Most Americans say immigration is a benefit to the nation and prefer it be kept at current levels or even increased, research by Gallup shows. “Two-thirds of Americans consider immigration a good thing for the country, while 27% consider it…
Political gap on environment versus economy at widest point ever
On this year’s Earth Day, the gap between Republicans and Democrats on environmental protection is wider than the ozone hole in the earth’s atmosphere. Gallup reports “the gap between the parties has never been larger” when asked to consider tradeoffs…
Al Mohler derides a dead man, and the dead man’s friends aren’t happy
Al Mohler has not come to praise Ron Sider but to bury him — with posthumous damnation, no less. Sider, an early leader of the modern progressive left within Christianity, died July 27. His most influential book was Rich Christians…
New data show America’s challenge is not because ‘both sides are wrong’
There is a popular trend among some evangelicals to criticize both sides of political and religious debates equally while proposing a third way that appears to be above the fray. They might say, “While the right says this and the…
Ryan Burge has some important things to say about white evangelicals, partisan politics and the future
If you’re interested in fascinating yet random facts and trends about American religion and culture, follow Ryan Burge (@ryanburge) on Twitter. Burge, who is an American Baptist pastor and a professor at Eastern Illinois University, loves to make graphs. And…
‘It’s still the economy, stupid’
Think what you will about the raging culture wars, but that’s not the major driver of public opinion today any more than it was when Bill Clinton first ran for president in 1992. That’s when Clinton campaign analyst James Carville…
The futility of framing one another as progressives and evangelicals, devils and dummies
In politics, “framing” is the attempt to alter reality by selecting words, slogans and tropes that convince the public to see the other side in a certain negative way. As Robert Entman explains, “To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived…
It’s not just pastors modern Republicans don’t trust; they also question doctors and politicians who won’t endorse Trump’s lies
Pastors who find some congregants no longer trusting them as much as before are not alone. Two new national polls show significant drops in the percentage of Republicans who trust the medical advice their doctors give or who trust their…
Religious leaders call on Senate to pass voting rights bill — to no avail
The United States Senate’s Jan. 19 refusal to pass voting rights legislation sent to it from the House of Representatives happened despite the appeals of religious leaders nationwide in the week of Martin Luther King celebrations. The National Council of…