The Satanic Temple has created an educational grant called ‘The Devil’s Advocate Scholarship’ for high school students seeking higher education.

Malcolm Jarry, the co-founder of the nontheistic group, told CNN on Wednesday that the scholarship was created after a high school student emailed Jarry requesting a letter of recommendation for a religious scholarship her school was offering.

“I was disappointed that she did not receive the scholarship and saw that moment as an opportunity to offer our own scholarship that reflects our values,” Jarry told CNN.

“In addition to promoting our values by honoring those who engage in pro-social rugged individualism, the scholarship allows students a rare opportunity to be critical of an institution that only rewards sycophantic adulation,” he added.

The academic scholarship requires applicants to be 2020 graduates and they must answer one of two questions. The first question asks what the student has done to uphold the Satanic Temple’s tenets and mission.

The second question requires students to “discuss and describe in detail any one of the teachers who crushed your spirit, undermined your self-confidence, and made you hate every minute you were forced to be in school,” the Satanic Temple’s website details.

“Students are often expected to praise their schools in spite of the fact that many students endure unconscionable abuse at the…

Author and Economist Lawrence Reed addressed the notion that Jesus was a socialist while also offering some insight on why people are so drawn to socialism today.

According to Faithwire, on Tuesday, Reed told Eric Metaxas, a conservative Christian author and the host of The Eric Metaxas Radio Show, that Jesus was neither a socialist nor a capitalist.

He argued that both terms “arose some 1,800 years after His crucifixion and either one would limit Him to but a fraction of who He was and what He had to say.”

Reed explained, “But I do say there’s nothing in the teaching of Jesus that is compatible with the ethics or the economics of socialism. He was a defender of things like personal choice, private property, free exchange.”

He continued, “He was interested in what’s in your heart, not how you vote. He never once advocated any of the things we associate with modern socialism.”

Reed went on to offer some insight on why young people today are so drawn to socialism, despite not knowing what the term ultimately entails.

“There are a lot of young people who come out of high school and college these days who’ve been told by their teachers that socialism is nothing more than wanting to help people when of course you can do that under capitalism,” Reed said before adding that socialism is ultimately about power as it requires “the use of force” to meet its needs.

“When you dig a little…

An Ohio Christian business owner and ordained minister filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Cuyahoga County over a law that requires her to officiate same-sex weddings in violation of her religious beliefs.

Kristi Stokes, the plaintiff in the case, is an ordained minister and the owner of Covenant Weddings, from which she officiates weddings and composes wedding homilies, vows and prayers for such ceremonies.

At issue is a Cuyahoga County law that prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. The law presumably applies to Covenant Weddings because it defines a “place of public accommodation” as any “place for the sale of merchandise to the public, or any other place of public accommodation or amusement where the accommodation advantages, facilities, or privileges thereof are available to the public.”

Stokes, an evangelical Christian, could be fined up to $5,000 per violation for not officiating at a same-sex wedding. Covenant Weddings is a for-profit business.

The law also prohibits her from explaining her religious views on her business website.

Alliance Defending Freedom is representing Stokes.

“Because Kristi offers wedding services that celebrate marriage between one biological man and one biological woman, the County says she must also provide the same services for weddings that…

Harvest Christian Fellowship and its Senior Pastor Greg Laurie are not allowing COVID-19 to stop them from hosting the annual Harvest Crusade this year. Instead, they’ve decided to reinvent it. 

Last year, the evangelistic event celebrated its 30th anniversary over three nights where SoCal Harvest hosted 100,000 attendees, according to figures released by the ministry. The crusade was held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, and featured top Christian music artists and messages from the famed evangelist. Additionally, over 8,677 people made professions of faith throughout the three nights.

This year, however, due to state lockdown orders in response to the coronavirus, people will experience Harvest Crusade in the form of a “cinematic crusade” that will be available to “watch anywhere and on just about any screen you’d like,” Harvest said in its announcement. 

