The United States Supreme Court unanimously sided with Catholic Social Services in its claim against the City of Philadelphia, saying the city cannot exclude the faith-based agency from a foster care contract merely because it does not serve LGBTQ clients….
Upcoming Supreme Court ruling could influence child care case in Kentucky too
With an important Supreme Court ruling on foster care and religious discrimination coming any day, a Kentucky Baptist child care agency is fighting its own battle to continue denying same-sex couples from becoming foster or adoptive parents. The pending Supreme…
Separation of church and state looks different through the eyes of minorities, BJC speaker says
The First Amendment and concepts such as separation of church and state and freedom of religion seem to signal that religious diversity is strong in the United States. “Well, that’s not really true,” Khyati Joshi, author of White Christian Privilege:…
25 faith-based schools named in LGBTQ discrimination case against Department of Education
Three Baptist universities are among 25 faith-based schools named in a class-action lawsuit filed March 29 against the U.S. Department of Education, with claims of unlawful discrimination against LGBTQ students. The suit, filed in U.S District Court in Eugene, Ore.,…
Arkansas allows medical providers to deny service based on a provider’s own ethics or religious beliefs
Personal conscience now outranks the responsibility to provide medical care to all people equally in Arkansas, according to a bill passed by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson March 26. Senate Bill 289, also known…
Finding new life in the desert as a church becomes a place of healing for racial trauma
Hot, tumbleweeds, dry, brown, desert, mountain. These are words often used to describe El Paso, Texas. When I think of El Paso, I think of the sun kissing my skin. Heat enveloping me like the embrace of a long-lost friend….
Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry offers a lesson on when the ‘institution’ is the church
As Bishop Curry spoke about the power of love during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding in 2018, having recently joined the Anglican Communion myself, my heart was full. But when I watched Oprah’s interview with Harry and Meghan last week,…
On religious liberty views and other issues, there’s still a wide gap between evangelicals and the rest of America
If recent surveys of religious beliefs and practices have revealed anything, it’s that white evangelicals are out of step with the rest of the nation on just about every social and political measure. “White evangelicals are just on another planet,…
Trump administration pushes evangelical agenda through last-minute actions
While the world’s attention has been riveted on the Jan. 6 Capitol melee, the Trump administration in its waning days has continued to push through the social agenda of conservative evangelicals. Despite pending litigation with the Supreme Court, the Department…