WASHINGTON (RNS)—The most popular church in America might be St. Mattress, followed by Bedside Baptist.

Those two—euphemisms for sleeping in on Sundays—increasingly describe the attitude of many Americans toward attending churches or other houses of worship.

More than half of Americans (56 percent) say they seldom or never attend religious services, according to new data from Gallup. Less than a third (30 percent) say they attend on a weekly or almost weekly basis.

Gallup found almost all of the so-called Nones (95 percent) say they seldom or never attend services. More than half of Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Orthodox Christians say they rarely attend as well.

Among religious Americans, Latter-Day Saints (67 percent) are most likely to say they attend weekly or almost weekly, followed by Protestants (44 percent), Muslims (38 percent) and Catholics (33 percent).

Percentage of nonattenders doubled in 30 years

Overall, the percentage of Americans who never attend services has more than doubled since the early 1990s, while the share of those who say they rarely attend has stayed stable, according to Gallup data.

An earlier report from Gallup found that in 1992, those who attended weekly (34 percent) outnumbered those who never attended (14 percent) by 2 to 1. Since 2018, the number of Americans who never attend services has outnumbered the number who attend weekly.

Gallup Senior Editor Jeffrey Jones said the decline in attendance is driven mostly by generational shifts. Not only are younger Americans less likely to identify with any religion, they also are less likely to have been raised with a religion.

“If you were raised in a religion and you have fallen away, you can come back to it,” he said. “Younger people, a lot of times, weren’t brought up in any religion. So, they don’t have anything to come back down.”

Americans today are also less religious overall and less likely to identify as Christian, meaning the nation’s largest religious tradition—whose adherents are most likely to attend weekly services—has declined, leading to lower attendance.

Jones said an overall loss of faith in the nation’s institutions likely plays a role in the declining attendance. A Gallup poll last year found only a third of Americans had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church or organized religion.

But the growth of the “nones”—those who do not identify with any religion—likely played a larger role in the attendance decline, Jones said.

Gallup’s findings echo the data from other major organizations, such as Pew Research Center, that track religion and other cultural trends and have found both religious identity and participation are declining.

A recent Pew study found most Americans believe religion’s influence is waning. Half think that is a bad thing. The other half think the decline is good or don’t care.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—The man who left a recording on Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor’s voicemail earlier this month spoke with an even keel, but his message was anything but calm.

Over the course of about 40 seconds, the caller accused Pajanor, the head of Catholic Charities San Diego, of “facilitating illegal immigration,” “breaking the law” and being “not really Christian.”

The man saved his most volatile remarks for last, calling Pajanor, an immigrant and U.S. citizen, “scum” and much worse before ending with “Go back to India, you piece of garbage,” according to a recording provided to Religion News Service.

Over the past few months, Pajanor and staffers at Catholic Charities across the country—a decentralized, 113-year-old faith-based nonprofit—have become the targets of some media personalities, conspiracy theorists and even members of Congress.

Critics of Catholic Charities oppose offering aid to immigrants, which they frame as incentivizing illegal immigration. Some even accuse faith groups of breaking the law or working with drug cartels.

Rapidly growing safety threat

The result has been a series of unsettling incidents that have transpired near or even inside Catholic Charities facilities in what officials say is a rapidly growing threat to their safety.

“We have never seen this level,” Pajanor said, referring to the avalanche of vitriol he and his staff have received. “Some of our team members have been here for 20, 30 years, and they have said they have never seen such a thing happen.”

Some local agencies of Catholic Charities assist migrants after they’ve been processed by Customs and Border Protection, providing resources such as food, clothing and short-term housing before asylum-seekers depart for other parts of the country ahead of a scheduled court date with immigration officials.

The Catholic group is one of several faith-based organizations—including Lutheran and Jewish groups, among others—that have partnered with the federal government a long time to offer such services.

“Catholic Charities agencies staff and volunteers all around the country choose to spend their time serving those most in need, like families whose homes were destroyed by a natural disaster, seniors who can’t afford their medicine, and hungry children in need of a nutritious meal,” said Kerry Alys Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA. “Their work should earn respect and admiration, not demonization.”

For Pajanor, whose group operates homeless shelters and 14 food pantries in San Diego, the recent avalanche of hate followed a visit by provocateur James O’Keefe.

O’Keefe appeared earlier this month with a film crew outside a hotel being used by Catholic Charities San Diego to house migrants who had been processed by Customs and Border Protection.

Videos posted on social media

In videos posted to social media, O’Keefe and his team can be seen questioning security guards outside the hotel. O’Keefe even posed as an exterminator to try to gain entry. On multiple occasions, O’Keefe suggests migrants in the hotel came into the country illegally and speculates, without offering evidence, that some were being trafficked.

Pajanor reacted to the allegations with exasperation.

“We are helping those individuals who are here legally,” he said. “Every one of them has a notice to appear in a court of law.”

In his video report, O’Keefe included an image of a whiteboard containing the names and contact information of Catholic Charities and their staff.

“Immediately after that post went viral online people started calling team members with threats,” Pajanor said, adding that his team has now increased security at facilities throughout the city—including ones that have nothing to do with migrants.

‘Christ weeps’

San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy condemned O’Keefe’s actions in a statement to RNS. Describing the incident as an “assault” on Catholic Charities, McElroy accused O’Keefe and his team of “illegal entry,” of victimizing legal immigrants and of criticizing the church for providing food and shelter, “as the Lord commands.”

McElroy also condemned the publicizing of staff’s personal identities and data, “subjecting them to death threats and the destruction of their private lives.”

“Christ weeps at the invocation of his name to justify such outrages,” McElroy stated.

Efforts to reach O’Keefe for comment were unsuccessful.

Catholic Charities officials say the incident is just the latest in a string of attacks on their work.

Similar videos were made at Catholic Charities facilities in Laredo and in Southwestern Ohio, prompting a slew of threatening phone calls and leading the organizations to increase security, the directors of both facilities told RNS.

On Oct. 28, 2023, Stew Peters, a far-right influencer who has expressed pro-Nazi views, said in a speech broadcast to his more than 500,000 followers on both Rumble and X that Catholic Charities helps “coach illegals on how to get admitted here.” He then called for shooting Catholic Charities workers, in addition to migrants.

Involvement by members of Congress

Peters’ speech came after over a year of accusations by a handful of Republican House Representatives that Catholic Charities was complicit in “a secretive, taxpayer-funded, and likely illegal operation to move unknown migrants into the United States.”

Often led by Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas and Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, a small group of GOP lawmakers have penned letters to Biden administration officials echoing those accusations.

Lawmakers also formally called on Catholic Charities, Jewish Family Services and other faith groups to preserve documents “related to any expenditures submitted for reimbursement from the federal government related to migrants encountered at the Southern border.”

House Republicans also passed a border bill that included a provision stripping funds from a program that reimburses those offering certain aid to migrants.

Jared Holt, an expert on political extremism and senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, noted upticks in anti-immigrant rhetoric are common among conservatives during an election year. But when media outlets and personalities home in on specific groups, he said, the situation can escalate quickly.

“To the degree that this might intensify or escalate any more than it has, I think a lot of that depends on how political leaders in this country conduct themselves,” Holt said.

Both Gooden and Tiffany conducted extensive interviews with Michael Voris, the ousted head of now-defunct far-right Catholic media outlet Church Militant who has also been critical of Catholic Charities and their work with migrants.

In addition, Rep. Andy Biggs, who signed the letter asking Catholic Charities and others to preserve documents, hosted activist Ben Bergquam on his podcast last May, where Bergquam accused Catholic Charities of operating as a “middle-man” between drug cartels and the CBP.

Synergism between lawmakers and far right

The synergism between lawmakers and far-right figures was evident during recent incidents surrounding Casa Alitas, a shelter for asylum-seeking migrants run by Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona, an agency of Catholic Charities.

As in San Diego, O’Keefe posted a video on X Feb. 7 outside Casa Alitas, this time disguised, in his words, as a “homeless vagrant drunk.” Bergquam also previously highlighted Casa Alitas in one of his January videos.

Citing O’Keefe’s video at Casa Alitas, Tiffany and California Rep. Doug LaMalfa visited a Casa Alitas facility two days later and posted their own video, asking employees to allow them to make an unannounced visit, and when turned away, claiming the facility was operating in secrecy and denying them access to information.

Joe Leisz, the director of development for Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona, said lawmakers visiting Arizona at that time had all been invited to tour the organization’s regular shelter operations. He said Tiffany “chose to show up, unannounced” at a temporary overflow site.

Representatives for Tiffany, Biggs, Gooden and LaMalfa did not respond to interview requests for this story.

Similarly, Rachel Campos-Duffy, co-host of FOX & Friends Weekend and wife of former Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy, filmed segments inside and outside Casa Alitas on Feb. 25 and 26, where, after being asked to leave the facility, she approached clients and walked around filming. At one point, she claimed rocks were thrown at her car.

Campos-Duffy showed up outside business hours, and according to Leisz, was asked to come back during regular working hours, something FOX denies.

According to a statement sent to RNS by a FOX News spokesperson, “Rachel Campos-Duffy said she was never told to come back during business hours and was only told to leave the property.”

The videos from O’Keefe, Tiffany and Campos-Duffy each had millions of views on X.

Flurry of obscene and threatening calls

Leisz said after the incidents, his colleagues received about 75 “obscene and/or threatening calls” over the course of about a month.

