Significant majorities of U.S. religious groups favor nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans, including well more than half of white evangelicals, according to a new report from Public Religion Research Institute. The study was released March 23 as the U.S. Senate…
My journey toward LGBTQ inclusion: God still speaks
As a cisgendered heterosexual male, my own sexuality was not a problem in the Southern Baptist faith of my youth and young adulthood. Having come of age with the Moral Majority, though, I cannot remember a time when the question…
Letter to the Editor: Say it ain’t so, Al
Read our latest Letter to the Editor from John Dye of Louisville, Ky., about the Southern Baptist Convention’s expulsion of his church. He writes: “I have been a Baptist for over 50 years, but I finally got the ax at…
Equality Act gets a hearing, Black pastors advocate for an alternative, and new national poll shows a majority opinion
As the United States Senate held its first hearing for the proposed Equality Act March 17, a group of Black Christian leaders threw their support behind a competing piece of legislation known as the Fairness for All Act. The Equality…
For 35 years, this couple has served high-risk and incarcerated youth
Hanne and Scott Larson have spent nearly 35 years serving high-risk and incarcerated youth with Bible studies, re-entry, job readiness and other programs now operative in 40 states and 35 nations. To date, about 75,000 young people have been assisted….
Vatican makes clear that Catholic churches might welcome LGBTQ Christians but cannot bless their unions
Pope Francis signaled a bit of welcome for LGBTQ Christians in October, but the Vatican made clear March 15 that the Catholic Church will not bless same-sex unions, which it considers to be a sinful “choice.” While the pope is the…
The Deconstructionist Playbook offers devotionals for those wary of the church
A new devotional anthology seeks to shepherd readers through religious doubts and toxic church teachings by showing that inclusive, non-judgmental ways of being Christian do exist. “We want Christianity to be a practice that we enjoy and that doesn’t inflict…
Top-down schism plans ignore local United Methodist churches’ new reality
The United Methodist Church staggers toward a twice-delayed global legislative conclave that appears likely to split the 12-million-member denomination. The options available to concerned United Methodists are multiplying at the highest levels, but church life differs greatly at the grassroots…
Why am I so afraid of my son’s tutu?
Sitting across from us was our now adult son with so much pain on his face. “How could you not have known? And if you did, why did you leave me to figure it all out on my own?” Six…
Equality Act stirs passions about the definition of religious liberty and RFRA’s role
When the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act last week, the long-simmering battle between religious conservatives and the rest of the nation reached a renewed pitch. At stake is the desire of religious conservatives — especially evangelical Christians…
Repressing my sexual orientation cost me my health — permanently
I can’t remember what it feels like to not be in pain. It’s been years since I’ve had the energy of a healthy person. The litany of physical symptoms that rage war in my body daily are a result of…
Matter-of-fact statements about Scripture aren’t always the gospel truth
It was a beautiful September day on the campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The sun was shining brightly through the Beech trees along Lexington Road as they turned from green to orange. I ran down the stairwell from my…