Nation - Baptist Standard: Recent Episodes
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La Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas y Fellowship Southwest se unieron a más de dos docenas de organizaciones religiosas en una demanda que cuestiona un cambio de política que permite a los funcionarios de inmigración entrar en iglesias y otros lugares sensibles.
Convención Hispana Bautista de Texas and Fellowship Southwest joined more than two dozen religious organizations in a lawsuit challenging a policy change allowing immigration officers to enter churches and other sensitive locations.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order reinstating his version of the White House Faith Office and once again placing Florida pastor and longtime supporter Paula White-Cain in charge of the initiative.
Appearing at two National Prayer Breakfast events Feb. 6, President Donald Trump spoke about the centrality of religious belief to the United States and announced he would create a new presidential commission on religious liberty.
Faith-based groups that partner with the federal government to resettle refugees are facing widespread layoffs and furloughs after President Donald Trump’s administration suspended the refugee program.
Nace Lanier was at home watching a movie with his family when he received an emergency text from Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport, where he is senior chaplain.
George Van Alstine evacuated his home as flames from the Eaton fire drew closer. He’d been assured Altadena Baptist Church, where he is associate pastor, still was standing. The following morning, he saw video of the church building engulfed in flames.
President Donald Trump’s executive orders directing public funds to support “educational choice” and ending funding for curriculum perceived to promote “anti-American ideologies” drew swift and strongly worded responses.
Leaders of houses of worship talk about fighting misinformation about potential ICE raids, trying to walk with their congregants, even as church attendance is taking a hit.
Jalil Dawood, pastor of the Arabic Church of Dallas, understands the plight of refugees. He wishes President Donald Trump—for whom he voted three times—understood, as well.
Prior to Christmas, President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of all but three people on federal death row, converting their sentences to life in prison.
Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29, at age 100, will be remembered as the 39th president of the United States and the world’s most famous Sunday school teacher.
A group of faith leaders, activists, law enforcement officials and families of murder victims called on President Joe Biden to spare the lives of about 40 inmates currently on death row in federal prisons.
Some Minnesota Christian parents are challenging a state law that blocks certain Christian colleges from a program that allows colleges to enroll high schoolers in tuition-free college credit courses.
An associate pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano is poised to return to the White House as part of the Trump administration with the nomination of Scott Turner for secretary of HUD.
Over the objections of religious groups, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that would enable the secretary of the Treasury to rescind the tax-exempt status of any nonprofits the secretary concludes are “terrorist-supporting organizations.”
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a Baptist chaplain and former pastor to be the next head of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
On the Sunday after the election, Pastor Allen Jackson gave thanks for veterans and the election results, to church members' applause.
Evangelical advisers of President Donald Trump say they are hoping for more from him the second time around—although exactly what form those policies will take appears to be the subject of debate.
Former President Donald Trump’s election to a second term—after campaigning on blocking migration and carrying out record deportations—prompted faith groups that work with migrants and refugees to reaffirm their commitment to continue their work.
The support of white Christians once again proved key to Donald Trump’s election victory.
Pastor Jason Genest gets nervous when he hears people talk about wanting to make America Christian by using the power of politics. America tried that in the past, he said. It did not go well—including for the founder of Genest’s own church.
Amid outrage over racist jokes told at a Donald Trump campaign event, some Hispanic Christian leaders are raising questions about the candidate’s standing with a crucial ethnic and religious demographic.
Since July, when the Republican National Committee dropped a federal abortion ban from its national platform, several traditional religious right leaders have suggested they have been betrayed.
Over the last year and a half, surveys have tracked a significant rise in support for Christian nationalism among U.S. Hispanic Protestants, even as support for the ideology has remained fairly stable among other Christian groups.
The United States resettled more Christians fleeing persecution in fiscal year 2024 than it has since 2016, Open Doors and World Relief said in a report unveiled Oct. 14 as insight for policymakers and voters weeks ahead of the U.S. presidential elections.
