The 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial” in Tennessee, where a teacher was prosecuted for teaching evolution, continues to influence debates on religion in public schools.

The 1925 Scopes monkey trial famously put the spotlight on evolution and appeared to mark a defeat for biblical fundamentalism.

Vice President JD Vance recently cited medieval Catholic theology in justifying the immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump.

Conservative lawmakers across the U.S. are pushing to introduce more Christianity to public school classrooms, testing the separation of church and state.

Lore Segal, an esteemed Austrian American author and translator, has died at 96.

Oklahoma’s Bixby school district has lots to show off for a fast-growing Tulsa suburb, including a state-of-the-art new high school and plans for a $12 million upgrade to its football complex.

Palm Sunday will be celebrated by Christians worldwide this Sunday.

In March 2020, a tornado destroyed the Rev. Jacques Boyd’s Nashville church.

The head of the Catholic church in China has begun a trip to Hong Kong at the invitation of the city’s pope-appointed Roman Catholic cardinal, marking the first official visit by a Beijing bishop in history.

A man accused of threatening to hit a woman with a large Bible before stealing her purse was quickly arrested Tuesday night, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.

House Republicans have renewed an investigation into the art dealings of Hunter Biden, pushing for details as part of the party’s long-promised probe of President Joe Biden and his family.

Standing next to his father, who held a Bible for his son to take the oath of office, Reggie Gaffney Jr. on Monday officially became a Jacksonville city councilman and will serve District 7.

Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention say that several of their denomination’s major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Top Southern Baptists have released a previously secret list of hundreds of pastors and other church-affiliated personnel accused of sexual abuse.

Top Southern Baptists have released a previously secret list of hundreds of pastors and other church-affiliated personnel accused of sexual abuse.

A post made on the Lavilla School of the Arts’ Facebook page about “Bring Your Bible to School Day” is raising concerns, and some have been voicing those concerns on social media.

A federal judge has dismissed a majority of the claims filed by activists and civil liberties groups who accused the Trump administration of violating the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed by police using chemical agents from a park near the White House.

An internal investigation has determined that the decision to clear racial justice protesters from an area in front of the White House last summer wasn't influenced by then-President Donald Trump’s plans to stage a Bible-toting photo opportunity at that spot.

All month long we celebrated mom, asking what's the best advice your mom ever gave you.

FILE - In this Tuesday, June 11, 2019 file photo, Janene Cates Putman of Athens, Tenn., holds a sign during a demonstration outside the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Julie Bennett)Emily Snook is the daughter of a Southern Baptist pastor. For many SBC women, even those committed to staying, the topic of gender became more volatile this month when popular Bible teacher Beth Moore said she no longer considered herself Southern Baptist. Yet she is among a number of SBC women publicly sharing their dismay about sex abuse and the vitriol directed at Moore. But she says many Southern Baptist women, including students of hers, were unsettled by the criticism of Moore.

All rights reservedNEW YORK – The first inaugurations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama were the only ones to exceed Joe Biden's in popularity among television viewers over the past 40 years. Reagan's festivities in 1981 drew 41.8 million viewers, and Obama's 2009 inaugural reached 37.8 million, Nielsen said. CNN was the most popular network for inaugural viewers, Nielsen said. ABC had 3.4 million, Fox had 2.7 million, NBC had 2.5 million, Univision had 1.2 million, while Ion Television and Telemundo each averaged 1.1 million viewers. MSNBC had 2.67 million, Fox News Channel had 2.56 million, TNT had 1.19 million and HGTV had 1.1 million.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)Joe Biden and Kamala Harris showcased American designers at their inauguration Wednesday, and Harris gave a nod to women's suffrage, Shirley Chisholm and her beloved sorority in pearls and purple. Pearls had a strong fashion showing, in line with a social media campaign that had inauguration watchers donning strands in support and celebration of Harris. “If there’s a message to be taken from today’s inauguration fashion, it’s that those who attended are signaling faith in unity and bipartisanship, as well as restoring truth and trust,” Torgerson said. Another inauguration fashion star on Twitter was Nikolas Ajagu, the husband of Harris' niece, Meena Harris. It was updated on January 21, 2021, to correct the fact that Meena Harris is Vice President Kamala Harris’ niece, not her sister.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON – The Latest on Joe Biden's presidential inauguration (all times local):10:15 p.m.Fireworks lit up the sky behind the Washington Monument to mark the end of Inauguration Day for President Joe Biden. The Senate has voted to confirm Avril Haines as the new director of national intelligence, giving President Joe Biden the first member of his Cabinet. Workers removed the giant sign from the department’s C Street lobby on Wednesday shortly after President Joe Biden was inaugurated. The highest-ranking Black member of Congress says former President George W. Bush lauded his role as a “savior” in helping get President Joe Biden elected to the White House. Former President Donald Trump flew to Florida before Biden was sworn into office.

Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as her husband Doug Emhoff holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris broke the barrier that has kept men at the top ranks of American power for more than two centuries when she took the oath Wednesday to hold the nation's second-highest office. With Trump absent from the inauguration, Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, took on the symbolic duty of escorting former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, out of the Capitol. To celebrate the historic day, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the nation’s oldest sorority for Black women, which Harris joined at Howard University, declared Wednesday as Soror Kamala D. Harris Day. “Today, we mark the swearing in of the first woman in American history elected to national office, Vice President Kamala Harris.

(Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP)WASHINGTON – Amy Coney Barrett was formally sworn in Tuesday as the Supreme Court's ninth justice, her oath administered in private by Chief Justice John Roberts. The court is weighing a plea from President Donald Trump to prevent the Manhattan district attorney from acquiring his tax returns. Northeastern Pennsylvania's Luzerne County filed legal papers at the court Tuesday arguing that Barrett should not take part in the Pennsylvania case. The court put off acting on both cases before Barrett joined the court, without offering any explanation in the Mississippi case. As she settles into her new office at the court, Barrett will be joined by four law clerks, usually recent law school graduates who have experience working for federal judges.

Hannah Carson reads from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes inside her Charlotte, N.C., apartment on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. At 90-year-old, Carson reads her Bible daily, particularly her favorite verse detailing the different seasons of life. As soon as she received her absentee ballot in the mail six weeks ago, she filled it out and sent it back to her local election office. (AP Photo/Sarah Blake Morgan)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local teen is spreading love throughout Duval by customizing and donating shoes to the homeless community in downtown Jacksonville. Julien Gasca, 16, has a goal to raise awareness about homelessness in our city and inspire more people to give. “I know people in need feel like they are struggling and there’s no hope. The First Coast High School student plans to continue these acts of kindness for years to come. Click here to visit his YouTube channel.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Senate Republican filed a proposal Monday that would require high schools to offer elective courses in the study of the Bible and religion. Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, filed the bill (SB 746) for consideration during the 2020 legislative session, which starts Jan. 14. Rep. Kimberly Daniels, D-Jacksonville, filed an identical bill (HB 341) last month in the House. The bill, in part, would require courses providing an "objective study of the Bible, including, but not limited to, a course on the Hebrew Scriptures and Old Testament of the Bible; a course on the New Testament of the Bible; and a course on the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament of the Bible, and the New Testament of the Bible." Also, the bill says courses would be required to follow "all state and federal laws and guidelines in maintaining religious neutrality and accommodating the diverse religious views, traditions, and perspectives of all students in the school.

Kanye West took the teachings of the Bible to heart while making his new album, Jesus Is King. In a candid, three-hour long interview with Beats 1's Zane Lowe on Apple Music on Thursday, West opened up about the strict conditions he asked those close to him to work under while making the album. There were times where I was asking people not to have premarital sex while they were working on the album," he shared, acknowledging how "radical" the request was. West also opened up about his addiction to pornography during the interview, explaining that he's trying to "kick the habit." RELATED CONTENT:Kanye West Talks 'Jesus Is King,' Christmas Album and Presidential Run in New Beats 1 InterviewKanye West Previews New Album 'Jesus Is King' and Raps About Chick-Fil-A

Win McNamee/Getty ImagesJACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A newly proposed bill in Florida would require public school districts across the state to offer Bible study courses as high school electives. The bill, 'Study of the Bible and Religion,' was filed last week by State Rep. Kimberly Daniels, a Democrat who represents the Jacksonville area. Under the bill, schools districts would be required to "offer specified courses relating to religion, Hebrew Scriptures, and the Bible to certain students as elective courses." The courses would include:An objective study of religion An objective study of the Bible, including, but not limited to, a course on the Hebrew Scriptures and Old Testament of the Bible, a course on the New Testament of the Bible, and a course on the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament of the Bible, and the New Testament of the Bible. The courses would be offered to high school students in grades 9 through 12.

HONEA PATH, S.C. - A Ford dealership is offering customers a Bible, flag and gun voucher during their "God, guns and America" promotion, WDIV reports. Carolina Ford, in Honea Path, South Carolina, is getting national attention for the promotion, according to WSPA. "You purchase a vehicle [and] you will be actually leaving the dealership with a Bible and your American flag. We will give a voucher to you to go to a local reputable gun store," Carolina Ford General Manager Derrick Hughes told the TV station. The gun store told WSPA they aren't giving away guns and those who want to use the voucher would need to pass a background check.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Using the power of prayer, a congregation gathered Thursday evening at the Jacksonville Beach Pier to keep Dorian away from Jacksonville, and tell the storm to "calm down." "We're coming out here as group of believers like we did 2 years ago for Hurricane Irma," Mary Paker said. News4Jax was there in 2017 when the group gathered at the same time, in the same place as it did on Thursday night. "We were overcome by social media response and what others do in their own town and beaches." Meteorologists are pretty sure Hurricane Dorian will be a major storm when it hits Florida around Labor Day, but they don't yet know exactly where it will strike.

A Michigan church advertising for their upcoming movie series certainly got more attention than they expected. The NORTHIRON Church in Ishpeming built a massive Lego man to advertise their annual movie series, which combines films with the Bible. To kickstart the series, they picked The Lego Movie, and the attention has been divine. The pastor and the church community came together to build the massive Lego man and placed it in front of the house of worship. 150-Year-Old Bible Survives Church Fire UnscathedBibles, Crosses Miraculously Survive Church Fire UntouchedRetired Cop Converts Old Church Into Boxing Gym to Help Mentor Kids

UNION COUNTY, Fla. – The mood started with a humorous moment when the Union County judge forgot to grab his Bible. And with that, a new sheriff was sworn in Friday. "It is a very emotional day," said Sheriff Brad Whitehead, whose father died last month. Union County Sheriff Jerry WhiteheadIt's a touching moment for those who knew and love all three men. Even though the first day of a new job can be nerve-racking, there's no doubt the people of Union County have put great faith in their new leader.