A sharp increase in religiously motivated harassment and violence pushed the number of countries dealing with high levels of social hostilities involving faith to its highest point in more than a decade, according to a Pew Research Center study released…
Democracy and religious freedom
For 2,000 years, Christians have worshiped God and followed Christ in an extraordinary variety of political circumstances. They have lived under Caesars and kings, republics and parliaments, democracies and dictators. The church has survived — and often thrived — without…
Webinar explores religious context of America’s Founders
Understanding the nation’s founding requires insight into the religious context in which the framers lived and worked, political scientist Mark Hall said during a webinar hosted by Religion News Service. “In the late 18th century, about 98% of Americans of…
SBC Resolutions Committee wades into hot topics
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Resolution Committee has offered a preemptive strike in the battle over women’s roles in the church. The committee released its report June 1, just more than a week ahead of the SBC annual meeting to be…
America is imperiled, but Baptists can save it
Last week, the annual meeting of the National Leadership Council of the American Baptist Churches USA took place in Atlanta under the theme, “Claim, Distinguish and Proclaim the Markers of American Baptists.” That should be considered a big deal for…
Religious freedom is for Christians only, says Jenna Ellis
America’s guarantee of religious freedom is for Christians only, not Muslims, claimed former Trump election fraud attorney and podcast host Jenna Ellis and her guest, virulent anti-Muslim activist and “priest” Calvin Robinson, in a recent podcast, “America Under Divine Judgment.”…
Graham comes to Trump’s defense and Kinzinger calls him out
Once again, Franklin Graham has come to the defense of President Donald Trump, but this time former GOP Congressman Adam Kinzinger isn’t having it. After the evangelist and Trump cheerleader posted a defense of Trump sharing an AI-generated image of…
‘Why would anyone want to trade religious liberty for oppression?’
The Baptist approach to the Christian faith was forged in the furnace of persecution and ostracism. The foolish might try to trace Baptist roots back to the first church in Jerusalem, but that is mere mythmaking. However, there certainly are…
Patrick names Texas Select Committee on Religious Liberty
The lieutenant governor of Texas, who serves as chairman of President Donald Trump’s federal Religious Liberty Commission, has appointed his own state version of the panel. He named as chair of the Texas committee a well-known Republican Zionist. Texas Lt….
What James Madison can teach Americans about religious freedom today
As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, debates about religious freedom continue to occupy the center of American public life.
He wanted to be a prison chaplain but was told he had to be Christian
A Maryland county and a Christian prison ministry have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by an imam barred from serving as a jail chaplain because he is Muslim. The Council on American-Islamic Relations announced the $195,000 settlement for Edrees…
Civil liberties groups say Catholic ministry should not discriminate
Religious employers must comply with nondiscrimination laws and are prohibited from discriminating against employees due to sexual orientation, civil and religious rights organizations said in a new court filing. The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church…