More God, Less Crime: Why Faith Matters and How It Could Matter More Byron R. Johnson. Templeton, $26.95 (288p) ISBN 978-1-59947-373-4 In 2006, total expenditures for the U.S. criminal justice system exceeded $214 billion. This cost did not include the social or psychological impact of crime or the loss of revenue from the incarceration of [...]

The John Williams Show May 11, 2011 Criminologist Dr. Byron Johnson from Baylor University joined John Hines this morning to talk about his book “More God, Less Crime.” You can buy his book right here. TO LISTEN TO INTERVIEW

Thomas S. Kidd’s God of Liberty receives Award of Merit from Christianity Today 2011 Book Awards Our judging began with 427 titles submitted by 62 publishers. Christianity Today’s editors selected finalists in each category, and our judges determined the books that best offer insights into the people, events, and ideas that shape evangelical life, thought, [...]

Toward a Criminology of Religion: Comment on Johnson and Jang by Francis T. Cullen “Johnson and Jang make a persuasive case that religion is an empirically established predictor of antisocial conduct…a potentially useful target for change in interventions with offenders.” “The study of religion should be an integral part of the criminological enterprise and vibrant [...]

11-01-10 History News Network op-ed What Did Jefferson Mean By “Wall of Separation”? By Thomas S. Kidd The media cannot seem to get enough of Delaware’s Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell.  For better or worse, she embodies an energized populist Christian wave, the core of the Tea Party movement, seemingly poised to crash against the [...]

USA TODAY, Americans’ views of God shape attitudes on key issues by Cathy Lynn Grossman Surveys say about nine out of 10 Americans believe in God, but the way we picture that God reveals our attitudes on economics, justice, social morality, war, natural disasters, science, politics, love and more, say Paul Froese and Christopher Bader, [...]

History News Network op-ed by  Thomas S. Kidd The founding fathers saw the American people’s faith and knowledge as integral to the well-being of the republic.  Religion, they believed, teaches people about their moral obligations before God and the fundamental equality of all people, while good education trains us in the enlightening wisdom of the ages.  If [...]

The famous Beatles song professes that “all you need is love.” In his new book, Divine Love: Perspectives from the World’s Religious Traditions, Baylor University’s Dr. Jeff Levin describes how a common core value of most of the world’s major faith traditions is the imperative of a loving relationship with God. To love God and to externalize this love through acts of justice, mercy and kindness is a vision that lies at the center of traditions as diverse as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism.

New book Jesus Wars by Baylor historian explores how world view of Jesus Christ was shaped “Who do you say that I am?” asked Jesus of his disciples. And the rest of humankind has been struggling to answer that question ever since. Nowhere has answering this question been more divisive and more of a struggle than in resolving the tension between two seemingly rival claims: Jesus was both fully human and fully divine, and Jesus was only fully divine.

Baylor Media Communications Jan. 22, 2007 Media Contact: Julie Carlson, senior staff writer, (254) 710-6681 Researchers with Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR have completed a case study that examines the success obtained by the state of Ohio’s faith-based and community initiatives. The case study provides an overview of the Ohio programs and [...]