When he shared with callers that his organization’s work comes from Matthew 25’s call to care for people in need, including strangers, Leisz said, “they tell me the Gospel is wrong.”

Rebecca Solloa, the executive director of Catholic Charities in Laredo, said that, while the threatening calls her facility had received were not local, she still instructed her staff to take precautions like avoiding wearing Catholic Charities’ apparel in public.

“Having seen and learned about what happened in El Paso, anybody can come from the outside to hurt the community,” said Solloa, referencing a 2019 mass shooting that killed 23 and which the shooter said was a response “to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

Despite the vitriolic rhetoric and conspiracy theories, Tony Stieritz, the CEO of Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, which was the target of a Feb. 9 Bergquam video linking the organization to migrants on the border who said they were going to Cincinnati, said that the over 800 volunteers at his facility fall “in love with the work that we do.”

“We will stand resolute in serving the poor and vulnerable regardless of where they come from,” Stieritz said.

To the members of Congress spreading accusations about Catholic Charities, Stieritz said, “It is Congress’ and the (Biden) administration’s job to fix the broken immigration system. We continue to pick up the pieces for the federal government’s lack of a policy that promotes order and human dignity for migrants.

“Let’s not stoop so low as to pick on the people who are trying to do the Christian work of the gospel. Please work together in a bipartisan way to figure out the challenges that we all share,” he said.

(RNS)—Charlie Dates, the pastor of two historically Black churches in Chicago, is defending Martin Luther King Jr. after California pastor John MacArthur declared in February the civil rights leader “was not a Christian at all.”

“We, the undersigned, regret that we have to write you this way, but we sense that this is the only way to address the egregious wrong that you—and those like you—have yet again inflicted on Black Christians in America,” Dates wrote in an open letter that appears on the website of his Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago.

“Undoubtedly, you, Mr. MacArthur, have made significant and helpful contributions to the reading and understanding of scripture for our present age. How ironic it now feels to write to you, a teacher, a word of correction. We hope that you will find within this missive a patient and reasonable rebuttal for your unwise and ill-timed slander of the Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.”

The controversy reflects the lines drawn in disputes among Reformed Christians and other Christian groups over issues related to race or social justice.

MacArthur’s view of King

MacArthur’s comments were made during a question-and-answer session at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Calif., where he is the longtime pastor. He was asked what he thought of two influential evangelical groups, Together for the Gospel and The Gospel Coalition, which have been popular with Reformed Christians like those in MacArthur’s congregation.

After noting Together for the Gospel had held a tribute to Reformed theologian R.C. Sproul shortly after his death in 2017, MacArthur added—in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, in February: “And the strange irony was a year later they did the same thing for Martin Luther King, who was not a Christian at all, whose life was immoral.”

“I’m not saying he didn’t do some social good. And I’ve always been glad that he was a pacifist, or he could have started a real revolution.”

The Gospel Coalition was once a good organization but is now “useless” and “woke,” said MacArthur. “It’s Christianity astray,” he said—referring to a satirical nickname for Christianity Today, an evangelical magazine MacArthur has disapproved of in the past.

A spokesman for The Gospel Coalition did not respond to a request for comment.

MacArthur has been at odds with The Gospel Coalition since 2018, when that group helped sponsor a major conference in Memphis, Tenn., commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. and condemning racism and its negative effects on the life of the church.

At the event were prominent leaders, including Dates, Reformed preacher and author John Piper, Texas megachurch pastor Matt Chandler, then-SBC ethicist Russell Moore and community organizer John Perkins. Both Perkins and Piper are longtime friends of MacArthur.

The 2018 conference led MacArthur and others to draft a statement on social justice—which warned against what he called dangerous ideas about race and justice. That statement helped launch the so-called “war on wokeness” that has polarized both churches and the broader culture.

Reactions to MacArthur

Reacting to MacArthur’s recent statements, Justin Giboney, president of the nonprofit AND Campaign, who also spoke at the 2018 MLK50 Conference, wrote an essay in Christianity Today critiquing MacArthur’s stance on King.

In an interview, Giboney said his organization, a nonpartisan think tank that promotes Christian civic engagement, supports Dates’ open letter. He added that MacArthur’s comments about King reflect a wider “culture-war dynamic” in which some try to “take down all the heroes” of social justice.

After learning of MacArthur’s recent comments, Dates, who also is pastor of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago, said in a sermon, part of which was posted on Instagram on Feb. 26: “I’m so angry I could cry.”

He noted in his open letter MacArthur had chosen to make his remarks during Black History Month. And in a later post on Instagram, Dates said: “Pastor MacArthur, You won’t do this to Dr. King … and you won’t disrespect millions of Christians without account.”

In an interview on Monday, March 18, Dates said: “He cannot get away with this. He has to know that Black and Black-adjacent clergy around the country wholeheartedly disagree with him on theological grounds. He’s not the keeper of who’s Christian and who’s not.”

MacArthur’s further critique

In the past, MacArthur sought to align himself with the ideals of the Civil Rights Movement.

Phil Johnson, the executive editor of Grace to You, MacArthur’s media ministry, said the pastor is not giving interviews or taking any additional questions about King. But Johnson drew a distinction between King’s work on civil rights and his doctrinal beliefs or conduct.

“As John MacArthur mentioned in his recent comments, he believes much of Dr. King’s work in the realm of Civil Rights, voting rights, and equal treatment for all ethnicities was good and beneficial,” Johnson wrote in an email.

Johnson added that MacArthur has long been critical of King on a doctrinal level. King’s “doctrine and morals do not make him a model Bible-believing [person] Christians should seek to emulate,” Johnson said. “That should not really be controversial to anyone familiar with the record of his private life and beliefs.”

MacArthur’s comments echo similar comments by other conservative leaders dating back to the 1960s. During the Civil Rights era, Christianity Today ran a series of essays from then FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who dismissed the work of King and other Black leaders as communist rather than Christian.

Call for boycott

In the open letter, Dates invokes both Hoover and the segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace, calling MacArthur “them in postmodern dress.”

The letter closes with a statement of plans to boycott MacArthur’s work: “Perhaps we should tell you that we are calling on Christian Clergy of all colors to stop reading your commentaries, to dislodge themselves from your conferences, and to give your voice no amplification in their teaching until you fight for justice to roll down like a river in America and righteousness like a mighty stream for those who are marginalized.”

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.—Pastors of Hispanic Protestant churches in the United States maintain immense gratitude for their role, but many face financial struggles.

Their congregations reflect diverse worship styles, but they have a unified desire to reach and serve their communities.

Lifeway Research partnered with numerous denominations and church networks to survey Hispanic Protestant pastors in the United States for a study sponsored by Lifeway Recursos, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse.

This study follows a Lifeway Research study of U.S. Hispanic Protestant pastors last year focused on the congregations and their evangelistic outreach.

“The response from pastors and leaders about the first study we did last year was overwhelming,” said Giancarlo Montemayor, director of global publishing for Lifeway Recursos.

“The goal with this second study is to dig deeper into some of the nuances of the Hispanic church in the U.S., such as worship and outreach. We also wanted to pay close attention to the particular needs of the pastors serving in these communities who often struggle with cultural and political issues that are not present in an English-speaking church.”

Pastoral perspectives explored

The average Hispanic Protestant pastor shares many similarities with other Protestant pastors while also having some unique characteristics. Participating pastors overwhelmingly are evangelical, with 82 percent identifying as such, compared to 17 percent who say they are mainline Protestant.

Seven in 10 have some type of higher education, including 44 percent who have a graduate degree.

In terms of their theological education, almost half have completed Bible institute training (47 percent) or seminary courses (46 percent). More than a third have a master’s degree from a seminary (38 percent) or have taken courses from a Bible college (34 percent).

A quarter (25 percent) have completed church-based school courses, while 12 percent have a seminary doctoral degree. Few (3 percent) say they have no formal theological education.

Half of U.S. Hispanic Protestant pastors (51 percent) say they work full-time at their church. Three in 10 (30 percent) serve bivocationally, 13 percent volunteer, 6 percent are part-time and 1 percent are interim.

Of those who are bivocational, 88 percent work 20 or more hours at their outside job, including 51 percent who work at least 40 hours outside of the church.

Those bivocational pastors say they do so primarily because it is a financial necessity for their families (79 percent). Half (48 percent) say they have a second job because it helps the church financially. Three in 10 (30 percent) work externally because their family needs the insurance benefits.

Less than a quarter say they do so to better identify with the population they want to reach (23 percent) or because they feel called to be bivocational (21 percent). Almost 1 in 5 (18 percent) say they have a job outside of their church because they enjoy working.

Half (52 percent) of Hispanic Protestant pastors say their spouse also works to help the family financially, including 29 percent who say the extra income is essential and 23 percent who say it makes things easier financially for their family.

Few (6 percent) say their spouse works but the income is not essential. Almost 2 in 5 (38 percent) say their spouse does not have a paid job that is needed to help sustain their family’s living expenses.

“The sources of training for pastors of Hispanic churches are more diverse than seminaries alone,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “In the same way that some could not be full-time students to prepare for the pastorate, many must maintain employment in addition to their role as pastor to provide financially for their families.”

U.S. Hispanic Protestant pastors also were asked questions similar to Lifeway Research’s recent Greatest Needs of Pastors study to determine their most pressing issues. However, these questions and options arose from interviewing Hispanic Protestant pastors specifically.

Pastors were asked about challenges in their family’s life, emotional and physical wellbeing, congregational dynamics and personal needs.

