News

20% of Polling Places Are in Churches. We Mapped Them.

Here’s where 12,875 houses of worship serve democracy.

Getty / Spencer Platt

When Americans go to the polls, they go to town halls, high school gyms, fire stations, and churches. There are more than 60,000 polling places in America, and roughly one out of every five is located in a church.

Conflicts over the correct relationship between religious communities and the state frequently grab headlines. But church polling places are rarely controversial. Here, governments rely on churches to be safe, trusted civic spaces. And 12,875 houses of worship extend hospitality to their neighbors, opening their doors for elections.

Data by Daniel Silliman | Infograph by Jared Boggess

Also in this issue

Our cover story this month examines the career of a relatively unknown linguist whose life is a microcosm of the transformation that global Bible translation has undergone in the past half century. Also in this issue: Why religious moderates aren’t winning elections, the next-gen leaders of the Vineyard, and the sin of cutting corners.

Cover Story

The Woman Who Gave the World a Thousand Names for God

Christian Aid Agencies Have a New Approach to Famine

Online Seminary Isn’t B-League

After the Boomers, New Leaders Bring New Life to the Vineyard

Come On, Let Us Adore Him

Testimony

Before I Got Saved, I Got Shipped Off and Strung Out

Negligence Is a Deadly Sin

Found on Bushes? No!

Editorial

Where the Unborn Are People

Political Empathy Takes Work

Bring Back Altar Calls

5 Books on the History of Christian Parenting in America

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Moral Middle Candidates Want to Save America (But They Keep Losing)

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Evangelical School Strikes Deal with Chick-fil-A Franchises

What Does the End of ‘Roe v. Wade’ Require of Us?

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What the First Black Death Victim Wanted the World to Know

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Migrants to Europe Are Changing Churches

The Rise of the Pentecostal Fusionists

Review

If We Can’t Reason Together, How Can We Worship Together?

Review

Faith and Doubt Aren’t Black and White

New & Noteworthy Fiction

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