By Christy Barritt Church Faces Charges in Mock Kidnapping A Middletown, Pennsylvania Assem-bly of God congregation was accused in a mock kidnapping of a youth group and charged by local authorities with false imprisonment and simple assault. The church and its youth minister staged the event in March as a lesson in religious persecution. […]
By Christy Barritt Mystery Guests Rank Churches Faith Perceptions, a church research and marketing firm, partnered with church leaders and sent out mystery guests to rate first-time visits at churches across the country. The guests found that churches with 300 to 500 attendees gave the best first impressions, while their experiences at megachurches and […]
By Christy Barritt Boy Scouts Retain Ban on Gays After two years of examination, the Boys Scouts of America announced in July that it will not be changing its membership standards to allow openly gay persons to become members, volunteers, or leaders. A special 11-member committee that included a diversity of perspectives and opinions […]
By Christy Barritt Atheists Have Lowest “Retention Rate” A new study shows that only 30 percent of people who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults. This number was the lowest among the 20 different categories of “religions” surveyed. Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) interviewed 1,387 […]
By Christy Barritt Complaint Filed over Restaurant’s Church Bulletin Discount A Pennsylvania man filed a complaint against a local restaurant that offers a 10 percent discount for customers who bring a church bulletin with them on Sundays. John Wolff, an atheist, argued that the discount is discriminatory since he doesn’t attend church. He filed […]
