) — A new program designed to make it easier to buy health insurance for small businesses has potential to become a major source of medical coverage for church staff and employees, says Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Church Benefits Board President…
‘We’re in a fight,’ GuideStone Financial Services head O.S. Hawkins says in challenging health law
(ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention agency that provides insurance for denominational employees filed a lawsuit Oct. 11 claiming the Affordable Care Act violates the religious liberty of faith-based organizations that do not meet the government’s narrow definition of “religious…
BJC opposes official prayers during local government meetings
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Opening local government meetings with prayer violates the conscience of not just religious minorities, but also of Christians who believe that worship must be voluntary, a Baptist church-state group argues in a legal brief filed in the…