A majority identified four specific issues they said needed attention—apathy or lack of commitment from people in their congregation (72 percent), balancing time between work and home (58 percent), consistently exercising (57 percent) and taking time to relax and have fun away from work (50 percent).

When dealing with issues, U.S. Hispanic Protestant pastors are most likely to regularly turn to their spouse. Half (51 percent) say they openly share their struggles with their spouse at least once a month.

More than a third (37 percent) turn to another pastor. Around a quarter talk with a close friend (26 percent) or a mentor (24 percent). Fewer share monthly with another leader at church (13 percent), a counselor (7 percent) or a Bible study group in the church (6 percent).

Almost 1 in 5 (18 percent) say they don’t openly share their struggles with any of these people in their life.

Regardless of any challenges, Hispanic Protestant pastors in the United States believe leading a church has benefited them in several ways.

More than 4 in 5 say they’ve been positively impacted as a pastor through seeing life transformation in others up close (85 percent), experiencing personal enjoyment using their gifts to serve others (84 percent), increasing their dependence on God (83 percent) and seeing personal spiritual growth (83 percent).

Slightly fewer said they’ve seen positive personal impact through helping families and marriages heal (79 percent), making meaningful connections with others (79 percent) and experiencing personal enjoyment or satisfaction doing ministry (78 percent). Less than 1 percent say they’ve had none of these, while 62 percent of pastors say they’ve experienced all seven.

“While many have come to realize the very real difficulties that pastors face in the U.S., pastors of Hispanic churches are quick to focus on the positives,” McConnell said.

“Many of those in Hispanic churches work long hours and their pastors often do the same. Amidst these challenges, pastors have grown spiritually and enjoy serving others.”

Examining worship

As to the types of worship services U.S. Hispanic Protestant pastors lead, the potential variety stands out.

They are most likely to say their style of service would be described as either blended traditional/contemporary (30 percent), Pentecostal (23 percent), contemporary (22 percent) or traditional (15 percent). Few see their worship services as liturgical (3 percent), post-modern/emerging (2 percent) or urban contemporary (2 percent).

During those services, attendees are most likely to hear praise songs heard on contemporary Christian radio (64 percent). Almost half of pastors say their church uses praise choruses (49 percent) or hymns (46 percent), while around a third feature songs written by Hispanic worship leaders (35 percent) or songs with a Latin rhythm (31 percent).

As part of the worship, churches are more likely to use words projected on the screen (90 percent) than hymnals (18 percent). Around half feature sermon notes on the screen (53 percent) or show a video (49 percent).

The most popular instruments used are guitar (78 percent), piano or keyboard (77 percent) and drums (71 percent). Few use an organ (8 percent), while half say they use some other instrument (51 percent).

 “Worship services in the Hispanic church within the U.S. are considerably challenging because you deal with first, second and third generations of immigrants who among themselves have specific needs,” Montemayor said.

“A first-generation immigrant believer will probably need a service completely in Spanish, whereas the second- and third-generation may have lost some of the cultural and linguistic characteristics of their parents, preferring a sermon in English but songs in Spanish.”

Services in U.S. Hispanic Protestant churches feature many of the same elements as other Protestant churches and often repeat them each week. Almost every church has a sermon (99 percent), Scripture reading (96 percent) and congregational singing (95 percent) each week. Around 9 in 10 say their weekly service includes pastoral prayer (93 percent), attendees greeting one another (91 percent) and intercessory prayer for the sick and needy (87 percent). Around 7 in 10 also feature each week an invitation to respond or altar call (72 percent), congregational reading (70 percent) and children’s stories (69 percent).

Other elements are more sporadic or dependent on the specific congregation. Almost 2 in 5 (38 percent) say the congregation recites a prayer each week, but 45 percent say that never happens in their church.

A time for testimonies occurs weekly in 38 percent of U.S. Hispanic Protestant churches, monthly in 25 percent, quarterly in 13 percent, less than once a quarter in 16 percent and never in 9 percent.

For a handful of congregations, reciting creeds happens weekly (15 percent), monthly (4 percent), quarterly (5 percent) or less frequently (10 percent), but 2 in 3 pastors (66 percent) say it never happens in their church.

Almost all Hispanic Protestant churches in the United States regularly include partaking in the Lord’s Supper (99 percent) and baptizing someone (97 percent), but their rhythms for doing so vary. The most popular timing for the Lord’s Supper is monthly (58 percent), followed by quarterly (22 percent), weekly (12 percent) and less than once a quarter (7 percent).

Baptisms are less frequent, with almost half saying they happen at their church less than quarterly (47 percent) and slightly fewer saying the time frame is usually quarterly (39 percent). Fewer say they have baptisms monthly (7 percent) or weekly (4 percent).

Serving communities

U.S. Hispanic Protestant churches aren’t only concerned with what happens inside their buildings. Serving their community is a priority. Almost every pastor (99 percent), including 88 percent who strongly agree, says it is important for their church to show the love of God to their community in ways that meet people’s tangible needs.

Pastors are split as to who they are most seeking to minister to with their service projects or ongoing service ministries: 46 percent say all people in their community, and 46 percent say all Hispanic people in their community. Few (6 percent) say they are specifically focusing on recent Hispanic immigrants.

“The Hispanic church in the U.S. is characterized by meeting tangible needs of those in their community through service,” McConnell said. “Some Hispanic churches seek to meet needs of everyone around them, while others focus on serving Hispanic people because of language or affinity.”

When asked specifically how they served the community in the past year, 92 percent said they were doing something. Most said they provided marriage counseling (60 percent) and fed the hungry (53 percent).

Many provided clothing for the poor (44 percent), gave back-to-school materials for children (43 percent), helped people find employment (39 percent), helped the elderly (31 percent) and helped people find housing (29 percent).

Fewer said their church supported local schools (21 percent), provided aid for mothers of newborns (17 percent), helped disaster victims (17 percent), met with people in prison (13 percent) or provided recovery or addiction ministries or groups (11 percent).

Few churches sheltered the homeless (9 percent), tutored school kids (8 percent), offered after school programs (6 percent) or volunteered to provide foster care (3 percent).

In terms of ministering to immigrants, 89 percent of U.S. Hispanic Protestant pastors said their church is equipped to serve new immigrants in their community. In terms of specifics, 75 percent identified a way they served immigrants in the last year. More than half (54 percent) said they met information needs.

Around 2 in 5 provided rides or transportation (41 percent) and supplied assistance with legal and immigration issues (37 percent). A quarter (24 percent) said they taught money management, while 18 percent offered English as a second language classes or mentors and 9 percent taught job skills.

While 70 percent of pastors agree they always have the resources they need to support the ministries they consider essential, they also indicate they could probably do more if they had more.

Most said significant challenges to serving their community include the need to train more people (56 percent), a lack of financial resources (52 percent) and not enough workers to go out and serve (51 percent).

Slightly less than half point to the lack of resources to offer any immigration legal help (49 percent), not having the leaders to take responsibility (47 percent) and difficulty devoting the required time (44 percent).

Fewer say they do not have the facilities (31 percent), many people within the church are among those who need help (30 percent) and they lack knowledge of employment and housing opportunities (23 percent).

Nine in 10 U.S. Hispanic Protestant pastors (86 percent) say their church’s teaching, evangelism and discipleship efforts have been impacted by their community service. Around 3 in 4 say their church has been able to show God’s love to their community (73 percent).

Most say their service has led to new families visiting their church (63 percent), new friendships built with people in the community (58 percent) and individuals accepting Christ as their Savior (56 percent).

Many (44 percent) say the church’s service in the community has increased people’s openness to discuss and listen to what the church has to say.

Most pastors (53 percent) say their community work has given them opportunities to share the gospel message occasionally, while 38 percent say their service projects always included a presentation of the gospel.

 “My prayer is that the global church could use this study to better inform their decisions on how to reach the Hispanic community and help churches already doing the heavy work,” Montemayor said.

The online survey of pastors of Hispanic Congregations in the United States was conducted Sept. 12 to Nov. 1, 2023. Analysts used slight weights to adjust for varying response rates across denominations. The completed sample is 554 surveys, providing 95 percent confidence the sampling error does not exceed plus or minus 5.2 percent. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. 

BRENTWOOD, Tennessee – Los pastores de las iglesias protestantes hispanas de Estados Unidos tienen una inmensa gratitud por el papel que desempeñan, pero muchos se enfrentan a dificultades económicas.

Sus congregaciones reflejan estilos de servicio de adoración diversos, pero tienen un deseo unificado por alcanzar y servir a sus comunidades.

Lifeway Research se asoció con numerosas denominaciones y redes de iglesias para encuestar a pastores protestantes hispanos de Estados Unidos en un estudio patrocinado por Lifeway Recursos, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association y Samaritan’s Purse.

Este estudio es la continuación de un estudio de Lifeway Research sobre pastores protestantes hispanos de EE.UU. del año pasado, centrado en las congregaciones y su alcance evangelístico.

“La respuesta de pastores y líderes sobre el primer estudio que hicimos el año pasado fue abrumadora”, dijo Giancarlo Montemayor, director de publicaciones globales para Lifeway Recursos.

“El objetivo con este segundo estudio es profundizar en algunos de los matices de la iglesia hispana en EE.UU., como la adoración y el alcance. También queríamos prestar mucha atención a las necesidades particulares de los pastores que sirven en estas comunidades, que a menudo luchan con cuestiones culturales y políticas que no están presentes en una iglesia de habla inglesa”.

