Christianity

Advent

Advent is the Christian season of preparation for Christmas, the four weeks before Christmas in the Western churches; the first Sunday in Advent is the beginning of the Christian liturgical year.

Judge blocks deal to bar LGBT discrimination in adoptions

September 27, 2019

Religious-based adoption agencies that contract with the state of Michigan will be allowed to refuse to place children in LGBT homes under a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge Thursday. District Judge Robert Jonker in Grand Rapids blocked Democratic state Attorney General Dana Nessel, Michigan’s first openly gay statewide officeholder, from barring the faith-based agencies from excluding LGBT couples from services.

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Formation of the Next Generation

Formation of the Next GenerationThe Eastern Orthodox Church’s Syndesmos World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth, Roman Catholic World Youth Days, and evangelical campus ministries are all efforts by Christian groups to reverse the trend of young people turning away from religion. Many centrally organized youth groups host international gatherings to solidify community and invest in the future of the faith.

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The Ecumenical Movement

The Ecumenical MovementMembers of the Protestant, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Mormon churches all call themselves Christians—yet they also maintain theologies and practices that diverge in significant ways. Ecumenical organizations such as the World Council of Churches and the National Association of Evangelicals attempt to bridge those differences, although such efforts remain controversial.

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The Ethics of Abortion

The Ethics of Abortion

For American Christians, abortion is a highly-charged political and religious issue. Religious groups that support abortion rights, like the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights, have long faced opponents of abortion, notably Catholics and evangelicals. Despite the polemics, some Americans on both sides have made efforts at open conversation.

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Homosexuality

Homosexuality

The changing political and social status of LGBTQ Americans has forced Christian churches to choose whether to recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples and whether to ordain openly gay or lesbian clergy. Many LGBTQ Christians embrace both their sexual and gender identities and their religious commitments, but other Christians, claiming to uphold biblical values of a Christian understanding of gender, have formed advocacy groups opposing LGBTQ civic and religious rights.... Read more about Homosexuality

Interfaith Dialogue

Interfaith Dialogue

 The ever-increasing religious diversity of the United States necessitates that Christians across the country relate to and interact with people of other faith backgrounds. Though some Christians maintain that evangelization is the most urgent way to engage with non-Christians, many others seek to find common ground across religious lines, creating organizations and spaces designed to facilitate open dialogue.... Read more about Interfaith Dialogue

Race and Ethnicity

Race and Ethnicity

Many Christian churches in America carry violent legacies of settler colonialism and slavery, and yet many are filled with remarkable diversity and prophetic voices for justice. Across denominations, Christians create communities and traditions informed by their racial and ethnic identities, and many see their faith as an imperative to reckon with racism in the country today.

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Fighting for the Bible

Fighting for the BibleThe Bible is often used by Christians with different theological and political beliefs as textual support for their positions. Questions of interpretation have high stakes and include whether to take the Bible as literally true and eternally relevant; as a product of a particular historical context; or as a text that should be read allegorically.

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Festival of St. Anthony

Festival of St. Anthony

Every August, more than 100,000 people go to the North End of Boston to participate in the Festival of St. Anthony, which, like other festas in the United States, is organized by an Italian American mutual aid society. The festival is a celebration of cultural and religious heritage.

 

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