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….
In executive order, Obama bans bias against gays by federal contractors
By Bob Allen President Obama signed an executive order July 21 that prohibits federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. “America’s federal contracts should not subsidize discrimination against the American people,” Obama said at a…
BJC, others, oppose religious exemption in non-discrimination order
By Bob Allen The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty joined nearly 100 other civil- and religious-liberty organizations in a letter July 15 urging President Obama to reject calls to exempt religious groups from an upcoming executive order banning discrimination…
SBC leader opposes legislation to reverse Hobby Lobby ruling
By Bob Allen Southern Baptists’ top public-policy spokesman pledged to oppose a bill on the fast track in the U.S. Senate to override the recent Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case and compel for-profit employers to cover the…
Clergy divided over religious exemption to discrimination ban in upcoming executive order
By Bob Allen Clergy lined up on both sides in letters asking President Obama to both include and remove a religious exemption from his upcoming executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation….
Hobby Lobby wins contraceptive case
By Bob Allen The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 30 that the Baptist owners of Hobby Lobby cannot be forced by the government to provide employees with health insurance that covers methods of birth control that they believe cause an…