An advertisement by Evangelicals for Harris that contrasts clips from a sermon by evangelist Billy Graham and statements by Donald Trump is for Harris, is now the subject of a potential lawsuit from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
More than 200 evangelical Christian leaders—moderates as well as influential conservatives—have signed an open letter urging the presidential candidates of both parties to reflect “biblical principles on immigration.”
en before Hurricane Helene made landfall in the United States on Sept. 26, faith-based disaster groups were on the move.
As many as 100,000 church-owned buildings are expected to be sold or repurposed by 2030, according to an analysis in a new book.
When a comment about immigrants during a presidential debate thrust Springfield, Ohio, into the national spotlight, the city's faith community rallied in support of their Haitian immigrant neighbors.
Americans who hold Christian nationalist views are also likely to express support for forms of authoritarianism, according to a new report from the Public Religion Research Institute.
A group of Haitian Southern Baptist pastors condemned false claims that fuel xenophobia and perpetuate damaging stereotypes.
More than 350 evangelical leaders—including some Texas Baptists—have endorsed a “Confession of Evangelical Conviction,” affirming allegiance to Jesus Christ and his gospel alone, “apart from any partisan agenda.”
Former President Donald Trump’s shifting rhetoric on abortion has unsettled some conservative faith-based activists. But several of Trump’s long-term evangelical supporters are insisting the former presiden remains the best candidate for their cause.
Montgomery County, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C., was the most religiously diverse county in the United States last year, according to a census released Aug. 29 by the Public Religion Research Institute.
The National Religious Broadcasters association has joined a complaint alongside two East Texas churches calling for the Johnson Amendment to be declared unconstitutional.
At a time when some evangelicals see voting for a Democrat as incompatible with being a Christian, Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, asserts his Christian faith leads him to support the Democratic Party and its presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Aug. 16 rejected an emergency request from the Biden Administration that would have required the enforcement of new Title IX regulations released in April of this year.
A diverse group of Christians is throwing support behind Vice President Kamala Harris’ White House bid, organizing fundraisers and Zoom calls.
Former President Donald Trump announced Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance—a Roman Catholic—will be his running mate as he seeks reelection.
Lawyers will present oral arguments before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a case centered on religious exemptions from Title IX.
An ongoing wave of disasters, along with skyrocketing construction costs post-COVID, have left the insurance industry reeling.
A release of the Republican National Convention’s platform reveals a potential shift in the party’s focus on a federal abortion ban—a change that drew reaction from some Southern Baptists.
A fight is raging across the country, as conservative state lawmakers—often backed by conservative Christians—push faith-focused laws and run into opposition from other religious people and their secular allies.
Some legal strategists have challenged state abortion bans saying they infringe on religious freedom by imposing a Christian understanding of when life begins. That strategy recently took a beating in the courts.
Thousands of clergy, union members and activists rallied on behalf of the poor near the U.S. Capitol on June 29.
Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters issued a directive June 27 requiring all schools to incorporate the Bible and the Ten Commandments into the curriculum, effective immediately.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked a publicly funded religious charter school that would have been the first in the U.S. on June 25.
Evangelicals have made the most of the God and country political headlines in recent years, but experts say they aren’t as numerous or influential as other faith groups in the swing states where the presidential election likely will be decided.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law a bill mandating the Ten Commandments be displayed in all of the state’s public schools. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick promptly responded by pledging to pass a similar bill in the Texas Senate
Some faith-based refugee resettlement agencies condemned President Joe Biden’s June 4 executive order dramatically limiting the number of immigrants who may apply for asylum at the southern United States border.
President Jimmy Carter had Texas on his mind June 25, 1978, when he stepped to the lectern to lead Sunday school at the First Baptist Church of Washington, D.C.
When The New York Times reported an Appeal to Heaven flag had been sighted last summer at a house owned by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, it wasn’t the first time the symbol had been linked to Christian judges and lawmakers.
