News

UPDATE: Texas Church Gunman Was Able To Buy Guns Because Of Air Force Lapse

Posted on · Authorities said the gunman who opened fire in a Texas church had sent threatening text messages to his mother-in-law, who attended the church; Texas DPS confirmed that the mass shooting stemmed from a domestic situation and was not racially or religiously motivated

Houston Matters

Turning To God or Turning Away: Two Divergent Faith Journeys

Posted on · Today, we revisit a pair of conversations from 2014 about turning to – or away from – organized religion. First, we meet Rev. Clay Lein, rector at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in River Oaks, who was once a self-professed "angry atheist." He tells Craig Cohen how he found himself leading an Episcopal congregation […]

Houston Matters

Displaced By Katrina, New Orleans Church Members Still Gather Today in Houston

Posted on · When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, people scattered. Some decided to stay in their “new towns.” In Houston, displaced members of one New Orleans church — Franklin Avenue Baptist Church — created a new church here. News 88.7's Laurie Johnson reports.

Houston Matters

Students Create Unusual Maps of Houston

Posted on · What do megachurches, potholes and wireless networks have in common? The answer is maps. They’re not road maps or weather maps. They’re maps of things like potholes around Lakewood Church. Or maps of Houston’s wireless networks. The work is part of a class at the University of Houston called Creative Mapping that encourages students to […]

Houston Matters

How Have Views on Religion Changed in the Past Decade?

Posted on · What do Americans think of religious these days? Penny Edgell, a Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota, recently gave a lecture hosted by Rice University’s Religion and Public Life Program on her work addressing Americans’ attitudes about public religious expression. We talk with her about what her research suggests is a growing divide […]

Full Show

Sleep and Sleep Disorders, and Finding a Community of Faith: Houston Matters for Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015

Posted on · Ahh the sweet caress of sleep. It's where our bodies recharge and our minds defragment. Of course, we all know we're supposed to get eight hours of sleep a night. But too often we're forced to live by the philosophy of "I'll sleep when I'm dead," squeezing in four hours here, a power nap there, […]

Houston Matters

Mom, Dad, I’m an Atheist: A Conversation with David McAfee

Posted on · David McAfee grew up going to church with his family, but says he never really believed the stories of the Bible were true. But when he discovered that his family truly did believe them, instead of being driven away from religion he became obsessed with learning more about it – so much so that he […]

Good, Bad and Ugly

Stealing From a Church and Teens & E-Cigarettes: The Good The Bad & The Ugly of Houston News

Posted on · Some $600,000 in cash and checks was stolen from Houston’s Lakewood Church on Sunday; A new study of teenagers reveals increasing usage of e-cigarettes; and Houston’s own Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee miscalculates the age of the US Constitution: It’s The Good The Bad & The Ugly of Houston News. This week’s panel of non-experts is […]

Good, Bad and Ugly

Houston Growing Slower, Local Church Split & Calling Domestic Violence Overrated: The Good The Bad & The Ugly of Houston News

Posted on · Houston growing not quite so fast, a local church voting over its future, and a candidate for district attorney calling domestic violence overrated: We discuss “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” in Houston news with our rotating panel of “non-experts.” This week’s panel is comprised of: Mark Bennett, attorney and author of the “Defending […]

Houston Matters

Why Religious Charities in Houston Wish More People Were in Church

Posted on · Back in the early 1980s, about six or seven percent of Houstonians did not affiliate themselves with any religion. Today, that number has nearly doubled. So we consider what this trend means for established religious institutions in Houston, and the services they provide, now and in the future. We’ll welcome your comments and questions for […]