Jabe Nicholson: Dancing with the devil
Sin is stupid. The commonly held view is that God just wants to spoil our fun. Nothing is further from the truth. God hates sin because it distorts us, disappoints us, and in the end damns us if we won’t let it go.
Ask Rufus: The separation of church and state’s deep roots in Mississippi
Prayer in schools, prayer at public events and the public display of religious scenes all too often seem under attack by the courts. The courts base their rulings on more than 200 years of legal precedents that there must be a separation — a wall — between church and state.
AP-NORC Poll: Religious rights most vital for US Christians
Americans place a higher priority on preserving the religious freedom of Christians than for other faith groups, ranking Muslims as the least deserving of the protections, according to a new survey.
Influence of churches, once dominant, now waning in South
Prayers said and the closing hymn sung, tea-drinking churchgoers fill Marble City Grill for Sunday lunch. But hard on their heels comes the afternoon crowd: craft beer-drinking, NFL-watching football fans.
Religion and politics: GOP hopefuls’ new insight on faith
The 2016 Republican hopefuls are offering new insight into how faith would guide their decisions in the White House.
In the Golden Triangle, the numbers are clear: Women go to church more than men
Sunday mornings in America see thousands flock to church and Sunday school. As the preacher reviews his sermon’s notes, congregation members fill pews, mothers settle children, friends greet each other and choir members fan themselves with programs.
Voice of the people: Jiben Roy
Bias is an inclination of human behavior towards a particular thing or side. It can be natural- or rational- or even incident-based. Natural bias is common and may come from your cultural, language, religious, faith, ideology or country of birth.
Voice of the people: Cameron Triplett
I’m just an old fuddy-duddy, and I’m in my second childhood, but I do wish the comics pages would remain entertaining. If a political statement is desired, there is the op-ed page. Some comics were funny, while making a statement about politics, religion, morals, or whatever, but they were funny.
Atheist group: Miss. school aided Bible giveaway
An atheist group says it objects to a Mississippi principal telling fifth-grade teachers to take students through a public school lobby where Gideons were handing out Bibles.
GOP rallies behind religious liberty
Fighting to improve their brand, leading Republicans rallied behind religious liberty at a Friday gathering of evangelical conservatives, rebuking an unpopular President Barack Obama while skirting divisive social issues.
Republicans: Obama must defend Christian values at home, abroad
Leading Republicans on Thursday insisted that America’s leaders must do more to defend Christian values at home and abroad.
Obama: Religious freedom a U.S. diplomatic priority
President Barack Obama told a non-denominational gathering of political leaders Thursday that freedom of religion across the world is important to national security and is a central tenet of U.S. diplomacy.
Justice delays health law’s birth control mandate
The Supreme Court has thrown a hitch into President Barack Obama’s new health care law by blocking a requirement that some religion-affiliated organizations provide health insurance that includes birth control.
Religious divides emerge over gay marriage
The battle over gay marriage is heating up in the states, energizing religious groups that oppose same-sex relationships — but also dividing them. In June,
Churches split on Scouts’ welcoming of gay youth
In suburban Atlanta, northern Idaho and a number of other places, churches have moved swiftly to sever ties with the Boy Scouts of America in protest over the vote last month to let openly gay boys participate in Scouting.
Bible’s comeback surprises Norway
It may sound like an unlikely No. 1 best-seller for any country, but in Norway — one of the most secular nations in an increasingly godless Europe — the runaway popularity of the Bible has caught the country by surprise.
House passes school religious liberties bill
Before every Oktibbeha County board meeting convenes, supervisors open each gathering with a word of prayer.
Board President and District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer says that moment of reflection provides him with the guidance needed to tackle all county business with confidence.
Evangelical churches refine message on gay issues
The Rev. Robert Jeffress has changed the way he talks about homosexuality from the pulpit.
The pastor of the 11,000-member First Baptist Dallas hasn’t stopped preaching that homosexual sex is sinful, but he no longer singles it out for special condemnation. Now, Jeffress says he usually talks about homosexuality within “a bigger context of God’s plan for sex between one man and one woman in a lifetime relationship called marriage.”
Leonard Pitts: Who are we to proclaim God’s will?
You remember Malala Yousafzai, of course. She is the Pakistani girl from the conservative Swat Valley region of that country who came to international attention as a blogger and activist for the right of girls and women to be educated.
Obama, Romney discuss their religious beliefs with magazine
President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, interviewed separately by a religious magazine, addressed skeptics who question their faith and offered divergent views of the separation of church and state.