Government restrictions of religion are increasing around the world, with the Asia Pacific region leading the way, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. And while the report identified China and Myanmar, as leaders in official efforts…
More Boomers are retiring, and churches need to be prepared
The rate of Baby Boomer retirements escalated in the last 12 months, a trend that could provide a boost to some American churches and a challenge to others. “As Boomers retire, many of them are going to go from working…
Racial justice activists concerned that too many white Americans are tired of the conversation
Many Americans see little or no benefit in the heightened focus on racial injustice since the high-profile police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, new polling reveals. Natasha Nedrick, however, is not one of…
Is there a message from God in the pandemic?
Author, speaker and Baptist minister Alan Rudnick said he’s considered writing a column asking if God sent the coronavirus to plague humankind. “And, of course I would end by saying ‘no,’” said Rudnick, senior minister-elect at DeWitt Community Church in…
Despite Trump crackdown, Americans still positive toward immigration
Despite drastic reductions in legal immigration to the United States under the Trump administration, Americans continue to express positive attitudes about immigrants and the benefits of welcoming these newcomers. New data from Gallup finds the United States among the “most-accepting…
Millennials want authenticity from church, not red carpets and gimmicks
Congregations lamenting the dwindling presence of young adults from church and faith often need only to look within for the solutions.
Is Christian decline in U.S. prompting evangelicals to seek government endorsement? Maybe.
Eighty-three nations have an official, state-endorsed religion or give preferred treatment to one over others, according to a Pew Research Center study, which lists the United States among 106 countries that have no official or preferred faith. But is that changing? It might appear so, as the increasingly rapid descent of organized religion may be fueling some Christians’ drive to codify faith in America.
For Baptist chaplain, strains in police force are real and painful
Tommy Deal wept the day five police officers were gunned down in Dallas last summer. Distraught, the Baptist minister jumped into his car in search of police to comfort — even though he was in Dalton, Ga., not Dallas. Geography didn’t…
Modern — and ancient — Christian identity crisis drives decline of American church
Europeans, it seems, are wondering if American Christianity has pretty much gone off the rails. A recent editorial in Great Britain’s The Guardian newspaper raised the question after describing the role faith has had in the “social and political convulsions”…