A Virginia public school library has stirred controversy by introducing a diverse library collection that include sexually graphic messages and foul language.

The new collections were created by the Loundoun County Public School’s teachers and administrators with the intention of diversifying authorship and subject material, according to the Loundoun Times-Mirror. Over 90 percent of the new collection is categorized as “Diverse Race, Culture, Language, [and] Religion” with 2-3 percent as “Disabilities/Abilities” and 5 percent labeled “LGBTQ.” But many parents have found that some of the new books are not age-appropriate.

“Erotic descriptions of sexual activity, including fondling, a kissing scene between three men, orgasms, masturbation, and sexual intercourse are also included in the diverse classroom libraries. Students are being deliberately exposed to this stuff. You have a duty to remove it,” said meeting attendee and parent Natassia Grover.

Loudoun Now reports that one book, Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit, contains 49 f-words.

The school board held a meeting in September over the concerns in which several parents demanded the removal of the books. One school librarian in support of the books pointed out that the previous collections featured largely “white and heteronormative characters” and schools must…

An elderly man preaching the gospel was seriously injured on a New York subway when a woman attacked him with her stiletto heel.

“He didn’t say anything to hurt anyone, he wasn’t even loud, you could barely hear him talk but this is what he got in return,” said an Instagram user, @f.u.n.m.i.k.e., who recorded the incident, according to CBS 2 New York.

Police say the 79-year-old man was riding on the southbound 2-train near Times Square on Oct. 24 when the attack happened. The man stood in the middle of the aisle with a Bible and shared his faith.

But a woman, who has yet to be identified, walked up to him and started to scream. The confrontation increased quickly and she took off her heel and beat the man. The attack left a gash on his head that took 30 stitches to close.

The aftermath of the attack was caught on video and showed the elderly man in shock. A passenger asked him to sit and helped him with his wounds. Shouting can be heard in the background.

According to the Instagram user, the attack occurred by a transgender woman.

“This old man right here was just singing some gospel songs and sharing the word of god to people on the train, he didn’t say anything to hurt anyone, he wasn’t even loud, you could barely hear him talk but this is what he got in return from a transgendered lady who hit him on the head with her heels, threw his Bible away and no…

Former evangelical leader and author Joshua Harris shared that when he denounced Christianity, he essentially “excommunicated” himself from the church.

Speaking to Axios on HBO, the bestselling author of the controversial book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” said that he came to the realization that he could not continue to be a part of his faith community and left on his own accord.

“If you’re not living according to the teaching of the Bible, and you’re living in unrepentant sin, then you have to be put out of the church,” he explained, noting that, as a pastor, he would excommunicate members of his church if it was clear they weren’t living according to the teaching of the Bible.

“I came to a point of recognizing that I’m not living according to this … And I held other people to this standard … I excommunicated myself, essentially,” he admitted.

When asked what he believed “unrepentant sin” was, Harris gave the examples of getting an “unbiblical divorce,” having an affair or “living a gay lifestyle.” When asked what his unrepented sin was, Harris declined to expand, though according to Axios he said, “oftentimes, that’s related to sexuality.”

The former church leader, who now runs a branding agency, added that he did not want to give certain groups of Christians the satisfaction of…

The percentage of the population that has no religious identity may be increasing, but a new Gallup report says such an anti-religion worldview is primarily embraced by younger people – and that as people age, they are more likely to get back in church. 

“Predictions of the forthcoming demise of religion as we know it may be premature,” Gallup’s Frank Newport wrote in the new report.

The report notes that between 20 and 25 percent of U.S. adults are now identified as “Nones,” meaning they answer “none” in surveys when asked about their religious identification.

But “despite this overall increase of nones,” Newport wrote, “older people are still less likely to eschew religion than those who are younger.” This is even true among people in their 30s compared to those in their 20s.  

Newport referenced a recent Washington Post story – “Why Millennials Are Skipping Church and Not Going Back” – and argued the picture is more complex. 

“There are signs that older millennials may in fact, contrary to the headline, be going back to religion,” Newport wrote. “… Older millennials are more likely than younger millennials to have a religious identity, and older millennials are more likely than younger millennials to say they attend religious services frequently.”

About 38 percent of adults in their mid-20s identify as…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Paula White, a Pentecostal preacher and longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, has been tapped to head the White House’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative, a successor to previous administrations’ faith-based office that coordinates outreach to religious communities.

“Paula White is the Advisor to the (White House) Faith & Opportunity Initiative,” read a statement from the White House sent to Religion News Service. A White House spokesperson later said, “She is heading up that initiative.”

The news of White’s new role was first reported by The New York Times.

The appointment of the popular author and former pastor of a Florida megachurch, sometimes called “the Trump whisperer” for her closeness to the president, has been long anticipated. Two individuals who regularly engage with the federal government told RNS earlier this year that a federal official explained to them that the Florida pastor was expected to head the agency. The individuals did not want their identities revealed out of concern of reprisal.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State was quick to denounce White’s appointment on Friday (Nov. 1).

“Televangelist Paula White is unfit to serve in the position of advisor to the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative,” read a statement from Americans United President Rachel Laser. “She has no experience in government…