Faith Digest: Court upholds gun ban in church

Court upholds gun ban in church. A federal appeals court has upheld Georgia's ban on bringing guns into places of worship. Jonathan Wilkins, a Baptist pastor, and a gun-rights group had argued church members should have the right to carry guns into worship services to protect the congregation. But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a Georgia law adopted in 2010 does not violate the Thomaston congregation's First and Second Amendment rights. Jerry Henry, executive director of GeorgiaCarry.org, said the minister and his organization are mulling an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

New low in religious confidence reported. Americans' confidence in organized religion, slowly but steadily declining since the 1970s, slipped to a new low in the latest survey, the Gallup Organization discovered. Today, only 44 percent of Americans have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in "the church or organized religion," Gallup said. It was 68 percent in the mid-1970s. Pollsters did not name any church or religion in particular, letting respondents define that as they wished, the organization said. Most Protestants—56 percent—expressed confidence in the church, but only a minority—46 percent—of Catholics did. The top three institutions Americans have most confidence in are, in order, the military, small business and the police, Gallup discovered, with the church ranking fourth. The survey included 1,004 adults and was taken June 7-10.

NAACP urges churches to address AIDS. When NAACP researchers spent a year talking to African-American church leaders in 11 cities, they discovered persistent myths about AIDS both in the pulpits and the pews, such as belief a person can contract HIV by being tested for the virus. Their findings led the civil rights organization to mount a campaign calling on black churches to speak out about the disease that disproportionately affects African-Americans. The NAACP released a 66-page manual, The Black Church & HIV: The Social Justice Imperative, with an accompanying 24-page brief for pastors. The group compares the church's need to address HIV to Jesus' ministry healing the sick and advocating for the oppressed.

St. Paul Saints change identity on atheist night. For one night, the St. Paul Saints, a Minnesota minor league baseball team, will become the "Mr. Paul Aints" in a game sponsored by a local atheist group. The Aug. 10 game against the Amarillo Sox will include an auction of players' special "Aints" jerseys, fireworks and a ceremonial first pitch by David Silverman, president of American Atheists. The letter "S" in all Saints signs and logos around the stadium will be covered, and there are planned references to Bigfoot, UFOs and other targets of the skeptical community, team officials said. Saints General Manager Derek Sharrer told The Associated Press the team has "no intention of mocking or making fun of anyone's faith." The Saints have hosted several religiously themed events before, including Christian concerts and a Jewish Heritage Night. It would be "hypocritical" to tell the atheists no, Sharrer said.

—Compiled from Religion News Service