The Price of Religious Advocacy in D.C.

More religious groups are spending more money on political lobbying than ever before.

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This article appeared in the February, 2012 issue of Christianity Today as "Spotlight".

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

February

Christianity Today February, 2012

Cover Story

The Best Ways to Fight Poverty—Really

Cover Story

Cost-Effective Compassion: The 10 Most Popular Strategies for Helping the Poor

Bruce Wydick

Review

John Stott: A Uniter and a Divider

Collin Hansen

Excerpt

Beauty Will Save The World

Brian Zahnd

Public Theology Project

A Purpose-Driven Cosmos: Why Jesus Doesn't Promise Us an 'Afterlife'

Russell D. Moore

Wilson's Bookmarks

John Wilson

Liberty Balance

Mark Moring

News

Sex Offender Misstep Illustrates Outreach Difficulties

Ken Walker

Flaming Truth: Recalling Francis Schaeffer's Challenge

Chuck Colson and Timothy George

News

Teaching Natural Theology as Climate Changes Drown a Way of Life

Ruth Moon

News

Go Figure

Compiled by Ted Olsen

The Other Prodigal Son

Letters to the Editor

News

Pro-life Advocates Cheer State Court Rulings, Parliament Reaffirms Church De-Regulations, and More News

Editorial

You Can't Worship Here: Evicting Churches from New York Schools

A Christianity Today Editorial

A Rueful Meditation

Andy Whitman

Two Minutes With ... Jaci Velasquez

Mark Moring

My Top 5 Silent Movies

Frederica Mathewes-Green, CT film critic (with a nod to 2011's The Artist)

Finding God in the Sewers

Brett McCracken

Review

Schoolhouse Divided

Matt Reynolds

How biblical is it to be pro-life and support the death penalty?

David P. Gushee, Richard Land, Glen Stassen

News

Does motive matter if a ministry is doing good deeds?

Compiled by Ruth Moon

How to Help

David Neff, Editor in Chief

Community Chaste

Interview by Marlena Graves

More Media

My Top 5 Books By Charles Dickens

Gary Colledge, author of the forthcoming 'God and Charles Dickens' (Brazos Press)

Books to Note

News

After Komen, the Next Big Planned Parenthood Fight

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

News

Out of Africa

Bobby Ross Jr.

News

Passages

News

Pink Stink: Komen Drops Planned Parenthood Support

Sarah Pulliam Bailey and Ted Olsen

News

Quotation Marks

Compiled by Ted Olsen

Masculinity in the Movies

Mark Moring

Critics' Choice Movie Awards of 2011

The Most Redeeming Films of 2011

Our Latest

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on April 08, 2026.

Threatening Profound Evil Trivializes That Evil

Justin R. Hawkins

President Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth speak often of Christianity—but they seem to have no interest in its vision for just warfare.

Iranian soldiers, rubble, and a person praying.

The Iranian Church Persists

David Yeghnazar

Amid war, some Christians are evangelizing, preparing food for neighbors, and displaying other acts of generosity.

NASA's Orion spacecraft and the moon.

The Bulletin

Trump Threatens Iran, Artemis II Returns, and Anthropic’s AI Triggers Fear

Clarissa Moll, Russell Moore

Trump kills conservatism, astronauts head home, and Claude Mythos Preview deemed too dangerous for public consumption.

Three books on a blue background.

Review

Are Christians Rude Dinner Guests?

Three books on politics and public life about the common good, ISIS brides, and Ronald Reagan.

A monthly social gathering of Ukrainian families and volunteers in May 2024 at Noxubee Wildlife Refuge near Starkville, Mississippi.

News

The Mississippi Farmer Who Helped Resettle 150 Ukrainian Families

Hannah Herrera

As the US makes it more difficult for refugees to stay, Rodney Mast and his church community are rallying around their new friends.

A photo of Benjamin Watson at mic with the title of the podcast The Just Life overlaid on the image

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Dr. Bernice King: The Truth About Nonviolence

Calling the Church to lead with clarity anchored in love.

Members of the Nigeria police force are seen outside the Federal High Court.

News

Nigeria Prosecutes Suspects of 2025 Christian Massacre

Emiene Erameh

Survivors hope for justice in the trial of nine men accused of the slaughter of about 150 Christians in Benue state.

Jennifer Crumbley looks at her husband James Crumbley during their sentencing on April 9, 2024 in Pontiac, Michigan. They are the first parents in U.S. history to be criminally tried and convicted for a mass school shooting that was committed by their child.

News

When Parents Pay for a Child’s Violence

Jack Panyard

The father of a school shooter was convicted of murder. What is lost and gained by the new precedent?