Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has signed House Bill 1063 into law, with Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter telling The Christian Post that the legislation is a "modest step" to advance religious liberty in Virginia. The law legally defines religion as including actions and expressions, not just personal belief, which is viewed as a win by religious liberty advocates. Alliance Defending Freedom applauded HB 1063's passage, with Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor saying the measure "provides a necessary and helpful clarification in the law to help ensure Virginians won’t face discrimination simply for outwardly expressing their religious beliefs." The bill was introduced by Del. Irene Shin, a Democrat, who later denounced a change in the bill's language to define religion as "all aspects of religious observance, practice, or belief." Shin complained that Youngkin "hijacked my bill to push his own insidious, right-wing agenda." Read more.

During Wednesday night's Detroit Tigers game at Comerica Park, attendees will be urged to donate to organizations that push puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and perform body mutilating surgeries on youth who suffer from gender confusion as part of the team's celebration of "Pride Night." The Major League Baseball team is hosting the so-called pride night to kickoff what LGBT activists recognize as "Pride Month." Among the organizations baseball fans are being encouraged to send money to via the checkout page is the Ruth Ellis Center, a group that published a 25-minute video promoting "gender affirming care," with one medical professional claiming that experimental puberty blockers are "medically necessary," saying those who oppose allowing children younger than 18 to undergo life-changing cosmetic surgeries without first obtaining consent from a parent or guardian are "outdated." Read more.

The latest episode of The Christian Post Podcast: The Inside Story features Christian Post reporter Nicole Alcindor sharing her research on the topic of mental health, what the Bible says and her own experience navigating the subject matter. "There's often a misunderstanding [among] many of our global church leaders to date," she says. "Many church leaders continue to mischaracterize or stigmatize mental illness as a spiritual issue." Alcindor takes listeners through misconceptions and breaks down biblical stories that can help Christians better understand this dynamic. Read more.

In this op-ed, Ryan Bomberger discusses the Uvalde mass shooting tragedy and the toxicity of politics. Bomberger calls out Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—who placed the blame on white supremacy despite the shooter being Hispanic—and challenges her inaccuracies on FBI homicide statistics and "toxic masculinity," noting that "Masculinity did come, however, to the rescue in the form of an off-duty border patrol agent and several other federal officers." Read more.

Michael Brown writes about the health risks linked to obesity and why it is important to be physically healthy. Noting that it is not about embarrassment or condemnation, Brown points to unhealthy foods, including sugary drinks, as root causes and advocates weight loss as means of improving one's quality of life. Read more.

Whatever is being preached or taught in the church today, and how it is being preached or taught, is not working. How do we solve this problem? Continue reading.

A Loudon County, Va., teacher contacted police after the school librarian allegedly defended the presence of a book containing details about prostitution in the middle school library by claiming that it's helpful to preteen and teenage student sex workers. The conversation reportedly started after the Sterling Middle School teacher asked the librarian if the school had a copy of the book Seeing Gender by Iris Gottlieb, which includes a chapter titled "'Sex Work' Is Not a Bad Term," after seeing a tweet highlighting the chapter and its presence in the Loudon County middle school library. The teacher told police in a recorded conversation that the librarian confirmed the book's presence and asserted it was beneficial to students engaged in sex work. "She started talking about how there's kids who come to the library who do sex work, and this makes them feel validated. As a teacher, if you get an individual student coming to you because you're abused, you have to go [to] the police immediately." Read more.

Popular mainstream artist M.I.A. says she became a born-again Christian after having a vision of Jesus Christ, and it's something she's proud of even if it may cost her her career. In a conversation with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, the singer—born Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam—revealed how a vision of Jesus in 2017 turned her world upside down. When Lowe asked whether she is a "born-again Christian now," the artist said, "Yes, I am." Gearing up for the release of a new album, M.I.A. says the record is still influenced by her upbringing but that her messaging will be informed by her Christian faith. "If I’m coming back now saying ‘Jesus is real,’ there’s a point ... Basically, all of my fans might turn against me because they are all progressives who hate people that believe in Jesus Christ in this country." Read more.