Perspectivas pastorales

El pastor protestante hispano promedio comparte muchas similitudes con otros pastores protestantes, aunque también tiene algunas características únicas. Los pastores participantes son en su inmensa mayoría evangélicos, con un 82 % que se identifica como tal, frente a un 17 % que se declara protestante de línea principal.

Siete de cada 10 tienen algún tipo de educación superior, incluido un 44 % que tiene un título de posgrado. En cuanto a su formación teológica, casi la mitad ha realizado cursos de formación en institutos bíblicos (47 %) o en seminarios (46 %).

Más de un tercio tiene un máster de un seminario (38 %) o ha tomado cursos de un instituto bíblico (34 %). Una cuarta parte (25 %) ha realizado cursos de la escuela de la iglesia, mientras que el 12 % tiene un doctorado de seminario. Pocos (3 %) dicen no tener formación teológica formal.

La mitad de los pastores protestantes hispanos de EE.UU. (51 %) dicen que trabajan a tiempo completo en su iglesia. Tres de cada 10 (30 %) sirven bivocacionalmente, el 13 % son voluntarios, el 6 % trabajan a tiempo parcial y el 1 % son interinos.

De los que son bivocacionales, el 88 % trabaja 20 horas o más en su trabajo externo, incluido el 51 % que trabaja al menos 40 horas fuera de la iglesia. Los pastores bivocacionales dicen que lo hacen principalmente porque es una necesidad económica para sus familias (79 %).

La mitad (48 %) dice que tiene un segundo trabajo porque ayuda económicamente a la iglesia. Tres de cada 10 (30 %) trabajan externamente porque su familia necesita las prestaciones del seguro.

Menos de una cuarta parte dicen que lo hacen para identificarse mejor con la población a la que quieren llegar (23 %) o porque se sienten llamados a ser bivocacionales (21 %). Casi 1 de cada 5 (18 %) dice que tiene un trabajo fuera de su iglesia porque disfruta trabajar.

La mitad (52 %) de los pastores protestantes hispanos dicen que su cónyuge también trabaja para ayudar económicamente a la familia, incluido el 29 % que dice que los ingresos adicionales son esenciales y el 23 % que dice que facilitan las cosas económicamente a su familia.

Pocos (6 %) dicen que su cónyuge trabaja pero que los ingresos no son esenciales. Casi 2 de cada 5 (38 %) dicen que su cónyuge no tiene un trabajo remunerado necesario para ayudar a mantener los gastos de su familia.

“Las fuentes de formación de los pastores de las iglesias hispanas son más diversas que los seminarios por sí solos”, dijo Scott McConnell, director ejecutivo de Lifeway Research. “Del mismo modo que algunos no pudieron ser estudiantes a tiempo completo para prepararse para el pastorado, muchos deben mantener un empleo además de su función de pastor para proveer económicamente para sus familias”.

A los pastores protestantes hispanos de EE.UU. también se les hicieron preguntas similares a las del reciente estudio de Lifeway Research sobre las Mayores necesidades de los pastores, para determinar sus problemas más acuciantes. Sin embargo, estas preguntas y opciones surgieron de entrevistar específicamente a pastores protestantes hispanos.

Se preguntó a los pastores por los retos de su vida familiar, su bienestar emocional y físico, la dinámica de la congregación y sus necesidades personales.

La mayoría identificó tres problemas concretos que, según ellos, requerían atención: la apatía o la falta de compromiso de las personas de su congregación (72 %), el balance entre el trabajo y el hogar (58 %), la práctica constante de ejercicio físico (57 %) y dedicar tiempo a relajarse y divertirse fuera del trabajo (50 %).

Cuando afrontan problemas, los pastores protestantes hispanos de EE.UU. son los más propensos a recurrir regularmente a su cónyuge. La mitad (51 %) dice que comparte abiertamente sus luchas con su cónyuge al menos una vez al mes.

Más de un tercio (37 %) recurre a otro pastor. Alrededor de una cuarta parte habla con un amigo íntimo (26 %) o un mentor (24 %).

Menos lo comparten mensualmente con otro líder de la iglesia (13 %), un consejero (7 %) o un grupo de estudio bíblico de la iglesia (6 %). Casi 1 de cada 5 (18 %) dice que no comparte abiertamente sus luchas con ninguna de estas personas en su vida.

Independientemente de los retos, los pastores protestantes hispanos de EE.UU. creen que dirigir una iglesia les ha beneficiado de varias maneras.

Más de 4 de cada 5 dicen que han recibido un impacto positivo como pastores al ver de cerca la transformación de la vida de otras personas (85 %), experimentar un disfrute personal al utilizar sus dones para servir a otros (84 %), aumentar su dependencia de Dios (83 %) y ver un crecimiento espiritual personal (83 %).

Un poco menos dijeron que habían visto un impacto personal positivo ayudando a sanar a familias y matrimonios (79 %), estableciendo conexiones significativas con otros (79 %) y experimentando disfrute o satisfacción personal ejerciendo su ministerio (78 %).

Menos del 1 % dice que no ha tenido ninguna de estas experiencias, mientras que el 62 % de los pastores dice que ha experimentado las siete.

“Aunque muchos se han dado cuenta de las dificultades muy reales a las que se enfrentan los pastores en EE.UU., los pastores de las iglesias hispanas se apresuran a centrarse en los aspectos positivos”, dijo McConnell.

“Muchos de los miembros de las iglesias hispanas trabajan largas horas y sus pastores suelen hacer lo mismo. En medio de estos retos, los pastores han crecido espiritualmente y disfrutan sirviendo a otros”.

Servicio de adoración

En cuanto a los tipos de servicios de adoración que dirigen los pastores protestantes hispanos de EE.UU., destaca la variedad potencial.

Lo más probable es que digan que su estilo de adoración se describiría como una combinación de tradicional/contemporáneo (30 %), pentecostal (23 %), contemporáneo (22 %) o tradicional (15 %).

Pocos ven sus servicios de adoración como litúrgicos (3 %), postmodernos/emergentes (2 %) o contemporáneos urbanos (2 %).

Durante esos servicios, lo más probable es que los asistentes oigan canciones de alabanza escuchadas en la radio cristiana contemporánea (64 %).

Casi la mitad de los pastores dicen que su iglesia utiliza coros de alabanza (49 %) o himnos (46 %), mientras que alrededor de un tercio presenta canciones escritas por líderes de alabanza hispanos (35 %) o canciones con ritmo latino (31 %).

Como parte del servicio de adoración, es más probable que las iglesias utilicen palabras proyectadas en la pantalla (90 %) que himnarios (18 %). Alrededor de la mitad presentan notas del sermón en la pantalla (53 %) o muestran un vídeo (49 %).

Los instrumentos más utilizados son la guitarra (78 %), el piano o el teclado (77 %) y la batería (71 %). Pocos utilizan un órgano (8 %), mientras que la mitad dice utilizar algún otro instrumento (51 %).

“Los servicios de adoración en la iglesia hispana dentro de EE.UU. suponen un reto considerable porque tratas con primeras, segundas y terceras generaciones de inmigrantes que entre sí tienen necesidades específicas”, dijo Montemayor.

“Un creyente inmigrante de primera generación probablemente necesitará un servicio completamente en español, mientras que la segunda y tercera generación pueden haber perdido algunas de las características culturales y lingüísticas de sus padres, prefiriendo un sermón en inglés pero canciones en español”.

Los servicios de las iglesias protestantes hispanas de EE.UU. presentan muchos de los mismos elementos que otras iglesias protestantes y a menudo los repiten cada semana.

Casi todas las iglesias tienen un sermón (99 %), lectura de las Escrituras (96 %) y cantos congregacionales (95 %) cada semana.

Alrededor de 9 de cada 10 dicen que su servicio semanal incluye la oración pastoral (93 %), el saludo de los asistentes (91 %) y la oración de intercesión por los enfermos y necesitados (87 %).

Alrededor de 7 de cada 10 también incluyen cada semana una invitación a responder o llamado al altar (72 %), lectura congregacional (70 %) e historias para niños (69 %).

Otros elementos son más esporádicos o dependen de la congregación concreta. Casi 2 de cada 5 (38 %) dicen que la congregación recita una oración cada semana, pero el 45 % dice que eso nunca ocurre en su iglesia.

En el 38 % de las iglesias protestantes hispanas de EE.UU. dedica un tiempo a los testimonios semanalmente, en el 25 % mensualmente, en el 13 % trimestralmente, en el 16 % menos de una vez al trimestre y en el 9 % nunca.

En un puñado de congregaciones, la recitación de credos ocurre semanalmente (15 %), mensualmente (4 %), trimestralmente (5 %) o con menos frecuencia (10 %), pero 2 de cada 3 pastores (66 %) dicen que nunca ocurre en su iglesia.

Casi todas las iglesias protestantes hispanas de Estados Unidos incluyen regularmente la participación en la Cena del Señor (99 %) y el bautismo (97 %), pero sus ritmos para hacerlo varían.

El momento más popular para la Cena del Señor es mensual (58 %), seguido de trimestral (22 %), semanal (12 %) y menos de una vez al trimestre (7 %).

Los bautizos son menos frecuentes, ya que casi la mitad afirma que se celebran en su iglesia menos de una vez al trimestre (47 %) y un número ligeramente inferior afirma que el momento suele ser trimestral (39 %). Son menos los que dicen que tienen bautizos mensuales (7 %) o semanales (4 %).

