By Bob Allen A retired Baptist pastor active in Americans United for Separation of Church and State joined educators and fellow clergy in a lawsuit claiming a Florida school-voucher program is unconstitutional. Harry Parrott Jr., an ordained American Baptist minister…
Church-state group opposes tax break for Ark museum
By Bob Allen A nonprofit group advocating church-state separation urged Kentucky officials in an Aug. 22 letter to deny tax incentives for a proposed theme park based on Noah’s Ark, claiming the break would compel taxpayers to support both employment…
State CBF leader terms Senate debate organized by Southern Baptists partisan
By Bob Allen The interim head of a state Cooperative Baptist Fellowship accused three evangelical leaders of partisan politics for sponsoring candidate forums in a closely watched U.S. Senate race in Kentucky. Chris Sanders, named this month as interim coordinator…
SBC leader joins call for military action in Iraq
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top public-policy expert joined Princeton University professor Robert George and numerous other intellectuals in urging the use of military force against a militant group seeking to set up an Islamic state across Sunni…
SBC leader blasts Jimmy Carter’s call for recognition of Hamas
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist Convention leader criticized former President Jimmy Carter’s suggestion that Washington should recognize Hamas as a legitimate political actor as “morally reprehensible” and “an outrage.” Carter, a lifelong Baptist, joined Mary Robinson, a former president…
Kentucky evangelical leaders invite Senate candidates to ‘issues forum’
By Bob Allen Two Southern Baptist leaders in Kentucky and a retired megachurch pastor have joined more than a dozen other groups vying for the venue of a highly anticipated debate between U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his…
Al Sharpton opens voter-rights center with rally at historic Baptist church
By Bob Allen Activist and ordained Pentecostal minister Al Sharpton challenged a crowd July 30 at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., to reclaim voting rights hard won during Freedom Summer, a voter-registration effort credited with bringing…
Candidate’s church-state stance worries religious freedom blogger
By Bob Allen A blogger for a Baptist group that advocates religious freedom for all views with alarm the rise of a Southern Baptist preacher and radio-show host likely headed for Congress after winning the Republican congressional primary in Georgia’s…
Rubio talks values at speech co-sponsored by ERLC
By Bob Allen U.S. senator and potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio criticized what he termed growing intolerance for supporters of traditional marriage at a July 23 conference co-sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission….