Southern Baptists say denomination faces DOJ investigation

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said Friday that several of the denomination's major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of its multiple problems related to clergy sex abuse. The SBC's Executive Committee...

Southern Baptist Convention says it is under investigation by Department of Justice

Church apologies: Top leaders say sorry for historical sins

When Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous groups on Canadian soil this week, he will make another effort toward healing harms inflicted at church-run residential schools — and add to the Catholic Church’s growing ledger of atonement for past transgressions. Like the papacy, top...

Senator in 2010 deposition: 13-year-olds can consent to sex

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Before he became a leading voice for conservative causes on Capitol Hill, U.S. Senator James Lankford spent more than a decade as the director of youth programming at the Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center, a sprawling campground about 80 miles south of Oklahoma City that...

From joy to anger, faith leaders react to Roe's reversal

Religious Americans are deeply divided in their views on abortion, and reactions from faith leaders ranged from elation to anger after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that made abortion legal nationwide. The ruling issued Friday was hailed by...

New SBC President commits to move sex abuse reforms forward

ANAHEIM, California (AP) — The new president of the Southern Baptist Convention said Wednesday he will accelerate sex abuse reforms in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Texas pastor Bart Barber's first priority: to assemble a panel of people -- Southern Baptist...

Texas pastor Bart Barber elected Southern Baptist president

ANAHEIM, California (AP) — Bart Barber is a staunch Southern Baptist conservative who would welcome bans on abortion, opposes critical race theory and believes only men should serve as pastors. Yet Barber, elected Tuesday as the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention,...

Southern Baptists agree to keep list of accused sex abusers

ANAHEIM, California (AP) — The Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse and launch a new task force to oversee further reforms in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. ...

Southern Baptists who backed open abuse review win key roles

ANAHEIM, California (AP) — The newly elected leaders of a top Southern Baptist Convention committee had all supported a more transparent investigation into allegations the denomination mishandled sex abuse reports and mistreated survivors. They defeated candidates who had opposed that move. ...

#ChurchToo revelations growing, years after movement began

A withering report on sexual abuse and cover-up in the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. A viral video in which a woman confronts her pastor at an independent Christian church for sexually preying on her when she was a teen. A...