| | Survey explores Americans’ views of religious populations | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Monday, March 20, and today's headlines include research on Americans' perceptions of religious populations, Caitlyn Jenner's comments in support of a Christian school in Vermont, former reality TV star Josh Duggar's extended prison sentence, and a Tennessee library director who was fired over the alleged mistreatment of Kirk Cameron and others during a story hour event. | | A survey from Pew Research Center is shedding light on how Americans view various religious populations. Findings show that Americans tend to view Jews, mainline Protestants and Catholics more favorably than atheists, Muslims and Mormons. Researchers found that 32% of those who did not identify as born-again or Evangelical Protestants viewed Evangelicals negatively, compared with 18% who view them positively—a percentage that makes Evangelicals among the most negatively rated religious groups by people who are not members of the group, Pew said. The researchers attributed some of this sentiment to the American political landscape since Democrats who are not born-again or Evangelicals are far more likely than non-Evangelical Republicans to view Evangelicals negatively by a margin of 47% to 14%, respectively. Professor Ryan Burge of Eastern Illinois University backed up the assertion that perceptions of Evangelicals are wrapped up in politics. "If a respondent was a Republican, they see Evangelicals as an ally. If they aren't then they see them as an enemy," Burge, who is also a Baptist pastor, said. Burge added that there is also likely an element of social desirability bias, explaining that there is less social pressure "to express positive views about Muslims or atheists or Evangelicals" than groups such as Jews due to concerns of antisemitism. Continue reading. | | P.S. CP is proud to announce the release of "Exposing the Gender Lie," a free e-book in partnership with Summit Ministries. Click here to download your copy today. Don’t forget to sign up for the Unmasking Gender Ideology conference on March 23rd in Dallas, Texas, which is set to feature a panel of experienced professionals such as Mary Rice Hasson, J.D., of The Ethics & Public Policy Center, Woman II Woman founder Amie Ichikawa, and Summit Ministries President Dr. Jeff Myers. Have you listened to CP’s Generation Indoctrination podcast? Listen now on your favorite podcast platform. |
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| Caitlyn Jenner defends Christian school amid trans athlete saga | | Trans-identified TV personality and former California gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner spoke out in support of a Vermont Christian school that was banned from participating in sports competitions after its girls' basketball team refused to play a team with a biologically male athlete. Jenner called The Vermont Principals' Association's decision to ban Mid Vermont Christian School from participating in sports competitions for forfeiting a game due to the opposite team having a trans-identified male a "big problem," asserting, "I've been very consistent on this subject. I've always tried to protect women in sports." Jenner, a Republican, added that "the radical left and their radical gender ideology have really tried to over the years blur that line between men and women" and noted that the ban was "a political decision for one person. ... 94 girls were affected over one person. That's wrong and they should be ashamed of themselves." Read more. | | Oregon teacher on leave over sexual fantasies assignment | | Kirk Miller, a health teacher at Churchill High School in Eugene, Ore., has been placed on leave after asking students in his Health 2—Human Sexuality course to complete a "Fantasy Story" assignment that called for students to write at least one paragraph about their sexual fantasies. The assignment, which was provided via an online platform, was part of the "Our Whole Lives" curriculum the district adopted in 2016. One parent shared a screenshot of the assignment on Facebook last week, calling it "inappropriate" and "sickening" for Miller, who also serves as a football coach, to give students the assignment. The parent also questioned why an adult male felt "entitled" to know the sexual fantasies of a group of minors. "Can you [imagine] having to look your teacher or coach in the eye knowing he has knowledge of your most intimate imaginations," she wrote. The project, which told students not to detail forms of penetration or oral sex, specified, "You will choose 3 items (romantic music, candles, massage oil, feather, feather boa, flavored syrup, etc.) to use in your story." The Eugene 4J School District has placed Miller on leave and launched a third-party investigation following dozens of objections from parents and community members. Another health class assignment calls for students to spin a wheel with sexual acts and write the initials of a classmate they want to engage in that sexual activity with. Superintendent Andy Dey has reportedly approved replacing the OWL curriculum, which appears to have originally been published in connection with the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association and was first implemented in the 1990s. Read more. |