Titled “A Rush of Hope,” the cinematic crusade produced by Laurie and Kingdom Studio was announced via a…

The coronavirus pandemic has affected Americans’ Bible engagement, with the number of U.S. adults who read Scripture declining drastically amid the outbreak, a recent study found. 

According to the State of the Bible 2020 report released by the Barna Group and the American Bible Society, U.S. adults who say they read the Bible daily dropped from 14% to 9% between early 2019 and 2020. 

The study, which looked at 2,010 responses from January and 3,020 responses from June, found that the proportion of Americans who read the Bible daily also fell to fewer than one in 10 (9%), the lowest number on record during the 10 years of the State of the Bible research study.

Additionally, those considered “Scripture engaged” by ABS dropped from 28% to 22.7% between January and June, according to additional data collected by the organization in June, after months of quarantine, church closures, and limited relational activity due to COVID-19.

However, “churched respondents,” or those who have attended a Christian church service within the past six…

Citizens of wealthy countries are the least likely in the world to say belief in God is necessary to have good morals and values, according to a new Pew Research Center study.

The survey, released Monday, asked 38,426 people in 34 countries their beliefs about religion, God and morality. 

Among the findings: Citizens of countries with the highest GDP per person are less likely to agree that “it is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values.” The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden and other Western countries were in this group.

Citizens of poorer countries, with lower gross domestic product per person, are more likely to say belief in God is necessary to be moral and have good values. Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil, the Philippines and Indonesia were some of the countries in this group.

Pew said there was a “strong” correlation between GDP and beliefs on the issue. 

“For example, in Kenya, which has the lowest GDP per capita of all 34 nations included in this analysis ($4,509 in 2019) 95% of respondents express the view that belief in God is integral to being moral,” a Pew analysis said. “By contrast, only 9% of respondents in Sweden – which has one of the highest GDP per capita of the nations surveyed ($55,815 in 2019) – say belief in God is necessary to be moral.”

The study’s findings reflected Jesus’ warnings about…

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden joined Emgage Actions’ virtual summit, “Million Muslim Votes,” on Monday in a demonstration of support for Muslim Americans.

Emgage Action is considered to be the largest Muslim American PAC in the nation. Earlier this year, the organization endorsed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Primary. In April, after Sanders dropped out of the presidential race, the organization shifted their endorsement toward Biden, Fox News reports.

During the summit, Biden, who is a professing Roman Catholic, expressed his desire to see Islam taught in U.S. schools.

“I wish we taught more in our schools about the Islamic faith. I wish we talked about all the great confessional faiths. It’s one of the great confessional faiths,” Biden said in a video of the summit.

“And what people don’t realize is one of my advocations is theology. We all come from the same root here in terms of our fundamental basic beliefs and I just want to thank you for giving me the opportunity, for being engaged, for committing to action this November,” Biden continued.

While blaming the Trump Administration for “an unconscionable rise in Islamophobia,” the former Vice President asserted that, if elected, he will end President Trump’s Muslim travel ban “on day one” of his presidency.

On Monday, Emgage Action issued a letter signed by Muslim American…

Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana called on residents to fast and pray for three day, from July 20 to July 22, to bring an end to COVID-19, as reported by The Christian Post.

The Catholic Democratic governor shared his intention to pray and refrain from lunchtime eating at a press conference last week. Spiritual leaders from around the state asked Edwards to join them as a “spiritual diet and exercise.”

“… [We will be] praying for the people of Louisiana, praying for those who are sick, praying for those who care for those…who are sick, and certainly praying for the families of those who have passed on,” he said.

He also acknowledged that the request was “a little bit unusual” but “very important, anyway,” according to Fox News.

Both Republicans and Democrats have put aside their differences and applauded Edwards.

“Sincere salute to Democrat @LouisianaGov John Bel Edwards who has called for 3 days of prayer and fasting next week for the Covid 19 virus. #gratitude #Respect,” former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, tweeted.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans also encouraged fasting, stating that “God hears our prayers, and we must cooperate with him in doing our part to make certain that we do not spread the virus.”

COVID-19 has killed over 3,500 people in the Bayou State with a little over 90,000 tested positively….