Government policies that penalize marriage hurt lower middle class families the most, leading many to avoid getting married, a new study released Tuesday discovered. In an Institute for Family Studies and American Enterprise Institute joint report titled “Marriage, Penalized: Does Social-Welfare Policy Affect Family Formation?” scholars W. Bradford Wilcox, Joseph P. Price, and Angela Rachidi, […]
A well-publicized part of the Democratic Party platform draft is its opposition to the death penalty, which contradicts the views of presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton. But there is a less noticed change that, if accepted by convention delegates, would be a far more radical departure. For the first time, the Democratic Party would call for the repeal of […]
(RNS) Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton announced Tim Kaine, the junior Democratic senator from Virginia and former governor of that state, as her vice presidential running mate Friday (July 22). Kaine, a Roman Catholic, will appear with Clinton, a Methodist, at next week’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Here are five faith facts about […]
National Geographic Channel has picked up “The Story of God with Morgan Freeman” for a second season, Variety has learned. The Emmy-nominated series will get another three episodes, premiering in early 2017, to probe topics like, “Is there a Chosen One?” and whether one can find proof of a singular deity. “I had quite a […]
Among the many policy positions embedded in the 2016 Republican Party Platform is a call to repeal the Johnson Amendment, a controversial Internal Revenue Service regulation that has come under fire from churches and religious freedom advocates in recent years. The little-known tax provision applies exclusively to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, precluding them from endorsing — […]
At Washington National Cathedral on Sunday, an interracial group of clergy gathered to discuss the role of the white church in perpetuating racism. And what the church might do to heal the wounds. A tough subject, but dealt with unflinchingly. They began with church complicity in the nation’s original sins — genocide of indigenous peoples […]
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had three occasions where I’ve been asked what recommendations or suggestions I’d offer to young Christians who are interested in developing good political habits and understanding how the political world operates. So, in the interest of maybe helping others, I’ve written down some of the advice I’ve offered.
“and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that thy would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him […]
WASHINGTON (RNS) Evangelical Christians converged on the nation’s capital for a prayer rally on one of the hottest days of the summer.With the nation reeling from recent shootings and shocked by news of a terrorist attack in France and an attempted coup in Turkey, speakers at “Together 2016” cited the global events from the stage […]
In light of the dramatically pro-schism action of the United Methodist Church’s Western Jurisdiction to propose non-celibate lesbian activist Karen Oliveto to be a new bishop (currently being challenged), it seems worth reviewing her rather radical theological worldview. The following is a reprint, with some slight edits, of an article I originally wrote in 2005 […]