Servicio a la comunidad

A las iglesias protestantes hispanas de EE.UU. no sólo les preocupa lo que ocurre dentro de sus edificios. Servir a su comunidad es una prioridad. Casi todos los pastores (99 %), incluido el 88 % que está totalmente de acuerdo, afirman que es importante que su iglesia muestre el amor de Dios a su comunidad de manera que satisfaga las necesidades tangibles de las personas.

Los pastores están divididos en cuanto a quién buscan ministrar con sus proyectos de servicio o ministerios de servicio en curso: El 46 % dice que a todas las personas de su comunidad, y el 46 % dice que a todas las personas hispanas de su comunidad. Pocos (6 %) dicen que se centran específicamente en los nuevos inmigrantes hispanos.

“La iglesia hispana en EE.UU. se caracteriza por satisfacer necesidades tangibles de los miembros de su comunidad mediante el servicio”, dijo McConnell.

“Algunas iglesias hispanas tratan de satisfacer las necesidades de todos los que las rodean, mientras que otras se centran en servir a los hispanos por razón de idioma o afinidad”.

Cuando se les preguntó específicamente cómo sirvieron a la comunidad el año pasado, el 92 % dijo que sí hacían algo. La mayoría dijo que ofrecía consejería matrimonial (60 %) y daba de comer a los necesitados (53 %).

Muchos proporcionaron ropa a los pobres (44 %), dieron material para el regreso a clases de los niños (43 %), ayudaron a la gente a encontrar empleo (39 %), ayudaron a los ancianos (31 %) y ayudaron a personas a encontrar vivienda (29 %).

Menos dijeron que su iglesia apoyaba a las escuelas locales (21 %), proporcionaba ayuda a las madres de recién nacidos (17 %), ayudaba a las víctimas de catástrofes (17 %), se reunía con personas en prisión (13 %) o proporcionaba ministerios o grupos de rehabilitación o adicción (11 %).

Pocas iglesias acogieron a personas sin hogar (9 %), dieron clases particulares a escolares (8 %), ofrecieron programas extra curriculares (6 %) o se ofrecieron como voluntarias para proporcionar acogimiento familiar (3 %).

En cuanto a la atención a los inmigrantes, el 89 % de los pastores protestantes hispanos de EE.UU. afirmaron que su iglesia está preparada para atender a los nuevos inmigrantes de su comunidad.

En términos concretos, el 75 % identificó una forma de servir a los inmigrantes en el último año. Más de la mitad (54 %) dijeron que satisfacían necesidades de información. Alrededor de 2 de cada 5 los trasladaron o transportaron (41 %) y les ayudaron con cuestiones jurídicas y de inmigración (37 %).

Una cuarta parte (24 %) dijeron que enseñaban administración de dinero, mientras que el 18 % ofrecían clases de inglés como segunda lengua o mentoría y el 9 % enseñaban habilidades laborales.

Aunque el 70 % de los pastores están de acuerdo en que siempre tienen los recursos que necesitan para apoyar los ministerios que consideran esenciales, también indican que probablemente podrían hacer más si tuvieran más.

La mayoría afirma que entre los retos importantes para servir a su comunidad se encuentran la necesidad de entrenar a más personas (56 %), la falta de recursos económicos (52 %) y la falta de suficientes trabajadores para salir a servir (51 %).

Poco menos de la mitad señalan la falta de recursos para ofrecer ayuda jurídica en materia de inmigración (49 %), no contar con líderes que asuman la responsabilidad (47 %) y la dificultad para dedicar el tiempo necesario (44 %).

Menos dicen que no disponen de instalaciones (31 %), que muchas personas de la iglesia se encuentran entre las que necesitan ayuda (30 %) y que carecen de conocimientos sobre oportunidades de empleo y vivienda (23 %).

Nueve de cada 10 pastores protestantes hispanos de EE.UU. (86 %) dicen que los esfuerzos de enseñanza, evangelización y discipulado de su iglesia se han visto impactados por su servicio comunitario.

Alrededor de 3 de cada 4 dicen que su iglesia ha podido mostrar el amor de Dios a su comunidad (73 %). La mayoría afirma que su servicio ha dado lugar a la visita de nuevas familias a su iglesia (63 %), al establecimiento de nuevas amistades con personas de la comunidad (58 %) y que personas acepten a Cristo como Salvador (56 %).

Muchos (44 %) dicen que el servicio de la iglesia en la comunidad ha aumentado la apertura de la gente a debatir y escuchar lo que la iglesia tiene que decir. La mayoría de los pastores (53 %) dicen que su trabajo en la comunidad les ha dado oportunidades de compartir el mensaje del evangelio ocasionalmente, mientras que el 38 % dice que sus proyectos de servicio siempre incluían una presentación del evangelio.

“Mi oración es que la iglesia mundial pueda utilizar este estudio para informar mejor sus decisiones sobre cómo llegar a la comunidad hispana y ayudar a las iglesias que ya están haciendo el trabajo pesado”, dijo Montemayor.

La encuesta en línea a 554 pastores de congregaciones hispanas de EE.UU. se realizó del 12 de septiembre al 1 de noviembre de 2023. Fue patrocinada por Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Samaritan’s Purse y Lifeway Recursos.

Los encuestados fueron invitados por distintas confesiones y redes, entre ellas Assemblies of God [Asambleas de Dios], Baptist Missionary Association of America [Asociación Misionera Bautista de América], Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) [Iglesia Cristiana (Discípulos de Cristo)], Christian Reformed Church North America [Iglesia Cristiana Reformada de Norteamérica], Church of God (Cleveland) [Iglesia de Dios (Cleveland], Church of the Nazarene [Iglesia del Nazareno], Christian & Missionary Alliance [Alianza Cristiana y Misionera], Converge [Convergencia], Episcopal Church [Iglesia Episcopal], Evangelical Free Church of America [Iglesia Evangélica Libre de América], Foursquare, Free Methodists [Metodistas Libres], New Thing [Algo nuevo], North American Baptists Conference (Hispanics for Christ) [Conferencia de Bautistas Norteamericanos (Hispanos para Cristo)], Presbyterian Church in America (MNA) [Iglesia Presbiteriana de América (MNA)], Reformed Church in America [Iglesia Reformada de América], Southern Baptist Convention [Convención Bautista del Sur], United Pentecostal Church International [Iglesia Pentecostal Unida Internacional], Vineyard and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod [Sínodo Evangélico Luterano de Wisconsin y Vineyard], así como iglesias vinculadas a Billy Graham Evangelistic Association [Asociación Evangelística Billy Graham], National Hispanic Christian Leadership Coalition (NHCLC) [Coalición Nacional de Liderazgo Cristiano Hispano (NHCLC)] y National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NaLEC) [Coalición Nacional Evangélica Latina (NaLEC)].

Las invitaciones se hicieron principalmente por correo electrónico, proporcionando a los pastores un enlace a la encuesta en línea. Se examinó a cada encuestado para asegurarse de que era el pastor principal o el pastor del campus hispano o de la congregación de habla hispana.

Se seleccionó a los encuestados para asegurarse de que la congregación era una iglesia hispana o multiétnica o un servicio o campus de habla hispana dentro de una iglesia no hispana (se indicó a los pastores de un campus o servicio de habla hispana que sólo respondieran por ese campus/servicio). Sólo se incluyeron las congregaciones con al menos un 50% de hispanos.

Se utilizaron ligeras ponderaciones para ajustar los distintos índices de respuesta entre denominaciones. La muestra completa es de 554 encuestas. La muestra proporciona un 95 % de confianza en que el error de muestreo no supera más o menos el 5,2 %. Este margen de error tiene en cuenta el efecto de la ponderación. Los márgenes de error son mayores en los subgrupos.

(RNS)—While most Americans continue to broadly support LGBTQ rights, that support may be waning, including among religious Americans, according to a new poll from PRRI.

The report, based on interviews with more than 22,000 U.S. adults in 2023, found Americans are slightly less likely to support same-sex marriage and LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections and less likely to oppose allowing business owners to refuse to serve LGBTQ people for faith reasons, compared with the year before.

“I think the big story is that most Americans of faith are broadly supportive of LGBTQ rights,” said Melissa Deckman, CEO of PRRI. “However, we do see slight declines in three of the questions we tracked when it comes to Americans’ attitudes on LGBTQ rights. …That was somewhat surprising to us.”

Deckman said for groups who advocate for LGBTQ rights, this data is akin to “a canary in the coal mine.”

Percentage declines

Seventy-six percent of American adults reported supporting LGBTQ nondiscrimination policies in public accommodations, housing and employment, the survey found, down from 80 percent the year before.

The majority of respondents from most faith groups also embrace LGBTQ nondiscrimination laws, though many religious groups saw slight drops in support from 2022. Among Muslims, for example, PRRI reports a drop from 70 percent support in 2022 to 56 percent in 2023. White evangelical Protestants saw a drop from 62 percent to 56 percent, and Hispanic Catholics from 86 percent to 78 percent.

A majority of Americans (67 percent) also continue to support same-sex marriage, though that number was down 2 percentage points from the previous year.

While majorities of all but a handful of religious groups favor legal recognition of same-sex marriage (most Jehovah’s Witnesses, white evangelical Protestants, Muslims, Hispanic Protestants and Latter-day Saints are in opposition), many groups also saw dips in support. The biggest drops in support were among Hispanic Catholics, with a decline of 7 percentage points from 2022, and Muslims, which dropped 13 percentage points.

