South Carolina Baptists celebrate six-week abortion ban

The South Carolina Legislature passed a six-week abortion ban May 23, allowing limited exceptions based on the mother’s health, fetal abnormalities, rape and incest. South Carolina Baptists applauded the bill as the culmination of prayer and advocacy, but said the legislation falls short of their goals. “Ultimately, we are praying and working toward the day […]

Abortions decrease one year after Dobbs as many states restrict abortion

Had Shelley Lynn Thornton’s mother had her way, Thornton would have never been born. Thornton is the biological daughter of Norma McCorvey, the Jane Roe behind the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. McCorvey regretted her advocacy of abortion, working to reverse Roe v. Wade before her 2017 death at the […]

Scripture engagement still down, but interest up in 2023

Scripture engagement remains down among Americans, but a widespread curiosity gives ground for evangelism, the American Bible Society said in releasing the first chapter of its 2023 State of the Bible survey. Only 47 million Americans, or about 18 percent of the adult population, ranked as “Scripture-engaged” in the 2023 study, using a descriptor based […]

South Carolina Baptists celebrate six-week abortion ban

The South Carolina Legislature passed a six-week abortion ban May 23, allowing limited exceptions based on the mother’s health, fetal abnormalities, rape and incest. South Carolina Baptists applauded the bill as the culmination of prayer and advocacy, but said the legislation falls short of their goals. “Ultimately, we are praying and working toward the day […]

State of the Bible: Looking beyond childhood religion grows stronger faith

Christians tend to follow their mother’s religion, but those who have changed their religion since childhood are spiritually healthier, the American Bible Society said May 11 in its latest release from the 2023 State of the Bible. The answer likely lies in the quest involved in exploring Christianity, the ABS said. “It didn’t matter which […]

Saddleback among six churches EC removes from cooperation

In its February meeting, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee deemed six churches to be “not in friendly cooperation” — five for having a female functioning in the office of pastor — including one of the largest churches in the convention, Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Saddleback hired Andy Wood and his wife, Stacie, […]

Churches viewed favorably nationally, Barna Cities research shows

More than 75 percent of adults have a positive view of the church in Nashville, in the center of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation. A prevailing positive perception of the church is common in research the Barna Group has unveiled. In its Barna Cities initiative, researchers have found a favorable view […]

Tragedy started chaplain’s heart pulsing for the hurting

When a paranoid schizophrenic randomly shot into a group of patrons at Stel’s Diner in Warren County, Ky., in 1992, killing William Ratliff, it fell to Tim Colovos to tell two young teenagers their father was dead. Then and there, as a college student serving as youth pastor of Oakland Baptist Church in Oakland, Ky., […]

Congress remains largely Christian despite societal trends

Congress remains a largely Christian institution, bucking two societal trends of declining Christianity and waning religious affiliation, Pew Research said Jan. 3. More than a fifth of Congressional Protestants are Baptists. At least 88 percent of Congress – 469 of the 534 members – identified as Christian in the poll of the current 118th legislative […]