The U.S. Supreme Court’s oral arguments in December left pro-life advocates hopeful that the justices are poised to uphold a state ban on abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation and possibly to overturn long-standing decisions in support of legalized abortion nationwide. During a nearly two-hour session, conservative justices questioned the high court’s previous rulings that prohibit […]
Calls from Southern Baptist leaders and others for immediate assistance, warnings of devastating consequences for Christians and prayer requests followed the rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban. The terrorist organization that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 regained control of the country when Kabul fell Aug. 15 after a stunningly swift advance to the […]
Messengers to the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting approved a broad resolution on the Bible’s sufficiency regarding race and racial reconciliation June 15 but chose not to address specifically the contentious issue of Critical Race Theory. Among nine resolutions passed, messengers also overwhelmingly endorsed statements on government policies that included: — A denunciation of […]
Southern Baptist leaders expressed disappointment and concern for the ramifications of Bethany Christian Services’ national policy reversal to place children for adoption and foster care with same-sex couples. Bethany, the country’s largest evangelical Christian adoption agency, informed its staff in 32 states of the change in March, but its 14-member board of directors had unanimously […]
Members of Congress are again seeking to enable undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children to earn permanent legal status and, ultimately, citizenship by meeting certain requirements. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., introduced the Dream Act Feb. 4, with Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina as the lead Republican sponsor. Durbin first […]
The unprecedented pace of developing vaccines for COVID-19 has not jeopardized their effectiveness or safety for Americans, the director of the National Institutes of Health said in a December webinar hosted by the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Francis Collins, NIH’s director since 2009, answered questions from ERLC President Russell Moore about vaccines […]
Religious freedom advocates and four justices expressed strong disagreement with the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to grant relief to a church seeking equal treatment under Nevada’s coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions. On July 24, the high court denied a request from Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley (Nev.) to block enforcement of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s order that limits religious […]
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a watershed decision on gay and transgender rights June 15 by finding that longstanding, non-discrimination protections in federal workplace law cover “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” The justices ruled in a 6-3 opinion that the category “sex” in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act applies to homosexual and […]
The latest statistics demonstrate once again reported abortions in the United States have continued to decline. The number of abortions fell in one year by more than 13,000 to 623,471 in 2016, the latest year for which data is available, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a Nov. 29 report. […]
The Southern Baptist effort to address sexual abuse in churches took another step with the launch of the “Caring Well Challenge,” a joint call for congregations to become equipped to prevent predatory behavior and to care for survivors. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the Sexual Abuse Advisory Study have issued an invitation to […]