Author - Bob Smietana
Bob Smietana is a veteran religion writer and editor-in-chief of Religion News Service.
Gallup: Number of Americans who belong to a church or house of worship plummets
(RNS) — A new Gallup study found that only half of Americans belong to a church or other house of worship, down from 69 percent two decades ago.
New Mormon policy no longer calls same-sex marriage 'apostasy'
(RNS) — Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will no longer consider same-sex marriage 'apostasy' and will allow the children of LGBT...
Ronnie Floyd, Arkansas megachurch pastor, elected to head SBC executive committee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Arkansas megachurch pastor Ronnie Floyd, part of President Trump's informal group of evangelical advisers, was elected to lead the...
Ronnie Floyd, megachurch pastor and Trump adviser, nominated for key SBC post
(RNS) — Ronnie Floyd, an Arkansas megachurch pastor and Trump spiritual adviser, has been nominated lead the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee.
Independent report finds allegations against Willow Creek founder Bill Hybels credible
CHICAGO (RNS) — The Willow Creek Independent Advisory Group released its findings in a report posted online Thursday (Feb. 28) by Willow Creek Community Church...
Southern Baptists should investigate churches that cover up abuse, says SBC president
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — While blaming the abusers, SBC President J.D. Greear called on the convention as a whole 'to repent of a culture that has made abuse...
James MacDonald fired as Harvest Bible Chapel pastor
(RNS) — Elders announced that the church founder was fired for 'engaging in conduct that the Elders believe is contrary and harmful to the best interests of...
2018 in review: A year of reckoning for powerful religious figures
(RNS) — A year ago Bill Hybels was the pastor of one of the nation's most influential megachurches, Theodore McCarrick was a prince of the Catholic Church, and...
Phil Vischer has hope for the future of VeggieTales, 25 years later
(RNS) — Phil Vischer, co-creator of VeggieTales, looks back at the show's history 25 years after its debut.
Former Willow Creek pastor Steve Carter breaks his silence on Hybels allegations
CHICAGO (RNS) — Carter is speaking out now for the first time since he left Willow Creek about his decision to quit, the questions he still has for the church...
Culture • Ethics • Institutions
Turnaround: How dying churches can find new life
(RNS) Watching a church that you love shut down is hard. But a merger can get a church out of survival mode and focused on the future.
Murfreesboro mosque fight laid to rest after Supreme Court ruling
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) On the surface, the fight was over the minutiae of Tennessee's sunshine, or public notice, laws. But a thriving anti-Muslim movement in...
'Noah' blockbuster has almost everything going for it, except diversity
(RNS) Biblical epics, such as the 1956 classic "The 10 Commandments," featured white actors playing Moses and Pharaoh. That hasn't changed.
Slow church movement fights the 'McDonaldization' of church
(RNS) The book's authors are part of a loose network of writers, friends, theologians and pastors who apply the lessons of the slow food movement to...
Jamie Coots, co-star of 'Snake Salvation,' dies of a snakebite
(RNS) Coots, whose father is also a serpent-handling preacher, was a legendary figure among a small group of Pentecostal believers who practiced the so-called...