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Need to know: Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Southern Baptists have lost a million members in 10 years
Membership in the Southern Baptist Convention declined for the 10th straight year, while baptisms dropped to the lowest level in 70 years, according to statistics released in time for the SBC annual meeting this week.
White House confirms Jerry Falwell Jr. on education task force
Little is known about the task force, which was first mentioned by Falwell in January — around the time he said Trump asked him to be the secretary of education, a post that went to another conservative Christian.
Bernie Sanders’s crusade against . . . believing in hell?
Perhaps Sanders was just meaning to deny a government job to someone whose theology he finds objectionable, which is not only presumptuous but unconstitutional, writes Michael Gerson.
Can an evangelical, progressive Democrat succeed in Florida?
Although it makes some of his allies and campaign staff anxious, Chris King has not been bashful discussing the role faith has played in shaping his life on the campaign trail.
Study: Clergy are more partisan than their parishioners
While it’s not clear whether this translates into politicized sermons or social activism, it’s evidence that religion may be yet another area where many Americans are pulled into exclusive partisan spheres by their leaders.
Latest news from RNS
How Trump is highlighting divisions among Southern Baptists
America's largest Protestant denomination has produced a revised translation that incorporates many features it had long condemned.
Anti-Shariah rallies nationwide ‘intended to manufacture fear’
In Richardson, Texas, protesters wore desert fatigues and carried military-style handguns or rifles. The rhetoric was often rancorous but a robust contingent of police officers kept the peace.
Politics, culture or theology? Why evangelicals back Trump on global warming
They may be taking the Bible literally, which could explain their climate change skepticism. But some experts say it’s more complicated than that.
More views from RNS
Is Batman Jewish?
(RNS) Trauma, a secret identity — there was always more 'Torah' in Batman than I realized.
Colorado Mormons: Mark your calendars for September 9!
On September 9, the Colorado Faith Forums will offer a symposium on Mormon women scholars. It's going to be terrific and I hope to see you there.
Donald Trump: amoral familist
And his white evangelical clients.
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Bonus tracks
- Guess whose D.C. hotel Franklin Graham chose to host his big banquet?
- Sri Lanka arrests five over anti-religious violence
- Vatican tailors, cobblers try to adapt to Francis’s ‘papal athleisure’
- Ontario Catholic high schools shouldn’t press students to study religion: settlement
- ‘Changing Our Minds’ explores psychedelic drugs and spiritual healing