Dozens of lawmakers and faith leaders gathered in the U.S. Capitol on May 16 to celebrate the installation of a statue honoring evangelist Billy Graham, whose likeness will now represent his native North Carolina in the building’s Statuary Hall.
As Elizabeth Neumann watched the events of Jan. 6 unfold, she found herself deeply disturbed by the violence, but also the preponderance of Christian flags waved by insurrectionists and the prayers some shouted as they attacked the U.S. Capitol.
The only thing matched by the pomp and festivities of the NFL Draft, held April 25 in Detroit, may be the level at which gambling has become entwined with the league.
Protests on U.S. college campuses opposing Israel’s continuing military campaign against Gaza reflect the views of a significant minority of Gen Z voters, a recent online survey revealed.
President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package April 24 that drew bipartisan support for Israel, Ukraine and other allies, and pledged to begin sending weapons and military equipment to Ukraine within hours.
Faith leaders who had been imploring Speaker Johnson to back assistance for Ukraine and Israel celebrated the House of Representatives' passage of foreign aid packages.
In their own ways, Jim Wallis and Donald Trump each profess belief the Bible can save America.
A group of Christian pastors, theologians and scholars signed a declaration committing the signers to preaching on “real moral issues” ahead of the 2024 election and opposing what the group calls “religious nationalism.”
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s injunction on the state’s near-total abortion ban, giving another win to those who say the ban ignores their religious beliefs about when human life begins.
During Holy Week, Donald Trump released a video promoting sales of the “God Bless the USA Bible.”
Baptist minister Thomas Bowen recently was appointed a senior White House adviser charged with keeping faith leaders informed about national policy.
As the United States continues to debate the fusion of faith and politics, a sweeping new survey reports most American adults have a positive view of religion’s role in public life but believe its influence is waning.
Amanda Tyler, lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism, will attend the State of the Union address Thursday, March 7, as a guest of U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), co-founder of the Congressional Freethought Caucus.
A collection of state legislators and local government officials gathered recently with one unifying purpose—to change the social fabric of the country and return America to what it says are its Judeo-Christian origins.
A new study published in the latest issue of Politics and Religion, a quarterly journal, shows there’s no evidence white evangelical clergy are less conservative politically than their congregations.
Jerry Falwell Jr., former president of Liberty University, is suing the school, arguing administrators are committing trademark infringement by using his late father’s likeness without consulting with the family.
Jesse Jackson has transferred the presidency of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition to Pastor Frederick D. Haynes III of Dallas, another Black church leader long devoted to civil rights and social activism.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled a Colorado Christian designer’s free speech rights under the First Amendment mean she cannot be compelled to design websites for same-sex weddings she does not endorse.
A unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case protecting employees’ rights to religious accommodations in the workplace drew broad-based support across the religious spectrum.
Christian groups quietly are launching initiatives that address the still-fraught racial divisions among their members and in the wider society.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is courting one of the Republican Party’s most sought-after constituencies—evangelicals—with a message that frames himself as a sort of spiritual warrior
Christian nationalism blurs the distinctions between Christian identity and American identity. Beyond that basic definition, the understanding of what constitutes Christian nationalism becomes less clear.
Public school students are free to pray voluntarily, while teachers can neither encourage nor discourage religious activity, according to guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education.
Latino faith leaders continue to push Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to reconsider a sweeping immigration bill that, among other things, invalidates driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants in other states.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled April 21 mifepristone will remain on the market for the time being while its approval is legally challenged.
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 14 placed a temporary hold on a week-old decision that suspended the federal government’s 2000 approval of mifepristone, a drug used to end pregnancies.
A federal appeals court has blocked a nationwide injunction suspending the two-decade-old approval of the abortion pill but prohibits its distribution by mail and places other limits on its access.
Un proyecto de ley sobre inmigración que avanza en la asamblea legislativa de Florida atentaría contra la libertad religiosa de las iglesias para atender a los inmigrantes en ese estado, afirman pastores y otros líderes evangélicos.