Since PRRI began tracking the issue in 2015, a majority of Americans have opposed allowing a small-business owner to refuse services to LGBTQ people for religious reasons. As in the other categories, that majority still stands, but fell from last year. In 2023, 60 percent of Americans said they were opposed, compared with 65 percent in 2022. Dips also were seen in nearly every religious group.

Across all three policy categories, Unitarian Universalists, the religiously unaffiliated, Jewish Americans and non-Hispanic Catholics of color consistently showed the highest support for LGBTQ rights, while Jehovah’s Witnesses, white evangelical Protestants and Hispanic Protestants showed the least support.

Reasons for decline

Deckman partially attributed the declines in support to political polarization, and specifically to the divisiveness around LGBTQ policies, including bathroom policies and laws impacting gender affirming care.

“Republicans have very strategically, I think, used that as a wedge issue,” said Deckman. “What might be happening, though it’s hard really to tell from this one cross section, … is that continuing to talk about LGBTQ identity and emphasizing the division among Americans in terms of transgender issues is having a larger impact on Americans’ attitudes about LGBT rights more broadly.”

These observations are reflected in the findings, which showed that while Democrats’ support for LGBTQ rights remained steady across all three measures, there was a drop in support among Republicans compared with last year.

Political ideology also seems to be a factor. PRRI found support for Christian nationalism—which Deckman defined as the idea America was founded as a Christian nation, and should remain so—is negatively correlated with support for LGBTQ rights across all 50 states. As states scored higher on PRRI’s Christian nationalism scale, support for same-sex marriage, support for LGBTQ anti-discrimination laws and support for opposing religious refusals to LGBTQ customers decline.

“We often assume in public opinion, when it comes to LGBTQ issues, that Americans are destined to become far more embracing of the rights to LGBTQ Americans,” said Deckman. “But this data shows you that that assumption of more progressive and accepting attitudes toward LGBT Americans shouldn’t necessarily be taken for granted.”

American Christians must answer the biblical call to peacemaking and help write “a good ending to this season in history,” said Bob Roberts, co-founder of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network.

“We are living in one of those hinge moments in history that comes around about every hundred years. And we have to make the right decisions. We have to do the right thing,” said Roberts, who was the founding pastor of Northlake Church in Keller and the GlocalNet church starting initiative.

The current volatile situation is both global and national, he emphasized.

“When we look at the world, we’d better value peacemaking,” said Roberts, president of the Institute for Global Engagement.

The church has a vital—if often-neglected—role to play in making peace, he emphasized.

 “We need to be speaking up. But I fear that what is happening is we are being caught up in the hysteria along with everyone else. And as a result, we have not much to offer,” Roberts said.

Historically, the church has been seen as a uniting influence, he observed.

“Now, we are seen by many as a divider,” he lamented.

Build personal relationships

Christians can take an important step on the peacemaking journey by fostering relationships with their neighbors from other faith traditions, seeing them as “people created in the image of God,” Roberts said.

Next, Christians and people of other faiths can build relationships by working together on service projects that promote the common good and fit their mutual interests, he suggested.

Once the relationships are established and trust is built, Christians and non-Christians can “talk about the hard topics” in a respectful manner, he added.

Recently, the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network developed a Peacemaker’s Toolkit for faith leaders. It includes a biblical and theological framework for peacemaking, and it presents multiple peacemaking scenarios with questions to explore and suggestions for navigating difficult conversations.

Roberts noted John Thielepape, director of projects at the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network and former director of missions for Parker Baptist Association, spent two years researching and spearheading the development of the toolkit.

The toolkit offers church leaders a framework for developing a proactive response to polarization and provides practical resources for peacemaking, he noted. It is suited both to individual use and small-group study, he added.

“It equips ministers to see a role for themselves in peacemaking,” he said.

‘Love your enemies’

American evangelicals in general and Baptists in particular haven’t always placed a high value on peacemaking, but it is a central theme of the Bible and vitally important to believers who suffer from violence and persecution, Roberts said.

“Peacemaking matters to the church in Indonesia. Peacemaking matters to the church in Palestine. Peacemaking matters to the Christians in Sudan. And if we are passionate evangelicals, peacemaking ought to be everything for us as well,” he said.

“It’s the core and the essence of the gospel. … We’ve been given this radical command by Jesus, ‘Love your enemy.’ If you’re going to love your enemy, you’re in the peacemaking business.”

Begin with kindness, respect and humility, he suggested.

“A peacemaker doesn’t trash other people,” Roberts said, noting the difference between challenging ideas and demeaning people.

Christians also need to acknowledge and deal with divisions in their own ranks, he noted, speaking as a lifelong Southern Baptist.

“I grieve over how we treat one another with such disrespect and how we vilify one another. We treat one another like trash over secondary issues,” Roberts said.

“We need to take a deep breath and just deal with our own house.”

WACO—“Do I belong here?” When people with autism and their families ask the question about church, it may be difficult to answer.

If churches want autistic individuals and their families to feel welcomed and supported, they must reconsider worship “through the lens of autism,” researcher Armand Léon van Ommen said at a recent community talk hosted by Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary and the Baylor Collaborative on Faith and Disability.

Van Ommen, senior lecturer in practical theology at the University of Aberdeen, conducted his research by listening to people with autism and their families, with a focus on nonspeakers.

So, his talk included many first-person accounts of study participants’ experiences, without including their names.

He identified four key areas to think about through the lens of autism: church as sensory, church as social, thinking differently and “what you do is who you are.”

Church as sensory

“Church is a highly sensory space,” van Ommen said. Since differences in sensory perception is characteristic of autism, churches need to consider how sensory stimulation in worship services affects people with autism, he said.

Autistic individuals might be hypersensitive and find sensory stimulation overwhelming. They may be hyposensitive, having a muted response to stimulation. Or they may be sensory-seeking.

“Stimming [self-stimulating behavior including arm or hand-flapping, finger-flicking, rocking, jumping, spinning or twirling, head-banging and complex body movements] could be seen as sensory-seeking,” van Ommen said.

Differing sensory perception means “lows can be lower to the extent that it can be [physically] painful,” van Ommen said. Participants in his study reported if something in the worship service impacts negatively, they “could need to recover for a full day after Sunday worship.”

The auditory aspect of worship can be challenging for autistic people, not only related to volume, but also balance, van Ommen said. One study participant noted when the music is out of tune, it is so painful, “it makes me feel quite ill … like I want to vomit.”

Touch involved in worship also can be hard. Holding hands to pray or greetings with handshakes and hugs “can be cringy” for autistic people, van Ommen said. However, he added, autistic people often welcome hugs—but only from friends.

“You have to understand, when I ask for accommodations, it’s not to be catered to, but it’s so I can participate at all,” one study participant said.

Church as social

Church also is highly social. Since differences in social interaction and communication are characteristics of autism, churches should think about how the social aspects of church pose hurdles for autistic people, van Ommen said.

Encounters with the welcome team at the door, navigating past groups of people to get to the worship center, finding a seat, and people unexpectedly chatting with them all are social stressors before the worship service even begins for autistic people, who “are constantly second-guessing social clues and what people say,” van Ommen said.

However, it’s a myth that autistic individuals only care about themselves or that if an “autistic person doesn’t initiate contact, they aren’t interested in me,” he continued.

Social interactions are “daunting but desired,” van Ommen said. Social situations can be difficult, but every autistic person he has worked with desires relationship, he added.

Thinking differently

Autistic people think differently from non-autistic people. One study participant described “seeing patterns, shapes and colors in the liturgy.”

If the liturgy was delivered well, she could participate in worship—seeing these colors shapes and patterns, even when she visited a liturgical service conducted in a language she did not speak, she reported.

But if it was delivered poorly, even when she could understand the words, the delivery kept her from seeing the patterns, colors and shapes necessary for her to worship, van Ommen said.

Autistic people are good at seeing theological practices as the social constructs they are and pointing out things that don’t quite ring true, van Ommen said.

“Autistic people are much more likely to stick up our hand and say: ‘That doesn’t make sense. Teach me that better,’” one study participant said.

Van Ommen said questions from autistic people aren’t always welcome, but we need to listen to autistic people’s theology.

“You don’t have to agree with it,” another autistic person said. “And you probably won’t. But I suppose my dream church would be one open to slightly different ways of looking at things, rather than imposing quite a neurotypical theology onto everybody.”

‘What you do is who you are’

In conclusion, van Ommen discussed the idea that what you do is who you are, or worship practices reflect and shape what worshippers believe.

The mother of an autistic person said, “If you were to analyze it, what happens in our services actually says a lot about what we think is normal, or what we are prepared to accept as normal, and it also says something about what we think is normal in God.”

So, van Ommen said, it is important to create space for autistic members of the body of Christ to feel loved and accepted—as is.

“I don’t want to take joy of the others away by accommodating me,” another participant said. “I just want people ‘to get me’. When I am not supported by the community, I cannot, in turn, give back to the community.”

The church cannot do without autistic people if Christians take 1 Corinthians 12:21-23 seriously, van Ommen said. In the body of Christ, those parts which might be considered weaker should be treated with the greatest esteem.

One autistic person commented: “We are treated as projects, not as people who can contribute. Yet we offer so much.”

Van Ommen suggested churches turn things around.

“What if we started to think about a church where autistic people are central and if the rest want to participate, great,” he said.

