ERLC Staff

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention has initiated a strategic effort to leverage the current Republican majorities in Congress and the executive branch to defund Planned Parenthood by eliminating the organization’s federal funding. The ERLC is mobilizing Southern Baptists to achieve this objective during the ongoing congressional reconciliation process, through various means, including a public sign-on letter.

As results continue to come in, here are three additional takeaways about the election and how the results are likely to affect issues of life, religious liberty and marriage and family.

Israel launched direct strikes against Iran on October 26, 2024, in retaliation for Tehran’s ballistic missile attack earlier in the month. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducted operations against military installations in Iran, targeting sites in at least three provinces, including Tehran, Ilam, and Khuzestan. The IDF military confirmed that the assault focused on military installations, explicitly excluding energy facilities, such as nuclear power plants. These strikes were described as a response to “months of continuous attacks” from Iran and its affiliates.

In June, the United States Supreme Court announced it would hear the case of United States v. Skrmetti, a lawsuit joined by the Biden administration against a Tennessee law prohibiting all medical procedures intended to “affirm” a gender inconsistent with a minor’s biological sex. The law provides necessary protection to children under the age of 18 from harmful and dangerous “gender transition” medical procedures like hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgery that carry devastating, lifelong consequences. 

Christians are called to stand for life and seek justice for the most vulnerable among us—and one of the ways we can do that is by praying for life. In prayer, we can unite for the sanctity of life, focusing on the preborn, their families, and the many individuals involved in tirelessly promoting a culture of life in our world today. Let us pray with hope, faith, and love, trusting in God’s sovereignty and reflecting his heart for our neighbors.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- In June, the United States Supreme Court announced it would hear the case of United States v. Skrmetti, a lawsuit joined by the Biden administration against a Tennessee law prohibiting all medical procedures intended to “affirm” a gender inconsistent with a minor’s biological sex. The law provides necessary protection to children under the age of 18 from harmful and dangerous “gender transition” medical procedures like hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgery that carry devastating, lifelong consequences. 

Shortly after President Joe Biden formally ended his pursuit of the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, following weeks of pressure from party officials, elected leaders and donors, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the nominee.

Throughout the world, many Christians face imprisonment or even death for expressing dissenting religious beliefs. Today, such persecution often comes at the hands of other religions such as Islam and Hindu nationalism. But in early modern Europe, religious conformity was often enforced by state power and by the hands of believers in Christ.

On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court decided on a vote of 5-4 not to rule on whether there is a conflict between the Idaho pro-life law, the “Defense of Life Act,” and federal law. The court dismissed the case as “improvidently granted,” meaning the court determined they should not have initially taken up the case.

Following the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, the issue of abortion rights has taken center stage in state-level politics.