By Bob Allen A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation in Tennessee voted Jan. 10 to marry same-sex couples. First Baptist Church in Memphis capped a three-month discernment process by adopting a policy extending “privileges afforded to any follower of Christ” without…
Baptist schools seek waiver from LBGT discrimination ban
By Bob Allen The federal government has granted waivers to more than two dozen religious institutions of higher learning from Title IX, which protects LGBT students from discrimination. Carson-Newman University, affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention, recently received exemption for…
D.C. church postponing vote on gay marriage
By Bob Allen With the anticipated ending of a search for a new pastor, First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., has postponed a vote scheduled in February about whether to change the congregation’s wedding policy to permit same-sex marriage. An…
Booted pastor defends ‘nuanced’ view of LGBT inclusion
By Bob Allen A South Carolina Baptist pastor whose decision to officiate a same-sex wedding got his church kicked out of its local association and state convention says he is concerned about a culture within the Baptist faith that is…
SBC expert claims boy in Barbie ad bends gender
By Bob Allen Southern Baptists’ go-to authority on “gender issues” is no fan of Mattel’s new Barbie ad challenging the stereotype that boys do not play with dolls. Bob Stith, founder of Family and Gender Issues Ministries in Southlake, Texas,…
Liberty prof says LGBT film fest gives her platform to ‘speak the truth in love’
By Bob Allen Religious arguments against same-sex marriage are weakened in society by the breakup of traditional families, a research fellow with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention said at a recent film festival connecting…
Pew survey shows growing religious acceptance of gays
By Bob Allen Nearly all major religious groups have become significantly more accepting of homosexuality in recent years, even those, like evangelicals and Mormons, traditionally opposed to same-sex relationships, according to a new Pew study of religious belief and practice in…
Houston voters defeat equal rights ordinance
By Bob Allen Voters overwhelmingly rejected Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance — or HERO — designed to protect the rights of gay citizens and opposed by religious conservatives who warned it would give male sexual predators access to women’s bathrooms. A Nov. 3…
Chik-fil-A challenged for sponsoring LGBT-themed film festival
By Bob Allen Three years after evangelical Christians designated a day to eat more chicken in support of Chik-fil-A’s defense of traditional marriage, the Southern Baptist-owned fast food chain is taking heat online for sponsoring what is billed as the…