An overwhelming majority of Americans say religion is important in their lives, although a record high says religion does not have the answers for life’s problems, according to a new Gallup poll. 

The survey released Dec. 24, shows 72 percent of Americans say religion is important in their lives, including 51 percent who say it’s “very important.” But that latter number is near the historic low of 49 percent, recorded in 2015. When the question was asked first in 1952, 75 percent of Americans said religion was “very important.” 

“Although these finding … show that religion is still very important to a slim majority, they provide further evidence of the long-term decline in the importance of religion in Americans’ lives,” Gallup’s Megan Brenan wrote.

Only 46 percent of Americans say religion can “answer all or most of today’s problems” — another record low and the first time the number has dipped below 50 percent. A record high — 39 percent — say it cannot. Among those who attend church at least once a week, 81 percent say religion can answer all or most problems.   

“The public is now more closely divided than ever before in its views of religion as the answer to what ails society,” Brenan wrote. 

Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.

Photo courtesy: Pixabay

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New Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen recently took to social media to proclaim that the group’s services, including the arrangement of contraceptives and abortions, are “standard medical care,” and healthcare is a “basic human right.”

“From here on out, we want to be clear: Planned Parenthood services, from birth control to cancer screenings and abortion, are standard medical care,” she declared on Dec. 16. “Reproductive healthcare is healthcare. Women’s healthcare is healthcare. And healthcare is a basic human right. #ThisIsHealthcare”

The next day, Wen tweeted, “Denying people healthcare perpetuates inequality. Keeping people unhealthy is a tool of oppression. The American people want more healthcare, not less. We want healthcare protected, expanded, and treated as a fundamental human right. #ThisIsHealthcare”

Although Wen’s comments were met with thousands of likes, there were others who chose to repudiate her claims.

“Abortion is not standard healthcare. It’s an elective procedure that stops a healthy, normal biological process and ends a human life. Ending life is never healthcare,” one commenter stated.

“Ending the lives of the most innocent and vulnerable among us is not healthcare; it’s murder,” another wrote.

“Abortion is the intentional killing of the living individual in…

Franklin Graham took to Facebook on Wednesday to call out the news media as “vicious and relentless.”

The evangelist wrote, “Well, it’s the day after Christmas—and I’m tired. How about you?”

He continued, “Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy seeing family and friends and hearing from people I haven’t heard from in a long time. But I’m tired, and it’s not just the season.”

He continued, referring to the government shut down, “I’m tired of all the fighting in Washington. You can’t turn on the news or read the headlines online without being overwhelmed by all of the political squabbling (to put it mildly). The news media are so vicious and relentless in their fault finding and their attacks on the President.”

According to Fox News, the government “partially shut down” on Saturday after Congress could not agree on a budget. The outlet reports that Trump said he would only sign a bill that provided adequate funding for the southern border wall and border security.

According to WND, the $5 billion demand was met with great opposition, including opposition from New York Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) who promised President Trump that the Democratic party would never work with the president on border wall or security plans. In his post on Facebook, Graham emphasized that he was tired of this lack of civility in Washington and the…

Guitarist Brian “Head” Welch gained notoriety more than a decade ago when he became a Christian and quit the metal band Korn, and then made headlines again when he rejoined the band in 2012.

Welch says in a new video that God guided him back into Korn so he could impact others for Christ.

“I know the music’s crazy, but mainly the lyrics are about pain,” Welch says in the video for the non-profit I Am Second organization. “And they’re coming from a real and raw place. People need hope. There’s addictions like crazy in that world. There’s depression. It’s been a lot of suicide stories happening. What better place [for me] to be, having the meaning of life that I carry? You know, I know the answer for the meaning of life. 

“It’s not the most popular thing to do at a rock concert is talk about Christ. I’m doing it because it’s the most realest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.”

Welch, though, still believes it was best for him to quit the band before rejoining it. The separation helped prepare him to be a witness in the world of metal, he says.   

“It’s like when a baby’s born, it needs to be in a sterile environment where everything’s pure around the baby, right? — for a period of time until it can go start touching thing,” Welch said. “And so that’s kind of the same thing spiritually, where you’ve got to go away in a…

A school bus driver in Texas purchase Christmas presents for each child on his route by using funds that he saved as a means of fulfilling his “mission from God.”

Lake Highlands Elementary School students were caught by surprise when Curtis Jenkins arrived in a bus full of Christmas gifts. Thrilled by what they saw, one student wondered if Jenkins was Santa Claus.  

“I’m not at a job, I’m on a mission from God,” Jenkins mentioned to the Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate. “I don’t say anything about religion to the kids. I just let them know whatever they love is fine with me, just love somebody on the way.”

Jenkins stated his position also provides him with a chance to let every child know that they are valued and loved. The presents he handed out the students included puzzles, electronics, games and even a bike.

“Seeing the faces of those kids was more than anything that I could ever do with the money,” Jenkins proclaimed.

“We talked about the things that they would want and I made a mental note of it and wrote it down,” he mentioned.

Eleven-year-old Ethan Ingle, one of the 70 kids who were given a present from Jenkins, was delighted to receive a pair of headphones in red, his favorite color.

“It makes me feel like I belong and I mean something to this community,” declared Ethan’s mother, Katrina Clift,…

At least 430 people are dead following the eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano Sunday night which triggered a massive tsunami in Indonesia. 

According to the New York Post, When Krakatau erupted over the Holiday weekend, land from the mountain began to shed and part of the Sundra Strait collapsed into the ocean. The landslide then set off tsunami-sized waves that reached heights of more than 6 ½ feet before they crashed into villages on the Java and Sumatra coasts. 

According to CNN, the estimated death toll at this time is 430 people with more than 150 people still missing. Reportedly 1,500 people were injured and almost 22,000 people were displaced. 

The NYP reports that there are likely more victims of the tragedy who are yet to be found, as search and rescue efforts have been hampered because of bad weather. 

While many people are mourning the loss of their loved ones and homes, scientists are warning citizens to stay far away from the coast. According to the NYP, there is a significant risk being posed by the possibility of a second landslide. Scientists suspect that another landslide could trigger a second tsunami. According to CBN News, the Anak Krakatau volcano alert status has been raised to the second highest level and the government is encouraging communities in the strait to stay at least 500 meters and at most 1 kilometer from the…