Bob Smietana
Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore faces investigation for anti-Trump comments
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee will launch a task force to examine the activities of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the convention’s public policy organiz...
American involvement in organized religion continues to wane
The data on the decline in church membership shares “almost exactly the same pattern of ups and downs” as engagement in secular civil society, said political scientist Robert Putnam.
Turnaround: How dying churches can find new life
c. 2014 Religion News Service
(RNS) For years, a handful of members of Hillview Baptist Church in Franklin, Tenn., prayed their pews would be filled with worshippers.
...Murfreesboro mosque fight laid to rest after Supreme Court ruling
c. 2014 Religion News Service
...Critics find ‘Noah’ lacking in ethnic diversity
The new movie Noah has everything you’d expect in a biblical blockbuster: big Hollywood stars, extravagant special effects, an apocalyptic flood....
Jamie Coots, co-star of ‘Snake Salvation,’ dies of a snakebite
c. 2014 Religion News Service
...For some Christians, sharing medical bills is a godly alternative
c. 2014 Religion News Service
(RNS) Every time he goes to the doctor’s office, Daniel Eddinger takes a leap of faith.
...Snake-handling pastor excused by grand jury
An East Tennessee serpent-handling pastor’s legal woes are over for now....
Feds offer atheists a clergy tax break that they don’t want
c. 2013 USA TODAY
(RNS) The federal government wants to give Annie Laurie Gaylor a tax break for leading the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
...Presbyterians stir debate by omitting popular hymn
Fans of a beloved contemporary Christian hymn won’t find any satisfaction in a new church hymnal....
Tackling stigma of mental illness
Frank Page, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, was getting ready to work in the yard in the fall of 2009 when the phone rang....
Christian worker quits over 666 on tax form
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Walter Slonopas said he quit his job last week in order to save his soul.
...Catholic hospital argues fetuses aren't 'people'
A Catholic hospital in Colorado has argued in court documents that it is not liable for the deaths of twin seven-month-old fetuses because those fetuses are not people under state law....
Marathon ministry trains runners to put 'one foot in front of the other'
In a few weeks Mark Simpson will lace up his sneakers, set out some five-gallon water coolers and start waiting for a miracle....
Muslim group, CAIR, regains tax-exempt status
c. 2012 USA Today (RNS) The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil rights group that has frequently drawn fire from conservatives, has regained its tax-exempt status.
...Filmmaker switches sides and now opposes mosque
c. 2012 USA Today NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) An outspoken supporter of a planned mosque that has sparked opposition in Murfreesboro, Tenn., has switched sides and joined the anti-Islam movement.
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