Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke pledged Thursday night to end the tax-exempt status of churches and religious organizations that oppose same-sex marriage if he’s elected, saying it’s a necessary step to promote human rights. 

O’Rourke, a former U.S. representative from Texas, made the comments during CNN’s town hall on LGBT issues. Eight other candidates participated, although only O’Rourke and Sen. Cory Booker were the only ones asked the tax-exempt question. 

Beto O’Rourke on religious institutions losing tax-exempt status for opposing same-sex marriage: “There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone … that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us” #EqualityTownHall pic.twitter.com/tjwVGqv5h0

— CNN (@CNN) October 11, 2019

While Booker refused to endorse the yanking of churches’ tax-exempt status, O’Rourke quickly embraced it. 

O’Rourke was asked, “Do you think religious institutions, like colleges, churches [and] charities – should they lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage?”

“Yes,” O’Rourke said to applause. “There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone or any institution, any organization in America that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us. So as…

Survivors of sexual abuse shared their stories this month as part of the SBC and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s “Caring Well” conference.

J.D. Greear, president of the SBC, told attendees at the Oct. 3-5 conference that those stories could encourage churches to help victims of sexual abuse, the Christian Post reports.

“This is a Gospel issue. The credibility of our witness, and even more importantly, the souls of our people are at stake,” Greear said. “Caring for those vulnerable whom God has entrusted to us is a way that we can and we must put the trustworthiness of the Gospel on display.”

“Abuse is unspeakably tragic,” he added, “but this is the moment that the church can put on display the matchless power of the Gospel. Churches are equipped to do something unique, something our society cannot do because we can offer not just reckoning, we can offer resurrection.” 

Susan Codone, senior associate dean of academic affairs at Mercer University School of Medicine, told attendees that she was 14 when a youth pastor in Alabama began abusing her.

About a year and a half later, she reported the abuse to the senior pastor, who fired the man, but then the senior pastor “picked up with me where my youth minister left off with me.” She said the pastor sexually abused her for the next few…

As protests for democratic reform continue to rage on in Hong Kong, Christian volunteers are putting themselves in the line of fire to keep protesters safe.

According to a BBC video titled “Doing God’s Work,” dozens of Hong Kong Christians are volunteering to stand between protesters and police – who have reportedly been aggressively violent toward the protesters.

Led by Good Neighbor North District Church pastor Roy Chan, dozens of Christians head out to protests each day and stand on the front lines of the upheaval.

“As Christians, when we see an unjust situation, we have to go out and guard the children,” Chan told the BBC.

“During this period (of protests), our church started the Protect the Children operation. We wear these yellow vests and fan out to different protest locations. Where there is conflict, we try to meditate, either between citizens and protesters or between protesters and police.

“As a Christian, this is what I can do for society, for God,” the pastor asserted.

At the scenes, the volunteers split up into groups of seven. Each group then forms a “human chain” as they attempt to belabor police advancement.

“That’s the self-sacrifice spirit. Beat us, don’t beat the kids,” Chan said.

The aim, the pastor noted, is for “Hong Kongers to not hurt Hong Kongers. And the policemen are Hong…

More than one in 10 evangelical teenagers in the United States are homeschooled and an additional six percent are in private school, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

All total, 17 percent of evangelical teens ages 13-17 are not in public school in the United States – the highest percentage among all Christian groups and more than double that of teens who aren’t affiliated with any religion, the survey found. 

Additionally, the 11 percent of evangelical teens who are homeschooled is the highest among all Christian groups and, again, more than twice as much as that of unaffiliated teens. It’s also nearly double the national average (6 percent).

Five percent of evangelical teens attend a religious private school, and an additional 1 percent go to a non-religious private school.

Among other groups:

– 9 percent of Catholic teens attend a religious private school, 2 percent a non-religious private school, and 2 percent are homeschooled, for a total of 13 percent of who aren’t in public school.

– 4 percent of mainline Protestant teens attend a religious private school, 2 percent a non-religious private school, and 6 percent are homeschooled, for a total of 12 percent of who aren’t in public school.

– Among teens unaffiliated with any religion, 1 percent attend a religious private school, 1 percent a non-religious private school, and…

A new poll by Fox News shows that 51 percent of registered voters want Trump not only impeached but removed from office. Forty percent oppose impeachment.

The numbers are an increase from four months ago when only 42 percent wished for removal from office and 45 percent didn’t. According to CNN, this poll is the fourth in two days revealing American’s desire to see Trump impeached.

Democrats increased the most in their support for the impeachment inquiry by 11 points; Republicans, by 5; independents, by 3. Traditionally strong supporters of the President are shifting their approval with a 5-point increase for impeachment amongst evangelical Christians, 8 points for white men without a college degree, and 10 for rural white people.

Those who oppose impeachment believe the inquiry is politically motivated or that Trump did nothing wrong. Only 15 percent don’t believe the allegations.

A majority of voters—51 percent—also claim that the Trump administration is more corrupt than previous presidents and his approval rating dropped from 45 percent in September to 43 percent.

In regard to Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president which has sparked the impeachment inquiry, 66 percent believed his actions were inappropriate. But the consequences for his actions were mixed. Forty-three percent of people believe it is impeachable while 27 percent voted that it was…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that in his July phone call with President Donald Trump, there was no talk of blackmail or bribes.

Zelensky told reporters Thursday in response to the White House’s release of the phone’s transcript. He said the transcript was correct. Zelensky said he was aware that the U.S. was withholding $400 million in military aid because of concerns about the money.

“There was no blackmail,” Zelensky said. “They blocked this money and nobody asked us [for] anything.”

He added that the call was about arranging a meeting with Trump. He said there were no “conditions.”

Zelensky said he would also look into claims about whether Ukraine interfered in the 2016 Presidential Election. He said he couldn’t “say yes or no” as to whether there was interference.

Previously, a whistleblower claimed that Trump had in the July 25 call said he would release the aid money if Ukraine started an investigation into Joe Biden. Trump has denied those claims, and the military aid has since been released to Ukraine.

The whistleblower report has launched questions of a possible impeachment of Trump by House Democrats. Republicans have pushed back on the possibility.

Trump responded to Zelensky’s comments as well, saying on Twitter that he had done “nothing wrong.”

“The President of the Ukraine just stated…