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Articles by Peter Smith
Christian-nation idea fuels US conservative causes, but historians say it misreads founders' intent
The U.S. Constitution doesn't mention Christianity or any specific religion. The Declaration of Independence famously proclaims that people's rights come from a "Creator" and "Nature's God" - but doesn't specify who that is. Yet large numbers of Americans believe the founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation, and many believe it should be one. Such views are especially strong among Republicans and their white evangelical base.
America's nonreligious are a growing, diverse phenomenon. They really don't like organized religion
Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy the beauty of the morning. "And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church," he recalled. Nothing has changed that view in the ensuing decades. "Most religions are there to control people and get money from them," said Dulak, now 76, of Rocheport, Missouri.
A withering report on sexual abuse and cover-up in the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. A viral video in which a woman confronts her pastor at an independent Christian church for sexually preying on her when she was a teen. A TV documentary exposing sex abuse of children in Amish and Mennonite communities.
The victory party took on the feel of an evangelical worship service after Doug Mastriano won Pennsylvania's Republican gubernatorial primary this month. As a Christian singer led the crowd in song, some raised their arms toward the heavens in praise.
For Ukrainian Orthodox in US, war news casts pall on Easter
Mike Jones kisses an image of Christ during a Good Friday service at St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Allentown, Pa. on Friday, April 22, 2022. While Easter is the most joyous of holy days on the church calendar, marking the day Christians believe Jesus triumphed over death, many members of Ukrainian Orthodox churches across the United States are finding it difficult to summon joy at a time of war. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Wong Maye-E AP The rituals leading up to Easter are the same.
A woman points at a picture of devastation from the Tulsa Race Massacre in a prayer room dedicated to the massacre at the First Baptist Tulsa church during centennial commemorations, Sunday, May 30, 2021, in Tulsa, Okla. The church made the room to provide a place to explore the history of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 and to prayerfully oppose racism. (AP Photo/John Locher) John Locher AP TULSA, Okla.
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