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…
Association boots church for ‘affirming’ gays
By Bob Allen A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church in Mississippi has been voted out of its local association for being too soft on homosexuality. The Pine Belt Baptist Association voted Oct. 20 to withdraw fellowship from University Baptist Church in…
Third-way pastor says most churches unsafe for LGBT individuals
By Bob Allen A pastor whose church was kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2014 for adopting a “third way” stance of neither affirming nor condemning homosexuality says despite talk of “hate the sin and love the sinner”…
Louisville churches offer ‘another voice’ on homosexuality
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist seminary president said Oct. 7 that two rival meetings about how churches should respond to LGBT individuals held Monday night in Louisville, Ky., represents not just different views of homosexuality but of the nature…
Homosexuality conference greeted by protestors
By Bob Allen Planners of a conference for Christian counselors about homosexuality distanced themselves from the controversial “reparative” or “conversion” therapy aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, but not because they believe an individual struggling with…
Christian colleges group loses 2 members over homosexuality
By Bob Allen Two Christian colleges who added sexual orientation to their non-discrimination policies have dropped out of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Earlier this year, Eastern Mennonite University and Goshen College sparked controversy over membership standards for…
How do we balance religious liberty and rule of law?
If you could collect a dime every time U.S. media mention “religious liberty” between now and Election Day 2016, you could fund your own Super-PAC — or maybe even bankroll your own run for the White House. We’re going to…
Religious freedom and human rights
By Molly T. Marshall Baptists claim religious liberty and soul competence among their fragile freedoms, yet some draw the line when these freedoms are claimed in the service of sexual orientation and gender identity. While many wish these issues would…