Society & Culture

Churches don’t pay taxes, and donations to churches are tax deductible. But what qualifies as a church can be debated

“Routledge explains that those who believe in aliens have a common thread: they’re non-religious or out-right atheists. Routledge goes on to ponder the strange significance of this finding”

The Alabama Senate has voted to allow a church to form its own police force. Lawmakers on Tuesday voted 24-4 to allow Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham to establish a law enforcement department. The church says it needs its own police officers to keep its school as well as its more than 4,000 person congregation safe.

“In 2013 a contentious doctor-assisted suicide bill (Act 39) was signed into law [in Vermont]. It contains very slim protections for physicians who don’t want to participate due to matters of conscience or religious belief.”

“Government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion increased in 2015 for the first time in three years, according to Pew Research Center’s latest annual study on global restrictions on religion.”

“Certainly this is a pivotal time, I think, in humanity … [The Bible] is one common denominator that we can share with all people” Fox

“[R]esearch by Barna, commissioned by the American Bible Society on Bible reading habits showed an overall growing positive attitude towards the Bible among Americans.” World Religion News

“The Senate’s action paved the way to confirm Gorsuch by simple majority, with a vote expected at roughly 7 p.m. on Friday.” CPost

Carl Trueman: “[P]ersonhood in modern America is fundamentally sexual … Few parents, I suspect, would be happy about the person next door, or some random person in the street, talking to their children this way. Why should schools assume the right to do so?”

“An Oregon County Court has granted a Portland resident’s request to be designated ‘genderless.’ The 27-year-old video game designer has been granted the right to change his name to ‘Patch,’ only one name, and to be designated as ‘agender,’ meaning no gender.”