With increasing attention to the roots of American slavery in religious life, more churches and faith-based ministries that existed prior to the Civil War are unearthing truths they wish weren’t true. Then the hard questions arise: How should a church,…
What will become of Sunday school?
A decade ago, while on a sabbatical research project, I visited 15 churches of various denominations across the United States that bore only one common trait — they were in some way “traditional” churches. Even among that group, one of…
White evangelical leaders who repress women are revered as saints, author says
White evangelical leaders are revered as modern-day saints by followers supportive of efforts to suppress the voice and visibility of women in the church, Beth Allison Barr said during a May 11 webinar hosted by Baptist News Global. That constellation…
What should we learn from the Derek Chauvin verdict?
April 20, 2021, is another day that will be marked in history as a turning point in America’s racial reckoning. The question now is what we will learn from this moment. When a jury unanimously convicted former Minneapolis police officer…
From Texas to Tennessee, evangelical parents are trying to take the ‘public’ out of public education
Ever since the forced integration of public schools, white evangelical Christians have led the charge to “protect” their children from social issues they’re not willing to face up to at home. Sadly, they expect that protection to come by means…
Join Ryan Burge and Mark Wingfield for a free webinar on the ‘nones’
Ryan Burge — political scientist, pastor, statistician and author of a new book on the “nones” in American religious life — will be the guest on BNG’s next free webinar, scheduled for Monday, April 26, at 7 p.m. Eastern time…
Here’s the link between COVID vaccine denial and opposition to sensible gun control
If you want to understand why we can’t get even the simplest of gun safety laws passed in this country, look to the stats on COVID-19 vaccinations. New polling out this week — released between the horrific shootings in Atlanta…
How I learned to care about social justice growing up Southern Baptist in Oklahoma
“How did you come to have a passion for social justice issues?” That was one of the questions put to me this week when the tables got turned and I was the interviewee instead of the interviewer. The answer immediately…
Caldwell succeeds Anderson as chair of BNG board
Chris Caldwell of Louisville, Ky., is the new chairman of the Baptist News Global board of directors, succeeding Janice Anderson of Houston, who remains on the board but concluded a three-year term at the helm. Caldwell serves as a professor…
What we’ve lost
The losses we’ve experienced due to coronavirus are both horribly easy to count — 465,000 dead in the United States alone — and yet invisibly painful. Especially for communities of faith, the relational losses often go unreported. Yet in conversation…
Amid the hypocrisy of critiquing ‘unity,’ maybe we need a different goal: Cooperation
We need to debunk the argument that achieving “unity” means everyone will get their way. That’s not logically possible. This fallacious thinking is emerging as a primary conservative critique of the new administration in Washington, D.C. And once again, it…
Why you should cancel your in-person indoor Christmas Eve service
I’ve heard all the arguments and understand most of the data. Yes, I know there are regional differences and special circumstances from community to community. And I understand that you think your bubble is safe, that you are the exception….