| | Gallup report shows growth of religious 'nones' is slowing | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Wednesday, December 14, and today's headlines include research on religious "nones," a review of the latest discoveries from the release of the "Twitter Files," and details on Keith and Kristyn Getty's nationwide "Sing! An Irish Christmas tour." | | An analysis from Gallup has revealed that the growth rate in the number of Americans who identify as religiously unaffiliated appears to be slowing. Gallup Senior Scientist Frank Newport wrote an analysis published Friday that noted that while the rise in the religiously unaffiliated ("nones") had increased from near zero percent in the 1950s to around 20% of the U.S. population, this growth has "stabilized" since 2017. We are not seeing the yearly increases that occurred in previous decades," wrote Newport. The analyst also explained there are complexities in classifying religious belief when polling people due to "other measures of religiosity, and they don't all show the same patterns." Newport highlighted how those with no religious identity can still be religious as evidenced by their responses to other questions, adding, "And those who identify with a religion can be quite irreligious, based on their responses to those same questions." Continue reading. | | P.S.Looking for a way to close out your week? Stay in the know with In Case You Missed It, a Friday-only newsletter that features a roundup of the top stories of the week and a selection of faith-based highlights. Subscribe here. |
|
| Listen to the CP Daily Podcast |
|
|
| Texas town holds separate Christmas parades after men in drag controversy | | The city of Taylor, which bills itself a "progressive, growing city," held separate Christmas parades this year after an LGBT group featured a man dressed in drag at last year's parade unbeknownst to the Christian group that once organized the annual festive event. The Central Texas city, which is approximately 30 miles northeast of Austin, decided to host its own separate parade last week following controversy over a decision by the Taylor Area Ministerial Alliance (TAMA) to ban the LGBT group Taylor Pride from its Christmas Parade of Lights following last year's display that offended some families. TAMA, which holds to "traditional biblical and family values," says Taylor Pride seeks to promote the LGBT lifestyle as "biblically accepted" and included two men "inappropriately" dressed as women in last year's parade. TAMA acknowledged that the LGBT group should not have been allowed to participate. The group also called out what it suggested was a changing definition of “family-friendly” in an apparent nod to a video of last year’s parade, which included two men dressed as women, one of whom was seen singing “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and wearing large prosthetic breasts with both adults and children in tow. Read more. | | Fired superintendent indicted after grand jury finds district mishandled sexual assaults | | Loudoun County Public Schools' ousted superintendent, Scott Ziegler, has been indicted by a special grand jury following an investigation into whether the district lied to parents about a sexual assault to quell controversies amid its quest to enact a transgender bathroom policy. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Monday that a Loudoun County judge ordered the unsealing of four indictments issued by the special grand jury against former Superintendent Scott Ziegler. The jury also indicted the school system's public information officer Wayde Byard. Ziegler is facing "one count of misdemeanor false publication," "one count of misdemeanor prohibited conduct" and "one count of misdemeanor penalizing an employee for a court appearance." Byard was indicted on one count of felony perjury. Read more. | | 'Twitter Files': Trump, Michelle Obama, gov't influence | | Elon Musk's "Twitter Files" releases are continuing to make waves across the internet, with some documents suggesting that there were efforts by Twitter officials to suppress the public's ability to access information that reflected negatively on then-presential candidate Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in the days leading up to the 2020 election. This article from CP explores five things to know about the latest findings from the "Twitter Files." Among the bunch: Twitter took action against accounts that questioned Trump's censorship, deviated from its policies to ban Trump, and that ban came following immense pressure from prominent public figures such as former first lady Michelle Obama. Read more. | | Also of Interest... | | 5 things to know about the first 2 installments of the 'Twitter Files'Libs of TikTok responds to new 'Twitter Files' release showing account was blacklisted 'Twitter Files' reveal blacklisting of Stanford doctor opposed to COVID-19 lockdowns‘Twitter Files’ 3 highlights internal dialogue on banning Donald Trump: ‘Moral imperative’ | | Pornhub booted from TikTok | | Pornhub was booted from Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok hours after the company received a complaint over the porn website joining its platform, per a statement released by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation Monday. The quick removal came following anti-sexual exploitation advocate Laila Mickelwait retweeting Pornhub's Nov. 23 tweet celebrating that it had joined the social media platform. TikTok told CP that the account was removed for violating its community guidelines. Lina Nealon, NCOSE's director of corporate and strategic initiatives, told CP, "We know that Pornhub has extensive evidence of child sex abuse material, videos of rape, sex trafficking images, sexual abuse and several other corporations have cut ties, including Instagram." Nealon added that it is well-known that TikTok is popular with young people and "having a predatory, exploitative enterprise like Pornhub available to young people is normalizing this type of industry and serving as implicit advertising." Read more. |
|
|
| Make your year-end giving go further | | War. Disasters. Disease. Threatening famine. 2022 was tough for kids in extreme poverty. | | But at World Vision, we believe no child is lost. No situation is hopeless … because our hope is in Jesus. | | Join with other believers to meet the needs of today and tomorrow, empowering kids to rise above poverty with fresh dreams for the future. | | Show God’s love to vulnerable children with your year-end gift. Donate Now | | |
|
|
| Platt's megachurch sued over alleged ties to SBC | | Six church members have filed a lawsuit against David Platt's McLean Bible Church over issues with the nondenominational church's current leadership and alleged donations to the Southern Baptist Convention. In a statement emailed to The Christian Post, church leadership acknowledged the lawsuit and said it comes from a "small group of members and former members" who have filed other complaints in previous years. The new lawsuit contends that the Virginia-based multi-campus church, under Lead Pastor Platt, violated its constitution and retaliated against members opposed to certain financial expenditures, among other issues. One particular issue is McLean forging ties to the SBC and donating to SBC entities despite the church's constitution saying it cannot join any denomination. The lawsuit alleges that elders inappropriately transferred at least $375,000 to SBC entities and disciplined members who questioned financial issues at the church. Prior to being hired at McLean in 2017, Platt served as the president of the SBC's International Mission Board. Read more. |
|
|
| Keith Getty talks sharing the Gospel on Christmas tour | | Keith and Kristyn Getty are currently on their nationwide "Sing! An Irish Christmas tour," and the duo says their mission is to help the next generation of believers internalize the Scriptures and love Jesus on a deeper level. In an interview with CP, Keith Getty explained their tour isn't focused on commercially popular Christmas songs but the "great hymns of Christmas," adding, "But in the Irish tradition, they're just a ton of fun." The show will take place at several notable U.S. venues, including New York City’s Carnegie Hall on Dec. 15 (an event recommended by the New York Times), Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center (Dec. 23), and three nights in Washington, D.C., (Dec. 17-19) at the Museum of the Bible, a place that shares the Getty’s vision of making the Bible come alive for the next century. Learn more about tour dates, locations, and an exclusive CP promo code to receive 30% off tickets here. | | | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
|
|
|