To learn more about the subject, find Léon van Ommen’s podcast here.

(RNS)—The well-known and beloved-by-many words of “How Great Thou Art” have had a long and varied trajectory from Swedish poem to German hymn to a tradition at Billy Graham crusades.

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the hymn’s popular English translation, Grammy-winning Christian singer-songwriter Matt Redman has teamed up with 15 other artists and released a new version, continuing the hymn’s transatlantic trek that has led it to be featured in countless hymnals and recorded on hundreds of albums.

“Someone wrote something out of the depths of their heart toward God, and then it got wings,” Redman said in a late February interview. “It’s just phenomenal to think—isn’t it?—that Elvis recorded this, and he gave it some extra wings. And then Carrie Underwood’s version is another version a lot of people talk about.”

Redman first sang and played the hymn as a teenage guitar player in an Anglican church in the English village of Chorleywood because, he said, its chord structure was easier to manage than other hymns. Now, he has added to the complex history of the hymn after being approached by the British charity that owns the copyright for it, the Stuart Hine Trust.

Hine was a British missionary who published the English words in his gospel magazine in 1949. He was inspired by a Russian hymn—which was based on an original Swedish poem—when he was traveling hundreds of miles via bicycle to distribute Bibles and preach through the Carpathian Mountains that traverse Eastern Europe.

Ukrainian aid tied to new verse

Redman worked with Australian native Mitch Wong on the commission of “How Great Thou Art (Until That Day),” which features a new verse, a different beat and a chance to provide humanitarian aid to Ukrainians and other Eastern Europeans in the midst of war.

“We decided we’re going to have the word ‘war’ in this hymn,” said Redman, who noted he thinks worship songs should not be considered “escapist” means to momentarily leave behind the problems of the world.

“Now, that’s not a normal kind of hymn word. It’s not something people often would think of singing on a Sunday morning, but it felt like an important word.”

The new stanza of the hymn reads: “Until that day / When heaven bids us welcome / And as we walk this broken warring world, / Your kingdom come, / Deliver us from evil, / And we’ll proclaim our God how great You are! / With hope we’ll sing our God how great You are!”

The hymn has been played over 2.5 million times on digital streaming platforms in the month since its release on Jan. 26 by Capitol CMG Publishing. Phil Loose, one of the trustees, said it is too soon to know how much money the recording has raised.

The Stuart Hine Trust, which has supported Christian outreach and Bible translation, intends to use the proceeds from the writing, production and royalties of the recording to provide humanitarian aid and support rebuilding efforts in Eastern Europe.

‘How Great Thou Art’ through the years

Over its lifetime, the hymn has faced moments of relative obscurity and waves of popularity. It dates to 1885 or 1886, when Swedish editor Carl Boberg got caught in a thunderstorm and wrote the first version, then titled “O Store Gud” (or “O Mighty God”), after marveling at the calm that followed the storm. It was published in a newspaper, then set to music in his country.

Though some of its history is hazy, music professor C. Michael Hawn wrote that an English translation made it into some hymnals but “never caught on.”

In the early 1900s, the words were translated into German and then Russian, which Hine heard sung while in the Eastern European mountains. He paraphrased the first two verses in English and was inspired to write the third and fourth verses of “How Great Thou Art” over a 14-year period, according to his trust’s website.

The website quotes him as writing, “The thoughts of the first three verses of How Great Thou Art! were born, line by line, amid my unforgettable experiences in those mountains.”

The fourth verse, which begins with the words, “When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation,” was written in 1948 to assuage the grief of Eastern Europeans after the end of World War II.

In the 1950s, the hymn began to have what Redman called a “wildfire moment” when singer George Beverly Shea started using it at the “crusades” of evangelist Billy Graham—including one at New York’s Madison Square Garden that was broadcast on television and lasted 16 consecutive weeks.

Shea wrote in his 2004 book, How Sweet the Sound: Amazing Stories and Grace-filled Reflections on Beloved Hymns and Gospel Songs, about how he changed the lyrics “consider all the works thy hands have made” to “consider all the worlds thy hands have made” and modified “I hear the mighty thunder” to “I hear the rolling thunder.”

“I got a bang when I used to hear Elvis Presley sing my two words,” he said in a Religion News Service interview about the rock-and-roll singer, who won his first Grammy for his 1967 rendition of the hymn and earned another for his 1974 live version of it.

Congregational hymn

Brian Hehn, director of The Hymn Society’s Center for Congregational Song, said the hymn lends itself to both congregational singing and solo and duet voices, as in Redman’s and Wong’s new version.

“I think it does point to the general singability of the song,” he said. “And that’s one of the reasons why it’s very popular, right? Because congregations can sing it. It feels good to sing.”

The hymn, which was popular in the society’s March Madness-type tournament in 2019, is sung both in churches that use contemporary Christian music and is featured in hymnals used in mainline Protestant, African American and Catholic churches.

Hehn notes the new version leaves out the second verse often found in hymnals, and the new verse moves more quickly to the hymn’s focus on a belief in the atonement of Jesus.

“The new stanza also acknowledges the tension between living in the ‘in between’ time where Christ’s victory over death has been completed and yet there is still death and sin because that final day when all tears are wiped away has not yet arrived,” Hehn added via email.

“With the nod towards that ‘in between’ time and the addition of the word ‘hope,’ they’ve transformed what was originally a song of praise appropriate for any season into what I read as an Advent hymn!” he wrote.

Collaborative effort on newest release

The latest version featured coast-to-coast logistics, with some of the contemporary Christian and country artists recording their parts in California and others in Tennessee at Nashville’s RCA Studio B, where Presley once recorded it.

Worship leader Chris Tomlin and country band Lady A’s Hillary Scott sing the first verse of the hymn, while Redman and producer Matt Maher sing the new last verse. Other sections include vocalists Naomi Raine of Maverick City Music, TAYA and Blessing Offor.

Jon Reddick, a worship pastor at Church of the City in the Nashville suburb of Franklin, was part of the recording session in California. He said he enjoyed both the “synergy” of the artists coming together and the chance to sing a song they knew but were also getting to learn in a new way with the additional verse.

“You’re in the room with people you even know and love and admire, or just getting to meet and still admire,” said Roddick, who expects to lead the new version in his congregation when he concludes his time on TobyMac’s Hits Deep Tour.

“It was creative. It was fun. It was spirit-filled. It was a moment.”

Redman said producers were challenged to figure out which voices to use for which parts of the hymn, as they asked each singer to perform more lines than the ones in which they are heard on the recording. Though the compiling of the recordings was like a “jigsaw puzzle,” he said, getting people into the studios was easier.

“When we approached all the people to be part of it, we had a lot of green lights very quickly,” he said, noting they came together for the music and the Ukraine-related mission. “You could tell how dearly they loved the hymn.”

(RNS)—A new report released Feb. 28 found roughly 3 in 10 Americans express some sympathy for Christian nationalism, with its greatest popularity concentrated in the Southeast and Upper Midwest.

The findings appear in a study from the Public Religion Research Institute, which probed public support for Christian nationalism as part of a broader survey of more than 22,000 adults.

To assess feelings about Christian nationalism, respondents were asked whether they completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree or completely disagree with five statements, including “the U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation” and “U.S. laws should be based on Christian values.”

PRRI broke out four categories depending on how people responded to the questions. Those most supportive of the ideology—10 percent of the country—were dubbed Adherents, followed by Sympathizers, who represent 20 percent of the country. Those who disagreed with the statements were classified as Skeptics (37 percent) or Rejecters (30 percent).

Christian nationalism by state

Mississippi and North Dakota showed the highest levels of support for Christian nationalism, with Adherents and Sympathizers making up 50 percent of those states. They are followed by Alabama (47 percent), West Virginia (47 percent), Louisiana (46 percent), Tennessee (45 percent), Kentucky (45 percent), Nebraska (45 percent) and Wyoming (45 percent).

States exhibiting the least support for Christian nationalism were Oregon (17 percent), Massachusetts (18 percent), Maryland (19 percent), New York (19 percent), New Jersey (20 percent) and Washington (20 percent).

Adherents make up 12 percent and Sympathizers make up 22 percent of Texas. Skeptics are the largest group in Texas at 39 percent, followed by Rejecters at 24 percent.

Voting patterns reflected the presence of Christian nationalist ideas as well. “Residents of red states are significantly more likely than those in blue states to hold Christian nationalist beliefs,” the report reads. Researchers later note, overall, nearly 4 in 10 residents of red states express support for Christian nationalism.

Christian nationalism by party

The survey also noted a strong correlation between support for Christian nationalism and support for the Republican Party, as well as for former President Donald Trump, who long has made appeals to Christian nationalists on the stump.

Last week, in addressing the annual gathering of National Religious Broadcasters, a disproportionately evangelical Christian group, Trump promised the crowd: “If I get in, you’re going to be using that power at a level that you’ve never used before.” He later added: “With your help and God’s grace, the great revival of America begins on Nov. 5.”

In PRRI’s survey, among those who hold favorable views of Trump, 55 percent qualify as Christian nationalists (21 percent Adherents and 34 percent Sympathizers). Only 15 percent (4 percent Adherents and 11 percent Sympathizers) of those who hold favorable views of President Joe Biden were identified as Christian nationalists.

“As the proportion of Christian nationalists in a state increases, the percentage of residents who voted for Trump in 2020 also increases,” the report reads. “If the analysis is restricted to white Americans only, the relationship between state-level support for Christian nationalism and votes for Trump in 2020 becomes even stronger.”

