When the church itself needs saving / Michelle Boorstein

"When the church is inward-looking, it's dying," Long said. "In the developing world, where it's outward-looking, it's exploding."

[Article]

Walking away from church / Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell

Robert D. Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard University, and David E. Campbell, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, are the authors of "American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us."

[Article]

Loving Christ, leaving church / Ronnie McBrayer

"There is recognition, however, by many leavers of institutional religion that the church is not a sponge. It is a rock. Drop it in the bucket, and it cannot soak up and squeeze out the love of God. That love rolls over the surface and cannot penetrate. Therefore it cannot be transferred to others. When the people of God do not display the love of God, then for the sake of God, leaving is the only option for some."

Addressing anti-LGBT bullying: something all Christians can support ~ Sirdeaner Walker

["Homophobic bullying and harassment is all too common. And too often school officials do not recognize this kind of bullying and harassment as unacceptable."]

Coming (and Being) “Out” as a Spiritual Path ~ Jorge M. Cino

["The idea that coming out is a defining spiritual moment in a person’s life is not something you’ll find in mainstream LGBT discourse."]

On Faith: Has man earned our confidence?

["If man does not bear the divine image, what is the warrant for treating human life any differently than animal life?"]

'Indifference' may be church's best hope ~ Lois Lee

["...participation in the Christian church, the church she had rejected, was hard to tolerate; she either became angry with the church or the religion, or she became angry with herself, with what she saw as her own hypocrisy in participating in it – hypocrisy she did not feel in other religious contexts. In the end, she simply tried to avoid the Christian church altogether."]

The good news about the end of Christian America

["...not much had changed since Mahatma Ghandi said, 'Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.'"]
by Gabe Lyons via The Washington Post

How secularism led to religious illiteracy

[The Washington Post]

Thought-provoking take on the importance of understanding other religious belief systems as well as your own.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell the Church

["...the church’s absolute inability to deal with its own humanity and it’s culture of image-projection over truth."]