When Thomas Jefferson was running for president in 1800, Federalist evangelicals claimed that if the Virginian won the election he and his henchman would try to close their churches and confiscate Bibles from their homes. When Irish Catholics started arriving...
LGBTQ issues
David French’s civic pluralism versus Al Mohler’s Christian nationalism
Last week, the Senate advanced the Respect for Marriage Act. The bill legalizes (“provides statutory authority” for) same-sex and interracial marriages. Here is a summary of the bill from Congress.Gov: Specifically, the bill repeals and replaces provisions that define, for...
What is going on at Calvin University?
Here is Yonat Shimron at Religion News Service: Calvin University’s board of trustees has allowed a group of faculty members to dissent from a clause in a confession of faith that regards sex outside of heterosexual marriage as sinful, thus...
Why I almost came to see Josh Hawley as a sympathetic figure
Notice the word “almost” in the title. As most readers of this blog know, I am not a Josh Hawley fan. In fact, the guy usually makes my skin crawl. But the other day I actually found myself, at least...
What is going on at Seattle Pacific University?
Back in May, Seattle Pacific students held a sit-in. Here is Alejandra Molina on June 3 at Religion News Service: For nearly two weeks, students from Seattle Pacific University, a Christian school associated with the Free Methodist Church, have staged...
Calvin University faculty are “polishing their CVs” after the Christian Reformed Church codified its opposition to homosexual sex
The “polishing their CVs” quote comes from Calvin historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez. Here is a taste of Yonat Shimron’s piece at Religion News Service: The Christian Reformed Church, a small evangelical denomination of U.S. and Canadian churches, voted Wednesday...
What if Disney left Florida?
The governor of Colorado has rolled-out the red carpet for Disney. Here is Dana Milbank: Mickey Mouse needs a sanctuary city. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Hades) got his state legislature this week to abolish the favorable tax arrangement that brought Disney World to Orlando and...
What is going on at Oklahoma Christian University?
A graphic design professor who taught at the school for more than 40 years was fired for bringing a gay speaker to campus. The speaker was an Oklahoma Christian University alumnus. Professor Michael O’Keefe invited the speaker to his “The...
How the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is spinning Putin’s invasion
Here is Cathy Young at The Bulwark: In the past ten days, plenty of rationalizations have been offered for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine—everything from “Russia needs a buffer state to keep NATO at a distance” (just about every Kremlin...
Supreme Court upholds Obamacare (7-2) and religious liberty (9-0)
Here is Politico on the Texas challenge to the Affordable Care Act: The Supreme Court on Thursdaythrew out a lawsuit threatening the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, finding that Republican-led states behind the case did not have legal ground...
Biden administration says it wants to defend religious exemptions for schools
This is big news on the religious liberty front. I’m on the road, but hope to return to this story in the coming days. Here is Michelle Boorstein at The Washington Post: The Justice Department in a new court filing...
What is going on at Lee University?
Lee University is a Christian university affiliated with the Church of God, a Pentecostal denomination based in Cleveland, Tennessee. (Lee is also located in Cleveland, Tennessee). I’ve been to the campus twice. In 2015 I interviewed Lamar Vest, the president...
57 Black Christian leaders endorse Fairness for All
As I type, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding hearings on the Equality Act. As I have noted several times at this blog, I do not support the Equality Act. Instead, I join the National Association of Evangelicals, Council for...
Yes, Pope Francis is Catholic
Pope Francis says priests cannot bless same-sex unions. Here is Chico Harlan and Sarah Pulliam Bailey at The Washington Post: In a decree approved by Pope Francis, the Vatican on Monday said that priests cannot bless same-sex unions, describing such...
Dean of the Washington National Cathedral apologizes for inviting Max Lucado to preach. Lucado responds.
Yesterday I wrote about Dean Randolph Hollerith’s decision to invite evangelical writer and speaker Max Lucado to preach “at” the Washington National Cathedral. LGBTQ Episcopalians were not happy about the invitation because Lucado holds traditional views on marriage and said...
Thursday night court evangelical roundup
What have Trump’s evangelicals been saying since yesterday’s update? Trump wonder-boy Charlie Kirk, a political pundit and co-founder of the Liberty University Falkirk Center, is upset with the Supreme Court after it ruled Trump could not end the DACA program: Illegals should be...
Wednesday Night Court Evangelical Roundup
Since my last update, a few things have changed in court evangelical land. Neil Gorsuch, one of two Donald Trump Supreme Court nominees, has defended LGBTQ rights and has proven he may not be the best court evangelical ally when...
When it comes to Supreme Court decisions, context matters. But whose context?
Earlier today, I published two posts on yesterday’s Supreme Court decision on LGBTQ rights. The first post addressed the politics of the decision and what it means for white evangelical support for Donald Trump. The second post dealt with the...
What is at stake for religious liberty in the latest SCOTUS decision?
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled on three cases: Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, Altitude Express v. Zarda, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The court held that an employer who fires an individual merely for...
When evangelicals put their faith and trust in presidents and Supreme Court justices
Yesterday the Supreme Court of the United States, in a 6-3 decision, held that an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Trump-appointed justice Neil Gorsuch...