As children return to school and adults return to offices this fall amid a severe surge in coronavirus cases, expect to hear more talk about “religious exemptions” to vaccine requirements. Even before COVID-19, sincerely held religious beliefs have provided a…
BYKOTA people and COVID vaccines
Carolyn Weatherford Crumpler was a Baptist icon of her generation. For 15 years, she served as executive director of Woman’s Missionary Union, an auxiliary organization to the male-dominated Southern Baptist Convention. When she retired in 1989, she was tired of…
A pediatrician’s advice to parents worried about the COVID vaccine and their children
Even parents who are willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 themselves may be hesitant to have their eligible children vaccinated, according to new data from Public Religion Research Institute and Interfaith Youth Core. That finding doesn’t surprise Rhonda Walton, a…
Rapid spread of Delta variant throws some churches into reverse on their newfound ‘normal’
Will churches stop in-person worship once again as the Delta variant of COVID-19 roars across the country? Will those churches that continue to meet in person return to requiring masks and social distancing? These are the urgent questions facing church…
COVID vaccinations, firearms and martyrs: Another American epidemic
Semen est sanguis Christianorum. “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Those words, attributed to the third century theologian Tertullian, appear in an Apologeticum written to defend against the many charges — cannibalism, incest, atheism, sedition,…
Pastor Greg Locke is all over the internet spreading conspiracies; here’s why you shouldn’t believe him
Two years before he divorced his wife of 21 years and married his secretary, pastor Greg Locke rose to internet fame through a Facebook video decrying the morality of Target restroom policies that allowed people to use the restroom they felt expressed…
Good news on vaccines: Faith-based approaches are leading more to take the shot
Aversion to COVID-19 vaccines is declining in the U.S. in part because faith communities are influencing some skeptical Americans to reconsider their opposition to vaccination, new research shows. A survey conducted in June by Public Religion Research Institute and Interfaith…
Repeating Exodus through vaccine denial
At the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency, I wrote a post warning that he was a threat to the United States and the rest of the world. We are about to see matters turn from bad to worse. Thanks to…
In their own words: Young faith leaders on why young adults should get vaccinated
Current research shows that young adults in America represent one of the least-vaccinated demographic groups. To address this concern, BNG reached out to a diverse group of young clergy and faith leaders to hear their own stories of choosing to…