Christian nationalism by faith

The survey found support for Christian nationalism concentrated in two religious groups: white evangelical Protestants (66 percent) and Hispanic Protestants (55 percent).

Christians who ascribe to beliefs often associated with Pentecostals and charismatic Christianity—such as modern-day prophecy, spiritual healing and the prosperity gospel—were particularly drawn to the ideology.

Christian nationalism has been associated with political violence in part because of the ideology’s visible influence on the Capitol insurrection that took place on Jan. 6, 2021.

According to PRRI’s survey, there’s reason to suspect that association is not a coincidence: Christian nationalists are about twice as likely as other Americans to believe political violence may be justified, with 38 percent of Adherents and 33 percent of Sympathizers agreeing “because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence to save the country.”

The survey also offered a potential preview of how Christian nationalism—and the political coalitions associated with it—could end up shaping this year’s presidential election. Asked about immigration and access to guns, about 50 percent of Adherents said they would vote only for a candidate who shared their views on the issues.

But the most ardent Christian nationalists hardly will be the most powerful force come November. Asked about abortion, half of Rejectors—who alone nearly outnumber Adherents—said they were unwilling to support a candidate who differs from them on their mostly liberal abortion views.

This story was reported with support from the Stiefel Freethought Foundation. With additional reporting by Editor Eric Black.

(RNS)—When Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker issued his concurring opinion earlier this month in the court’s controversial ruling declaring frozen embryos children, he did so with an unapologetically religious flair.

The Feb. 16 ruling—which has resulted in all but halting in vitro fertilization procedures, which can use frozen embryos to help people become pregnant, in the state—drew on anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution to conclude embryos created during IVF have the same rights as children.

Parker, amid references to theologians and the Bible, concluded that by declaring frozen embryos children, Alabama was modeling a “theologically based view of the sanctity of life” that insists “human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.”

Parker may have presented his policy position as rooted in an authoritative Christian view, but he may be in the minority when it comes to his fellow religious Americans—including Christians.

Religious views on fertility treatments

While personal views on IVF are harder to assess, there seems to be broad familiarity with the practice among religious groups.

When Pew Research asked adult respondents last year whether they have used fertility treatments to have children or know anyone who has, white Catholics were the mostly likely to say yes (55 percent), followed by white mainline Protestants (48 percent), white evangelicals (44 percent)—all higher percentages than those who identified as atheist or claimed no particular religion (40 percent).

Hispanic Catholics (29 percent) and Black Protestants (26 percent) were the least likely to say they used fertility treatments or know someone who has, although Pew researchers told Religion News Service that finding “appears to be driven more by differences across race and ethnicity than religion.”

In addition, the researchers elsewhere noted wealthier people are more likely to say they’ve used fertility treatments or know someone who has, an “unsurprising” finding given the high cost of IVF, which can range from $15,000 to $20,000.

Some of the outspoken opinions on IVF fall along predictable lines, mirroring that of the abortion debate. Religious advocates for abortion rights support IVF, and the Catholic leadership opposes it.

Denominational views on IVF

But IVF is arguably a narrower issue: Even among religious groups that seek to ban abortion, many do not agree the destruction of frozen embryos is the same as taking a life. Some mainline denominations do not even have an official position on IVF, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Other groups openly have praised the practice, particularly more liberal-leaning mainline denominations.

The Episcopal Church has endorsed IVF since 1982, and the United Church of Christ passed a resolution at its 1989 General Assembly that referenced IVF before declaring the denomination “supports the rights of families to make decisions regarding their use of the reproductive technologies.”

“A lot has changed in the field of reproductive technologies since 1989, but our values have been consistent in this regard,” Rev. Shari Prestemon, the UCC’s current acting associate general minister, told RNS in a statement.

“We support the rights of individuals and families to make these very private decisions for themselves, and urge care and compassion for these families along what can often be such a painful and challenging journey,” Prestemon wrote.

Even denominations that have expressed ambivalence about abortion have nonetheless voiced openness to IVF.

Although the United Methodist Church has issued statements saying it is “reluctant to approve abortion” and declared in 2016 that people “should not create embryos with the sole intention of destroying them,” it grants an exception for IVF.

A UMC denominational resolution stated that “obtaining and fertilizing multiple ova may be justified” even if embryos are lost, because it helps “avoid the necessity of multiple attempts to obtain ova.”

Religious reactions to Alabama ruling

Religious advocates for abortion rights were among the first to voice outrage over the Alabama court’s ruling, arguing it furthers a disputed theological claim about when life begins—one not shared by all religious Americans.

“I don’t think anyone could make a biblical claim about this because the technology of IVF is very modern,” said Rev. Katey Zeh, the head of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a group that advocates for abortion rights.

“There’s a huge spectrum of theological opinion about when life begins or when personhood begins,” she told RNS in an interview. “There’s no consensus here, so there’s a lot of hubris in claiming—especially in the legal standing—that this is the theological viewpoint of an entire religious tradition. That’s certainly not true.”

Zeh argued opposition to IVF often is fueled by broader faith-based campaigns against abortion, with some religious leaders and activists insisting the destruction of unused frozen embryos is tantamount to an abortion.

Some religious institutions, such as the Catholic Church, have enveloped opposition to IVF into their larger anti-abortion stance.

A 1998 document promoted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops deemed the discarding of unused embryos in IVF is “a terrible offense against human life,” arguing that while a baby may still be born, “other lives are usually snuffed out in the process.”

Evangelical support for IVF

Meanwhile, Southern Baptists such as Andrew T. Walker, a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, have called on the denomination to adopt an official resolution addressing IVF at its next convention later this year.

“When you consider the moral goods that Scripture holds as inseverable for where conception ought to occur, IVF is ruled out,” Walker posted on X earlier this month.

But there is even some evidence evangelicals support IVF, at least according to Republican officials.

In the wake of the Alabama ruling, the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent out a memo discouraging candidates from voicing agreement with the decision. According to Politico, the memo cited a survey conducted in October by a consulting firm associated with Kellyanne Conway, former President Donald Trump’s onetime senior counselor, that found 83 percent of evangelicals support IVF.

Attempts to reach the polling firm associated with Conway, The Polling Co., were unsuccessful.

For advocates such as Zeh, the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling, which already has ground IVF procedures to a halt in many parts of Alabama, crosses a moral line by putting infertility treatments even further out of reach.

“It just feels so similar to rulings about abortion—the lack of regard to the people whose lives are actually impacted,” she said. “As a person of faith, that’s what feels so immoral to me.”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—The Christian production company Revelation Media will unveil its new animated Bible project on Easter, with the first segment aiming to depict the stories of the Book of Genesis in a child-friendly way.

Watching the iBible will appeal to digital natives more than reading Scripture, said Steve Cleary, executive director and producer of the series.

“We want kids to read their Bible, but if we don’t reach them in a visual manner, we’re seeing the result. They don’t. They’re not reading their Bible,” he said.

He believes short attention spans and a growing aversion to reading are making it impossible for kids to get interested in the Bible. Churches are late to the party when it comes to finding creative ways to interest internet-savvy kids in biblical texts, Cleary said.

His solution is to reach young kids where they are—on screens. From the creation story to the death of Joseph, the 42 episodes will tell stories from the Old Testament in hopes of increasing a younger generation’s biblical literacy.

This animated Bible translation, the first of its kind, he said, strives to be a “legitimate Bible translation.” All scripts of the seven-minute episodes are approved by the Summer Institute of Linguistics, an evangelical nonprofit that rates the accuracy of Bible translations.

‘You’ll never forget what you see’

The episodes, which are planned to depict the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, were also reviewed by Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, Pentecostal and Methodist clergy members. The entire project is expected to take years to complete.

In the meantime, an episode titled “The Real Story of Jesus” is already available for users who want to skip to the Gospels. Each episode is also followed by a discussion prompt for kids to consider.

With a background in animation—Cleary co-produced the animated “The Pilgrim’s Progress” in 2019—he said he’s seen the power of visual learning for Generation Z and Generation Alpha.

 “You can read something dramatic and easily forget it. But you’ll never forget what you see,” said Cleary, who has recruited around 50 people to work on the project now.

The 500,000 viewers who watched “Pilgrim’s Progress” during the COVID-19 lockdown were also the first to hear about the iBible project via email, and their monetary donations supported the project’s early days. According to a Revelation Media press release, the entire iBible project will require $25 million in funding.

Touching on taboo topics

Cleary said translating the Bible in short animation clips allows pastors and parents to touch on taboo topics with kids.

For a long time, the iBible team was torn on how to tell stories of violence and abuse appropriately for kids. The first feedback from parents on the episode depicting the rape of Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, convinced the project team that showing these parts of the Scriptures was essential. It also forces churches to have tough but essential discussions with kids.

“If we’re going to do the whole story, we can’t shy away from that,” said Cleary, before adding, “The hard stories ended up being the biggest benefit, honestly, to getting churches involved.”

The first episodes will be available in English, Swahili, Hindi, Spanish, Farsi and Bulgarian. Cleary hopes it will be translated into more languages soon and distributed in hundreds of countries.

Translators from all over the globe joined the project. The Ukrainian team working from Lviv since 2022, before the war with Russia broke out, said it has pursued its efforts despite being psychologically impacted by the war.

“Our mission transcends the challenges we face,” said the team’s manager, according to a Revelation media press release.