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| Does the Church need ‘apologies more than apologetics’? | | Southern Evangelical Seminary's Adam Tucker discusses people who have been hurt by the Church or otherwise turned away due to perceptions of hypocrisy. Despite some saying that the answer to this is that churches need to apologize, Tucker maintains the deeper issue is that people have a shaky foundation that quickly crumbles when tested. While Tucker asserts the Church must act like a Church, he also contends that it needs more—and not less—apologetics. "Yes, we need to weep with those who weep and do what is possible to seek biblical justice and restoration, but in reality, our culture needs a revival of critical thinking. ... we need to do both while helping unbelievers understand why the Gospel matters despite what some professing Christians have done," he concludes. Read more. | | 'The Judas principle' should humble us | | In this op-ed, author and apologist Robin Schumacher discusses John 13-15 and what he refers to as the Judas principle. "When it comes to the wonderful doctrine called the perseverance (or preservation) of the saints, it's important to remember that our perseverance does not ensure our salvation but rather our salvation ensures our perseverance. In other words, God gets the credit for it, not us," he writes. Read more. |
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| WARNING: California & America are Worth Fighting For! | | If you are comfortable and complicit… If you are quiet and unconcerned… If you are a silent shepherd — this is a MUST HEAR Many of us are sick and tired of DRAG QUEEN story hour!Satan Clubs and LGTBQ Porn in the Schools!And a Political Party that says men can have babies and who protects pedophiles while killing the unborn | | HEAR MORE HERE: https://youtu.be/EhSovm2KpSk | | |
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| Scholars scrutinize study on LGBT parents | | Scholars and experts are calling into question the methodology of a new study that claims that children raised by same-sex couples or trans-identified parents fare just as well or better than those raised by parents of the opposite sex. The study, which was published in BMJ Global Health by Chinese researchers earlier this month, proclaims that children raised by LGBT parents could fare better in some aspects than children raised by heterosexual parents. The findings are based on a metanalysis of studies conducted between 1989 and April 2022 in countries where same-sex marriage is legal, with the researchers suggesting that children who grow up with "sexual minority" parents may experience advantages due to these parents being more "tolerant of diversity and more nurturing towards younger children" than heterosexual parents. However, Jay W. Richards, director of the DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family and the William E. Simon senior research fellow at the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, argues that the report is "tailor-made to produce headlines," with Richards noting that the paper "is supposedly a metanalysis of 34 other studies. But, as statistician William Briggs notes, the authors used a method whereby they double-count all but one of the papers." Richards also stated that "[n]o kids or their outcomes were studied," nor was it clear whether the authors tried to control for confounding variables, such as family income and parents' educational background. Meanwhile, Focus on the Family's Paul Batura pushed back on the idea that children from sexual minority families have superior outcomes to children from heterosexual families, stating, "In other words, they're claiming we're actually disadvantaging children by giving them their mother and father. This is nonsensical and challenges all reason." Read more. |
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| Josh Duggar's prison sentence extended | | Former reality TV star Josh Duggar's 12.5-year prison sentence has been extended by nearly two months, per the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. Duggar, who was convicted in 2021 on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography, has also reportedly been placed in solitary confinement. Fox News reports that Duggar's stint in solitary confinement is due to him allegedly getting caught last month with a contraband cellphone. Read more. | | Library director fired over mistreatment of Kirk Cameron | | The Sumner County Library Board in Tennessee has voted 4-3 to fire Hendersonville Library Director Allan Morales following allegations that actor and author Kirk Cameron was mistreated during a story hour event. The event from Christian publishing company Brave Books also featured University of Kentucky swimmer and women's sports advocate Riley Gaines and reality star Missy Robertson of "Duck Dynasty." After the story hour, Cameron took to Facebook to celebrate the event's success "[d]espite the rain and the unkind pushback (from one disgruntled librarian)." Meanwhile, Robertson said on an episode of "Unashamed with Phil & Jase Robertson" that the library staff was talking loudly, playing music, and banging cabinets when she and Cameron attempted to film a promotional video on the day of the event. When asked to keep it down for a moment, a staff member reportedly said, "You're not even supposed to be here anyway." Tim Jones, county commissioner for Tennessee's 23rd district, who was present at the event, addressed the allegations against the library and its staff on Thursday, saying he believed Morales failed to intervene when his staff became disruptive and maintained a negative attitude despite the mayor supporting the event. "For the record, I do not think Mr. Morales is a bad man. ... I believe bad decisions were made," Jones added. Read more. | | | | Also of Interest... | | Kirk Cameron will hold story hours at 2 libraries after threat of legal actionLibrary denies allegation it discriminated against Kirk Cameron; book publisher responds | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
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