NASHVILLE — On Christmas Day, churches plan to welcome “all ye faithful” and anyone else who wants to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, and for most pastors, that gives them all the more reason to gather. More than 5 in 6 U.S. Protestant pastors (84 percent) say their church plans to have services on Christmas Day, according to a Lifeway Research study. Slightly

WASHINGTON — Same-sex marriage is now protected in federal law. President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) on Dec. 13 and thereby finalized landmark legislation that redefines the world’s oldest institution. Five days after Congress completed passage, Biden enacted a bill that mandates federal and state recognition of any same-sex marriage considered legal in the jurisdiction where it took place. Although the new law does not require states

NASHVILLE — In a statement issued this morning, Southern Baptist Convention president Bart Barber decried a recent announcement by four pastors that former SBC President Johnny Hunt had completed a four-month “restoration” process and was fit to return to ministry. “I would permanently ‘defrock’ Johnny Hunt if I had the authority to do so,” said Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas. “In a fellowship of autonomous churches,

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted to enshrine same-sex marriage as the law Tuesday (Nov. 29) while rejecting efforts to strengthen religious freedom protections in the proposal. With 12 Republicans joining all Democrats present, the Senate voted 61-36 for the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) after defeating three GOP-offered amendments intended to heighten safeguards for religious liberty. By passing the bill, senators voted to repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage

WASHINGTON — Control of the next Congress remained uncertain by early afternoon Wednesday (Nov. 9), a day after the 2022 mid-term elections. Republicans seemed near to gaining the majority in the House of Representatives, while it appeared a December runoff might be required to determine which party controls the Senate. In the House, the GOP led the Democrats 204-176 in seats won as of 1:45 p.m. CST Wednesday, according to

NASHVILLE — Pro-life advocates appeared poised to suffer across-the-board losses on five state ballot initiatives voted on Nov. 8 in the first nationwide election since the reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision. The failure to gain passage of a pro-life measure in Kentucky or to defeat constitutional amendments that guarantee abortion rights in California, Michigan and Vermont dealt a troubling setback to Southern Baptists and other Americans who welcomed

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Voters in Nevada and Arkansas took steps deemed contrary to and problematic for religious freedom in Nov. 8 midterm elections, while legalized marijuana passed in two of the five states that considered it. Nevada voters added gender identity and sexual orientation to freedoms protected in the state constitution with 57.11 percent of voters approving the Equality of Rights Amendment, Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske reported.

NASHVILLE — Almost every church in the U.S. is holding in-person services again, but some pre-pandemic churchgoers still haven’t returned. In August 2022, 100 percent of U.S. Protestant pastors (rounded to the nearest whole number) say their churches met in person, according to a Lifeway Research study. This continues the increases from the past two years of churches holding physical gatherings. In August 2021, 98 percent of churches gathered in