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Christian publishing houses announce layoffs

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is taking a toll on Christian publishing companies. The publishing arms of the nation’s two largest Protestant denominations—the Southern Baptist Con­vention and the United Methodist Church—both announced staff cuts at the end of April as a result of the virus.

The United Methodist Publishing House will lay off about 70 of its 296 employees in June. The Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Christian Re­sources started reducing staff on May 1, in addition to implementing hiring and salary freezes and cutbacks.

After initial increase during pandemic, Trump’s approval ratings drop among white Christians

President Trump’s job approval ratings among some faith groups jumped in March as the number of coronavirus infections began to spread across the country.

But that “Trump bump” has all but disappeared.

A new poll released on April 30 from the Public Religion Research Institute shows Trump’s approval has fallen on average by 6 percentage points and is now more in keeping with 2019 levels among most demographic groups.