A Texas judge sought to halt the prescribing of Mifepristone, the FDA-approved drug commonly referred to as the abortion pill. Another ruling and an appeal complicate matters.
Faith leaders spoke out against a proposed federal rule that would deny asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S. southern border without first seeking protection in any country the migrants passed through.
The swift criminal indictment of five police officers and the release of camera footage after the death of Tyre Nichols are positive steps, Pastor Bartholomew Orr said after meeting with local and federal officials.
A Florida man and woman have been indicted in U.S. District Court on charges of attacking a pregnancy support center in the Sunshine State.
A mass shooter’s choice of Lunar New Year’s Eve to kill 11 and injure nine others is a wound particularly painful for East Asian communities—Christians and nonbelievers, Pastor Victor Chayasirisobhon said.
Numerous faith-based organizations and congregations are pleading with the Biden administration, in a letter sent Jan. 23 to President Joe Biden and other leaders, not to enact new immigration restrictions.
Thousands assembled for the anti-abortion March for Life on the National Mall, where throngs celebrated the fall of Roe v. Wade while voicing concern as the abortion debate moves to the states.
The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information related to attacks on pregnancy support centers.
Former President Donald Trump is chiding evangelical Christian pastors who previously supported him but haven’t endorsed his new presidential campaign, accusing the faith leaders of “disloyalty.”
President Joe Biden’s visit to El Paso came three days after he announced changes in immigration and asylum policies, which some faith leaders greeted with mixed reviews.
The religious makeup of the new Congress bucks the trends seen in American religious life, a new report finds.
In September 2020, six months into the pandemic, the U.S. Census Bureau reported the share of homeschooled children had shot up to 11 percent of households. With the escalated numbers has come increased attention to homeschooling.
Faith leaders voiced support for the expansion of the child tax credit, urging lawmakers to reinstate a broader version of the anti-poverty benefit before the end of the year.
President Joe Biden signed into law Dec. 13 a measure mandating federal protection for same-sex marriage and interracial marriage.
Christian nationalism “provides cover” for white supremacy by offering racists a veneer of respectability, Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, told a Congressional hearing.
For 100 years, the National Christmas Tree has represented a symbol of civil religion as Americans mark the Christmas season.
David Lane, a Texas-based political operative and leader of the American Renewal Project, described former President Donald Trump as out of touch, driven by personal grievances and self-importance.
The U.S. Senate voted 61-36 to approve the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill to codify same-sex marriage as law, but faith groups differed on whether the amended bill includes adequate religious liberty protections.
How does the U.S. refugee resettlement program work. And how do faith-based organizations play a role?
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving a debate over whether a fetus is entitled to constitutional rights, rejecting an appeal spearheaded by a Catholic anti-abortion group.
Georgia Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Herschel Walker attended a closed-door prayer event at a prominent evangelical church in Atlanta on Oct. 4, huddling with religious supporters a day after he denied allegations he paid for an abortion in 2009.
In a season in which "democracy itself is being challenged," American Christians can learn from Jesus' admonition to render to Caesar and to God that which belongs to each, the leader of the Baptist Joint Committee told a Dallas church.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the appointment of a 25-member faith-based advisory council to assist Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in finding ways to protect houses of worship.
In a surprising reversal, the U.S. Supreme Court said Sept. 14 Yeshiva University must for now recognize an LGBTQ student club the school claims violates its religious beliefs.
The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a court order that would have forced Yeshiva University to recognize an LGBTQ group as an official campus club.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has clarified its guidance for religious schools that participate in a free school lunch program.
Imam Mohamed Magid, a leader in multi-faith relations, has been appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Paul Raushenbush, a journalist and American Baptist minister, is the new president and CEO of the Interfaith Alliance.
Churches and their members have essential roles to play in helping women and preborn children in a post-Roe world, Christians involved in pro-life ministry say.
A small but influential group of abortion foes believes women who have abortions should be prosecuted as criminals. Known as abortion abolitionists, they want to ban abortion with no exception. And they want women who have abortions to face jail time.