In 1993, the US Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Since the Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that the RFRA applied only to the federal government, some 20 states since then have passed their own RFRAs. Another dozen states have adopted RFRA-style protections in other ways. Probably the most important invocation of an RFRA, in a federal case, was Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which reached the Supreme Court last year. Recently Indiana passed its own RFRA, which has created a firestorm. The law establishes that the state ?may not substantially burden? a person?s free exercise of religion unless ?it is essential to further a compelling governmental interest? and ?the least restrictive means? of doing so.

On 17 March 2015, the Presbyterian Church (USA) [PCUSA] voted to change the definition of marriage within the PCUSA constitution to include same-sex marriage. The language of the constitution was changed from ?a man and a woman? to ?two people, traditionally a man and a woman.? The PCUSA thus joins other denominations/religious associations that permit their clergy to perform same-sex marriages: the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Quakers, and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Churches, and both Reform and Conservative Judaism.

Fifty years ago (1965), Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a sociologist, Assistant Secretary of Labor, and later one of the most important U.S. Senators of the 20th century, wrote a controversial but prescient report on the importance of the family for African-American children: The Negro Family: The Case For National Action (aka the Moynihan Report). It focused on the deep roots of black poverty in America and concluded controversially that the relative absence of nuclear families would greatly hinder further progress toward economic and political equality.

In 2011, British author E.L. James self-published Fifty Shades of Grey. Vintage Books acquired the publishing rights of the book and Hollywood released a movie adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey this Valentine?s Day. The book and movie chart the fictional romance of a recent college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and billionaire businessman, Christian Grey. In both the book and the movie are explicitly erotic scenes, which also feature sexual practices of BDSM (bondage/discipline, dominance/submission and sado/masochism).

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recently reported that about one-third of American girls become pregnant as teenagers. He further summarizes some other staggering statistics:

With the controversy between Jews and Muslims over the 37-acre compound called Temple Mount brewing these last few months, the Palestinian Liberation Organization made an extraordinary decision that defies all logic and history: The name used by Jews for this site?Temple Mount?the PLO declared to be ?null and void.? They stipulated that the site can only be called Al Aqsa Mosque or the Noble Sanctuary. [A lesser known Arabic name for the site is Bait al-Maqdis, ?house of the holy.?] For Islam, this is where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven, where his role as Allah?s Prophet was affirmed. The controversy over the site the Jews call Temple Mount is over more than sovereignty or the title of the site.

Having children through surrogacy is increasingly common in the United States, especially the practice of paying women to carry a baby for you. But, other than the United States, only a few countries (e.g., India, Thailand, Ukraine, Mexico) permit paid surrogacy. Thus, there is a significant and growing number of people?generally affluent people?who are coming to the US from Europe, Asia and Australia to have a child via surrogacy. Indeed, as Tamar Lewin of the New York Times reports, ?many large surrogacy agencies in the United States say international clients?gay, straight, married or single?provide the bulk of their business.?

The mantra of ?settled science? when it comes to climate change is uttered on the national media, by President Obama and by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). For these folks the matter is settled; there is no more need for debate or discussion on the causes of climate change. For them, the next urgent matter is a change in public policy that immediately mandates significant reductions in greenhouse emissions (e.g., from the burning of coal). Is it ?settled science?? Do we need aggressive laws that reduce carbon emissions? What should public policy be when it comes to managing climate change?

The Youth Ministry model American churches have followed since World War II has not been a terribly effective one. It has not enhanced parent-teen relationships and has actually fostered a superficial, shallow Christianity among many young adults. Consciously or unconsciously, when children reach age 12 or so, parents ?hand them off? to the youth leader, in effect saying, ?I?m done; now you take over.? Often this model stresses fun, huge events (e.g., ski trips, retreats, wild antics, and occasional mission trips), but has little focus on the Bible, mentoring or a disciplined walk with God.

The emergence of the Islamic State (aka ISIS or ISIL) is an important development within militant Islam. Since 9/11 America?s terrorist focus has been on al Qaeda, but no longer. We are learning more about ISIS and it is now possible to place this radical Islamic faction in context with a clear ideology and doctrine.