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One out of every six regular churchgoers in the United States has had, paid for or encouraged an abortion, while one-fifth doesn't believe the Bible identifies when life begins, a new study suggests. The Family Research Council's Center for Biblical Worldview released the "Survey on Adult Churchgoers on Social Issues and Worldview" last week. Based on 1,009 interviews of American adults who attend church services at least once a month, the study was conducted in June 2023 by Center for Biblical Worldview and prominent Evangelical pollster George Barna. The survey examined respondents' views on abortion and found that 16% of...

African American churchgoers are more likely to politically identify as Democrat than the overall African American population, according to a report by the Barna Group. In the report released Thursday, Barna found that while around two-thirds of all black adults considered themselves Democrat, a little over three-quarters of churchgoing blacks said the same. Sixty-seven percent of all African American adults said they were Democrat, while 19% said independent, 8% said they had no affiliation, and 6% said Republican. By contrast, 76% of African American churchgoers said they were Democrat, while 14% said they were independent, 5% said they were Republican...

Three Idaho churchgoers who were arrested last fall for not wearing masks at an outdoor service are suing city authorities for violating their constitutional rights. The Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit this week on behalf of Gabriel Rench, Sean Bohnet, and Rachel Bohnet against the City of Moscow, Idaho, as well as the city’s supervisor, police chief, prosecuting attorneys, and the arresting police officers. Rench and the Bohnets made national news last September when approximately 300 people assembled outdoors to sing psalms in front of city hall in Moscow, a town of approximately 25,000 people about 80 miles south...

While one in four registered voters now say it’s time for the U.S. to split into two separate countries – Red (Republican) and Blue (Democrat) – a much higher percentage of regular churchgoers and Evangelical Christians favor the idea.A national survey of 1,200 registered voters conducted by Just the News and pollster Scott Rasmussen conducted January 7-9, 2021 asked the following question:“Some have suggested that the Red States and Blue States (Republican leaning States and Democratic leaning States) should split into separate countries. Would you favor or oppose splitting the Red States and Blue States into separate countries?”A quarter (25%)...

More obesity among black men who attend church often Black men who attend church almost daily are nearly three times more likely to have obesity than those who never (or very rarely) attend, a new study shows. Moreover, the study found health differences across denominations: Among black Americans, Catholics and Presbyterians had lower odds of diabetes than Baptists. The obesity epidemic, like many deleterious outcomes in America, has disproportionately affected the black population, researchers say. While nearly one-third of all men and women have obesity, the rate jumps to nearly one-half (48.4%) among African Americans, putting them at greater risk...

This was the moment traffic wardens swooped outside a church and slapped parking tickets on cars while their owners were at morning mass. Members of the congregation—some of them in wheelchairs—could be seen arguing with the unrepentant wardens for 30 minutes. But the council workers, who had even targeted cars with blue disabled badges, which were allowed to park, refused to back down. The bizarre scene unfolded on Sunday morning outside Our Lady and St. Hubert church in Oldbury, West Midlands. …

Contrary to Hollywood notions, the 40-year-old virgin is not an awkward yet funny and endearing electronics salesman played by Steve Carell. He is a church-going teetotaller who has neither been to jail nor served in the military, according to a new survey of more than 7000 people. He also represents an estimated 1.1 million American men and 800,000 women aged 25 to 45 who have never had sex. The study, led by urologist Michael Eisenberg of the University of California, San Francisco, will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine. His team's survey found that 13.9...

A new polling analysis from Gallup finds that the Republican Party has lost support among nearly every major demographic subgroup, from college graduates to married people to those making under $30,000 a year. In 2001, 47 percent of college grads leaned Republican. Today, just 37 percent do. Support among married people has slid from 51 percent to 46 percent. Just 28 percent of those making less than $30,000 lean Republican, down 9 points in the past eight years.

Identifying communities of frequent churchgoers, Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Jonathan Gruber found higher incomes and education levels and less welfare participation, along with more marriages and fewer divorces than in the general population. Comparing national statistics on religion and income, Gruber found higher income and education levels in communities densely populated by a particular religion. In communities where the church attendance rate was double that of the general population, incomes were 9 percent higher, for example.

Many polled are leery of political compromises on core beliefs CHICAGO - Church-going Americans have grown increasingly intolerant in the past four years of politicians making compromises on such hot issues as abortion and gay rights, according to a survey released Saturday. At the same time, those polled said they were growing bolder about pushing their beliefs on others — even at the risk of offending someone.

Bruce Bain doesn't attend church regularly, but nothing was going to keep him from showing up on the corner of 17th Street and Tremont Place on Friday night. "How can you have the Parade of Lights without the 'light of the world'?" he asked. "Christmas is a religious holiday." So the 56-year-old Englewood man joined hundreds of Christmas carolers from metro-area churches and sang along the Parade of Lights route. They sang on 15th Street. They sang at Court Place. And they sang at Colfax Avenue and Bannock Street. What they didn't do was raise hell. Yes, it was a...

Karl Rove, President Bush's top political adviser, continued his public victory dance Tuesday, attributing Republican dominance in part to cultural issues such as gay marriage as well as a strong turnout of regular churchgoers. In an hourlong lunch meeting with reporters, Rove expanded on the presidential campaign and about a second Bush term. He suggested that opposition to gay marriages resonated with many voters this year. Bush endorsed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages. "This is an issue of which there is broad general consensus," he said. "People do not like the idea of the concept of marriage as...

JOHN Kerry has begun speaking more openly about his faith, a move political experts say is crucial to chipping away at President George Bush’s advantage among church-goers. Mr Kerry, a Roman Catholic, rarely addressed his faith during the primary season, but from his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last month to regular visits to black and non-denominational churches, he is talking in more detail about God’s role in his life. At the Greater Grace Temple in Springfield, Ohio, Mr Kerry told hundreds of worshippers he was running as a "lay leader", but added: "There isn’t any way that...

By Susan Page, USA TODAY Where will you spend Sunday morning? Will you go to church or Home Depot? Sing in the choir or play golf? Answer that question and you've given the most reliable demographic clue about your vote on Election Day. Voters who say they go to church every week usually vote for Republicans. Those who go to church less often or not at all tend to vote Democratic. Forget the gender gap. The "religion gap" is bigger, more powerful and growing. The divide isn't between Catholics and Protestants, Jews and Gentiles. Instead, on one side are those...