President Obama defends religious freedom — overseas
From the moment he rose to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast, it was clear President Barack Obama intended to respond to critics accuse him of being weak in his defense of religious freedom. “As...
View ArticleFaith and the Millennials — it’s complicated
LOS ANGELES – When pollster David Kinnaman went to college two decades ago, his Generation X life was surrounded by electronic screens and all the gadgets that connected to them. There were TV screens,...
View ArticleThe World Vision same-sex marriage wars of 2014
When church historians review the 2014 World Vision wars over gay marriage, they will ponder several puzzling statements by the man caught in the crossfire. “We do know this is an emotional issue in...
View ArticleDueling saints from the Second Vatican Council?
History will show St. John XXIII was a pastor with an “exquisite openness to the Holy Spirit,” while St. John Paul II will be known “as the pope of the family.” That was as close as Pope Francis came...
View ArticlePorn again — Facing denial in conservative pews
The Rev. Heath Lambert usually hears one of two responses when he tries to get pastors to be candid about the impact of Internet pornography in their churches. Response No. 1 sounds like this:...
View ArticleSobering words define a young priest’s life
As sermons go, it was not the kind of pulpit performance that — when it was given — created a buzz in the pews. The young Catholic priest’s voice was flat and subdued, his face calm but not expressive....
View ArticleClergy, temptation, sex abuse and the law
Surely one of our world’s most endangered species — right up there with the Mountain Gorilla or the Sumatran Tiger — is the church “ministerius youthii.” That was the conviction of the late Louis...
View ArticlePain, hope and schisms in the long Anglican wars
Anglicans seem to be hopeful about their flocks in the United States, even if the warring factions in their Communion keep moving further and further apart. That was a common theme in two upbeat recent...
View ArticleReligious leaders struggle to reach ‘emerging adults’
When leaders of traditional faith groups think about reaching out to Millennials, religious seekers, unaffiliated “Nones” and other postmodern young Americans, this is the voice that many keep hearing...
View ArticleGrowing tensions on the Faith and Family Left
It was one of those symbolic questions that pollsters toss into the mix when probing fault lines inside political coalitions. The Pew Research Center recently asked, as part of its “Beyond Red vs....
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