American Baptist Home Mission Societies has joined more than 100 organizations and individuals encouraging political candidates to address disability concerns. The Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition, a program of the American Association of People with Disabilities, is collecting signatures to an open…
Baptist says ‘religious liberty’ bill threatens … well, religious liberty
A Missouri religious liberty bill passed last month by the state Senate after a 39-hour filibuster once again kept lawmakers up late at night, when a five hour debate April 13 in the Missouri House of Representatives ended after midnight…
Lessons in discrimination: You’ve got to be carefully taught
My first lesson in prejudice and discrimination occurred at the impressionable age of 5. I grew up in North Carolina as the daughter of tobacco farmers and devoted church-going parents in a community consisting of other family farmers, tenant farmers…
The religion of the New Lost Cause
At Maundy Thursday worship in Wake Forest University’s Davis Chapel, the day after Gov. Pat McCrory signed NC House Bill 2, a transgender divinity school student washed the feet of an African Pentecostal student as the Gospel text from John…
North Carolina: Seeming rather than being
I like calling North Carolina home. It has always been home for me, and I have all of my North Carolina native bona fides to prove it. State bird: cardinal. State shell: Scotch bonnet. State tree: longleaf pine. State mammal:…
SBC agency backs Mississippi ‘religious freedom’ bill
The Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm has voiced support of a controversial Mississippi religious freedom bill being decried as anti-gay. The SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission published an article April 1 titled “Will Mississippi Lead the Way?” The…
Baptist group protests North Carolina transgender law
Alliance of Baptists President Michael Castle said March 25 he will ask the leaders at the progressive fellowship’s upcoming annual gathering to consider moving the 2017 annual meeting away from North Carolina in light of a new state law that…
NCAA won’t divest from schools that discriminate
The NCAA will not divest from colleges and universities requesting religious exemptions from Title IX regulations that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the association’s “chief inclusion officer” said March 15. Bernard Franklin, executive vice president of education…
‘Religious liberty’ bill passes Georgia House, Senate
The Georgia General Assembly passed an amended “Free Exercise Protection Act” March 16 that now heads to an uncertain fate with the state’s Republican governor. Capping two years of lobbying efforts by groups including the 1.3-million-member Georgia Baptist Convention, the…
Georgia’s Baptist governor opposes ‘religious liberty’ bill
Showing his Baptist stripes, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal made his strongest statements to date against controversial “religious liberty” legislation that critics say mask a hidden agenda of discrimination against gays and lesbians. Deal, a graduate of Mercer University and member…
Washington florist gets another day in court
The Supreme Court in Washington state has agreed to hear the case of a Southern Baptist florist sued for refusing to do custom floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding. Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Wash., is asking the…
Charlotte approves measure to halt LGBT discrimination
By Bob Allen The city council in Charlotte, N.C., passed an ordinance Feb. 22 to prevent businesses from discriminating against LGBT customers, setting the stage for a battle with the Republican-controlled state legislature. Council members voted 7-4 in favor of…