Even as Christianity shows signs of regaining some cultural ground after years of steady decline, other socio-political religious movements are quietly but rapidly expanding across the United States. While Religiously Unaffiliated (atheists, agnostics, and “nones”) is the growing category overall, according to this article by Quora, Hinduism is also “quietly expanding by immigration.”

Nevertheless, Islam is now widely recognized as the third-largest religion in America, and its growth trajectory continues upward.… Continue Reading

Texas State Representative James Talarico has emerged as an apostate “Christian” whose progressive ideology runs contrary to two thousand years of orthodox Christian teaching. Unsuprisingly, he has become something of a media darling on the Left, promoted as a thoughtful Christian voice who can reconcile progressive politics through a reinterpretation of Scripture.

Talarico, who recently won the Texas Senate Democratic nomination, describes himself as a “secularist seminarian.” He has gained attention for using biblical language and religious imagery to defend a host of progressive political causes, including abortion and transgender ideology.… Continue Reading

In his book “What Americans Believe,” George Barna points out that 87% of non-Christians and 77% of self-described born-again believers agreed with the statement “People are basically good.” In other words, our culture, by and large, has discarded the idea of original sin.

The sophisticated among us roll our eyes at the concept of innate human corruption. We snicker at the notion that certain actions, thoughts and behaviors are still deemed to be sinful.… Continue Reading

Before 1954, pastors, priests and rabbis could openly endorse political parties or candidates.

Then came the Johnson Amendment, named for Lyndon Baines Johnson, then an U.S. Senator from Texas who tweaked the IRS code. Suddenly, tax-exempt nonprofits were barred from “participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” The “opposition to” phrase was added in 1986.

A ruthless political strategist before and during his presidency, Johnson engineered this coup after two Texas nonprofit groups had supported his Senate primary opponent.… Continue Reading

A recent national survey conducted by George Barna of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University indicates that many Christians do not plan to vote on Nov. 5. Mr. Barna says that about 104 million religious people will not bother to vote in this election, and of those, 32 million are theologically defined as born-again Christians.

Why do so many conservative believers plan to sit this one out?

Mr. Barna’s survey answers that question.… Continue Reading

In 2013, author John S. Dickerson wrote about the troubling condition of the American church in his book “The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church and How to Prepare.”

Mr. Dickerson‘s key premise was that Christian orthodoxy in the United States is in rapid decline. The evidence he presented to support what, at first glance, seems to be a terminal diagnosis is multifaceted.

According to Mr.… Continue Reading

The 2018 election for Macon County Sheriff was an example of nearly everything that can possibly go wrong in an election. Unsurprisingly, the problems that occurred in Macon County illustrate the issues facing the entire state of Illinois. Elections and election results are often uncertain in Illinois for several reasons, and many of the related problems surfaced in the sheriff’s court case.

As a result of the legal proceedings in the Macon County Sheriff election, the ballots were recounted.… Continue Reading

Last week, I wrote an article about the recent research of George Barna, who has concluded that America’s religion is no longer one of orthodox belief but rather a new syncretistic faith that he called moralistic therapeutic deism – a nonjudgmental don’t-worry-be-happy “fake Christianity” where self-actualization and personal affirmation are now our highest goods. The result of my article? My critics came unglued.

“First and foremost, you need to get your facts straight,” said one.… Continue Reading

Earlier this month, the Western Journal reported that the “American Church Has Fallen: Shocking Poll Shows ‘Fake Christianity’ Has Supplanted the Biblical Worldview.”

Writing for the Journal, Rachel Bratton said this: “American Christianity has fallen. Thanks to cultural corrosion and a lack of biblical literacy, a new ‘fake Christianity’ is now being preached within the American church.”

“This counterfeit religion is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,” stated Ms. Bratton, “a worldview that has quickly gained prominence and given many Americans a theology that looks nothing like historical Christianity, despite what they may claim.” … Continue Reading

When Jeanne Ives announced her primary campaign challenge to Governor Bruce Rauner this week, one of the most common questions was — can she overcome Rauner’s incredible war chest which contains tens of millions of dollars of his own money?

The question that came to my mind was — do Illinois conservatives who support Ives realize that they have a role to play in her campaign? Never before have the grassroots taken on a such an enormous responsibility than what they have between now and the March primary election.… Continue Reading

The November election is likely to be an intense, brutal fight to the finish, with the Republican candidate Donald Trump needing all of the friends and supporters he can muster. As was evident by his recent statements at the historical “Conversation” event in New York City, where he spoke about religious liberty and related matters to more than 1,000 evangelical leaders, he is counting on widespread support from conservative Christians and their churches in his battle for the presidency.… Continue Reading