On the eve of the Nov. 3 presidential election, a Nigerian of Yoruba extraction in Houston named Ayodele was asked who he would vote for. “I’m for Biden,” Ayodele replied, but he immediately went on to say, in a tone…
What counseling domestic abuse victims taught me about the election results
One of the difficult and sad responsibilities that falls to counselors such as my wife, Anna, and myself is working with victims of domestic violence. We share that difficult task with law enforcement, with the exception that these cases can…
2020 vote shows religious identity held steady with slight change among Catholics and Mormons
Religious identity trends appear to have held fairly steady in the 2020 presidential election, based on a combination of exit polling and pre-election surveys. Because of the enormous number of Americans who voted by mail or in advance this year,…
About those 545 kids still separated from parents: Expect long-lasting psychological distress
The fact that 545 sets of parents whose children were removed from them at the U.S.-Mexico border cannot be found has reactivated the alarms sounded for several years now by child development and immigration experts. They warn of severe, even…
Cain and Abel: A metaphor for the sin of casteism
In his 2016 landmark book, America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America, Jim Wallis reveals: “The most controversial sentence I ever wrote was not about abortion, gay marriage, the wars in Vietnam or Iraq, elections, or…
Why I’m quitting church: I’ve got better things to do than watch my pastor be run off over race
World Series. Halloween. Time Change. Full Moon. Election. COVID. And for me: Goodbye Church. I love my church here in Georgia and my ministers, my Sunday school class, and the friends I have made. But today, I resolved to put…
Your gospel is too small
September 11, 2001. Although post-graduate theological diplomas decorated my book-stuffed office and 40 years of pastoral ministry were under my belt, I was speechless that Tuesday morning when hijacked airplanes demolished more than national icons. What was I to say…
New book connects views on crime and punishment to faith perspectives
Donald Trump’s infamous Bible photo-op in front of a church last June was an appeal to white evangelicals’ belief that crime, punishment and faith are intertwined, author and historian Aaron Griffith said. That worldview came into even starker relief when…
Operation Family Meeting aims to get politically divided families around the table again
In the age of Trump, hometowns, Sunday dinners and even holiday celebrations are no longer safe spaces for families with opposing views. These familiar places become hostile zones of contrary views, charged with emotional fervor. But they don’t have to…