Rev. Kia Granberry is a minister and entrepreneur. A proud alumna of Clark Atlanta University she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Psychology. After finishing at Clark Atlanta, she took a master degree from the University of Chicago.Leaving Chicago, Kia came home to Memphis and was the first woman licensed to preach the gospel at her church. She also became on of the youngest executives for a major non-profit benefitting troubled youth in foster care. She left the... Read more

By PETER MANSEAUReligion Dispatches The controversy surrounding the Obama administration’s birth-control mandate is not the first time the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops have found themselves enmeshed in a dispute concerning religious liberty. In an earlier flare-up sparked by the friction of Catholic doctrine and constitutional freedoms, however, liberty was not a rallying cry for the bishops—it was a problem. In a pair of papal encyclicals written at the end of the nineteenth century, Pope Leo XIII expressed ambivalence about the... Read more

By Sam Fulwood IIIGrio.com Within a one-mile radius of my house, there are more places to pray than there are Starbucks coffee shops. I know this because I tried to count each of them.After an hour’s walk around my neighborhood, I lost count of the many churches (in a multitude of denominations), synagogues (no less than five in one two-block stretch), temples, and mosques. That doesn’t even include the storefront places that advertise religious services of some sort. There were... Read more

With Republican presidential front-runner Rick Santorum, it’s hard to decide what is more alarming, his know-nothingism or his dishonesty. In recent days, he has put on displays of both, decrying President Barack Obama’s advocacy for higher learning and distorting John F. Kennedy’s 1960 appeal for religious tolerance. Like many on the Right, Santorum also selectively disregards the founding principles of the United States, which include government neutrality on religion. In one speech, Santorum said he “almost threw up” when reading... Read more

Mitt Romney won the Arizona Republican primary by a large margin and secured a narrow victory in the Michigan Republican primary. In both states, Romney’s support among born-again/evangelical voters was weaker than among non-evangelicals, continuing the pattern from previous primaries and caucuses in other states.Rick Santorum, who finished second in both Arizona and Michigan, received his strongest support from evangelicals and from voters who said it matters a “great deal” to them that a candidate shares their religious beliefs, according to results from... Read more

The GOP candidates’ struggle to outdo each other in appealing to Christian fundamentalists continues. Rick Santorum, the current favorite of this constituency, topped his previous plays with his remark that John F. Kennedy’s famed 1960 speech on the importance of a separation between religion and government “makes me throw up.” The separation of church and state is not some abstract notion, nor is it a means of oppressing people. It very reasonably keeps people from imposing their religious beliefs on... Read more

Dr. Andre E. Johnson, the Dr. James L Netters Professor of Rhetoric & Religion and African American Studies at Memphis Theological Seminary, will offer a new class for the fall term titled: “Theologian in Chief: The President as Pastor, Prophet and Priest.” He will teach the class on Monday nights from 5:30pm-8:30pm. The class will also coincide with the 2012 presidential election in which religion, religious rhetoric and rhetorical constructions of faith figures to play a prominent role. The course description reads:... Read more

Dr. Weldon McWilliams is an ordained minister and currently serves as a professor at Cheney University. In addition to this he is also the Interim Director of the Calling Me MISTER (Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role-Modeling) program. This program is designed to increase the production of African-American male role models in the areas of mentorship, leadership, and becoming teachers within the public school system. Dr. McWilliams has served on several panels and served as speaker to many events nationwide.... Read more

by Sikivu Hutchinson When President Obama wants to burnish his credentials amongst African Americans he knows he will always be welcome in one place: a black church from central casting. From scripture spewing politicians to high octane Baptist gospel choirs to the ubiquitous prayer circle and Tyler Perry’s bible-thumping Madea caricature, religion and black culture are virtually synonymous in the American popular imagination. According to the Pew Research Center 87% of African Americans are religious, making them among the most... Read more

Brian Foulks is a church planter/ lead pastor, an urban missionary, and a social activist. He has a passion for those nestled in the cortex of Hip Hop and church. Known for being an advocate for invading the culture with the truth of the scripture. He is considered to be a hybrid of the faith-connecting the seminary with the block, the unorthodox, hip hop culture with some of the liturgical aesthetics of the church. His mission is based on a... Read more