Faith & Culture

(RNS) — A couple of decades ago, when young adults began showing their dissatisfaction with organized religion by voting with their feet, it was fashionable for pundits to say this was happening because those religions weren’t conservative or demanding enough.

But now the “strict churches” theory is crumbling because some strict denominations are themselves charting losses, or at least slower growth.

WASHINGTON (RNS) — To geneticist Francis Collins, a person’s DNA can be compared to the beauty of a Gothic cathedral’s rose window.

“I think that is a visual way to point out the beauty of what it is that God has given us as a creation,” Collins said as he stood below a screen at the National Press Club with two images side by side: the window of England’s York Minster and a view down the long axis of genetic material. “We ought not to miss that, even as we get excited about its practical consequences.”

On June 19–20, religion publishing will do something it’s never tried before. The “Publishing in Color” conference is designed specifically for writers of color, helping them network with editors and agents as they learn to navigate the publishing process.

(RNS) — Opponents of the Miss America pageant’s decision to discontinue the swimsuit portion of their competition have blamed liberals, feminists, and the #MeToo movement, and with good reason. None, however, have blamed Christians.

Why not?

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Homosexuality, premarital sex, divorce, marijuana and pornography are approved by a growing percentage of Americans, Gallup found in an annual poll including nearly 20 behaviors placed on its morality scale.

OKLAHOMA CITY (RNS) — As Presbyterian minister Bobby Griffith sees it, legalizing medical marijuana in Oklahoma could help arthritis sufferers with chronic pain and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The 41-year-old husband and father has a personal reason, too, for supporting State Question 788 — a pro-marijuana initiative that the Bible Belt state’s voters will decide June 26.

On average a pastor has two or three hours a week to speak directly to church members built on hours of prayer and study. Pastors who find a way to share some of that research and insight through a writing ministry have an opportunity to connect with church members and those outside the church.

JACKSON, Miss. (RNS) -- In a few weeks (July 1), Les Ferguson Jr. will move on to a new position in Oxford, home to "Ole Miss," the University of Mississippi.

The move and the university community, he said, offer the potential for more personal and spiritual growth. It's also another move toward wholeness for a man whose life was fractured by tragedy nearly seven years ago.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Vacation Bible School -- better known as VBS -- remains one of the most popular church programs in America.

Six in 10 Americans say they went to VBS growing up. Two-thirds of American parents say they plan to send kids to VBS this summer -- even if they skip church themselves.

The number of U.S. Christians who feel they have a personal responsibility to share their faith has declined over the past 25 years, according to a Barna Group report published on May 15.