Latest Articles
Jacob's ladder: Liberal in what way?
Mainline or liberal Protestants need a better term to describe themselves. Mainline implies cultural and social dominance, which is hard to assert given the numerical realities....
Century Marks
Calvinist reaction: President Bush, scheduled to give the commencement address at Calvin College on May 21, was the recipient of two separate letters from the college community protesting hi...
Nothing to boast of: A Reformation insight
After all the media attention to things (Roman) Catholic in recent weeks, this may be a useful moment to reflect on the continuing significance of the Reformation....
Courage to respond: Worship: Act Three
Members of the congregation must ask themselves, “Do I dare to say the creed?”
Bush, ‘proud Methodist,’ opens a door: First meeting with UMC bishops
It was a modest gesture, but some United Methodists hope that President Bush’s first meeting with bishops in his own denomination will contribute to a new relationship with mainline church leaders....
Methodists OK sharing communion with ELCA and Episcopal Church: First step toward full communion
United Methodists have taken the first step toward full communion with Episcopalians and most Lutherans after their bishops approved an agreement to share the Eucharist, with members of the two oth...
Canadian Anglicans reduce role at council: Limited participation in Anglican Consultative Council
Like their Episcopal colleagues in the U.S., Canada’s Anglican church representatives will “attend but not participate fully” in the June meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Nottingham,...
Baptist pastor quits after political dispute: Told Kerry supporters to "repent or resign"
The pastor of a North Carolina Baptist church has resigned after controversy over allegations that he told members to “repent or resign” if they intended to vote for Democratic presidential candida...
Southern Baptists pull back from ‘Free Speech’ bill: Bill would allow candidate endorsements
The Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm has withdrawn support for a bill that would allow religious institutions to endorse candidates without threatening their tax-exempt status....
Ousting of editor viewed as ominous: Thomas Reese leaves Jesuits' America magazine
Was Thomas Reese, the respected priest-editor of a Jesuit magazine who was often seen on TV during April’s papal transition, the latest casualty in a simmering battle between the Vatican and the U....
U.S. archbishop named as doctrinal guardian: Levada assumes Pope Benedict's former post
Pope Benedict XVI has named the archbishop of San Francisco, William Levada, to the pope’s old job as guardian of the Catholic faith, making Levada the highest-ranking American ever to serve at the...
Seminary enrollment trends upward: Fuller stops counting psychology students
Enrollment in theological schools in North America has continued on a gradual (2 to 3 percent) annual increase over the past five years, according to new data released this spring....
Lesbian reinstated; bishop to appeal case: Guilty verdict sustained; sentence thrown out
The United Methodist bishop of Philadelphia plans to appeal the case of a lesbian minister who was reinstated last month after she was initially defrocked for violating a church ban on “self-avowed...
Woman to succeed Perryas head of MCC: Nancy Wilson will be moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches
A longtime leader in the Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) has been nominated as the moderator to succeed Troy Perry, who founded the worldwide, predominantly gay Christian denomination 37 year...
Survey finds more megachurches (1,200+) than expected: Texas and California have the most
Protestant megachurches—those with weekly attendance exceeding 2,000—may be far more prevalent than originally thought....
Orthodox depose Holy Land patriarch: Conflict over transfer of church property
Anglican, Lutheran and Roman Catholic leaders have offered to mediate in a scandal in Jerusalem that has seen the Greek Orthodox patriarch for the Holy Land Irineos I deposed by his own bishops ove...
Briefly noted
Plans were announced this month for African-American men, women and children to travel to Washington for a massive October 15 rally on the National Mall....
Mine wars: Rearranging mountains in Appalachia
In the summers of 1920 and 1921 southern West Virginia was the scene of some of the most historically significant unrest in U.S. history. Yet today this history has been largely forgotten....