South Carolina

Motorists in South Carolina have been given the option of purchasing religious license plates that feature three crosses on a mountaintop against a sunrise backdrop.

The "I Believe" tags are created and sponsored by non-profit group www. IBELIEVEsc.net, a coalition of Christian believers. The group says the tags demonstrate a non-political way for Christians to show their faith.

Back in 2008, the state General Assembly created an "I Believe" tag that was sponsored by the government. In 2009, however, a U.S. federal judge ruled the tag unconstitutional, and the state did not appeal the decision. That left the possibility for a private organization to apply for an "I Believe" tag. In the end, the Christian coalition applied for the license plate. more >>

NewSpring Church, a five campus megachurch in Anderson, S.C., is canceling its Sunday night services due to the Super Bowl this weekend.

Lead Pastor Perry Noble explained the reason in his blog. "I've been in church work for over 20 years and the one thing I can say is that attendance on Super Bowl Sunday night in church has always been awful! (and…the people who are there are pretending to be looking at youversion on their phone…but they are really checking the score of the game!)," he wrote.

Noble said the church has always tried to compete with the Super Bowl with poor results, so NewSpring made the decision to change its worship times from Sunday night to Saturday night. The megachurch's two Sunday morning worship services are still being held. more >>

Influential leaders from the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family publicly endorsed Rick Santorum for the GOP presidential nomination ahead of the South Carolina primary.

FRC President Tony Perkins and James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, announced their support Thursday. Both leaders said they were compelled to do so by Santorum's strong focus on social conservative issues.

"The institution of the family is the key issue facing this great nation. It is the foundation, the bedrock, upon which every dimension of Western Civilization rests," Dobson said in a statement. more >>

Rick Perry said he is putting conservatives ahead of himself in his Thursday decision to drop out of the GOP race and endorse fellow candidate Newt Gingrich as the party’s anti-Romney.

Perry highlighted his experience as a fighter pilot and told the crowd he knows what it means to stay focused on the mission.

“I know when it is time to make a strategic retreat. I will leave the trail, return to Texas and lay down my 2012 campaign,” he announced at an 11 a.m. press conference in Charleston, South Carolina. He had a few aides and a visibly-dejected Anita Perry at his side during the announcement. more >>

Just in time for Martin Luther King Day, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich met with African-American churchgoers Saturday to confront his past racially-tinged comments and become the bridge-building candidate in the Republican race.

Gingrich made a campaign stop at Jones Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church in Columbia, S.C. During his visit, the former speaker was forced to detour from his usual stump message and explain the meaning behind his “really poor children” statements.

Gingrich told a crowd at a November Iowa appearance that poor children have little knowledge of what it is like to work. more >>

A Christian youth evangelist expressed disappointment over the outcome of a lawsuit between the Chesterfield County School District and the American Civil Liberties Union in regards to a religious rally held on school grounds last year.

The ACLU said on Friday that a settlement had been reached between the two, with the school district promising not to promote religion while also agreeing to submit a consent order to a federal judge in Florence, The Associated Press reported.

“I hate that everything happened the way it did,” Christian Chapman told The Christian Post in a phone interview, frustrated by the controversy that followed New Heights Middle School’s rally last September, where he and Christian rapper B-SHOC were invited to speak and perform at the school. more >>