Religious Articles

ORLANDO, Fla. (RNS) — In the first summer of this century, more than 11,000 Southern Baptists gathered in Florida to update their convention’s statement of faith by limiting the office of pastor to men only. But that 2000 limit was not binding on local churches....

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — On a recent Friday morning, groups of young men on motorbikes roared around the grounds of the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi to disrupt and scare those gathered for a civil meeting about the country’s proposed national budget reforms. Police...

JERUSALEM (RNS) — This past spring, a case of a Jewish man assaulting a Catholic nun in Jerusalem made international headlines. And earlier this month, the Religious Freedom Data Center reported 88 incidents of anti-Christian harassment in Israel so far in 2026 — 63...

SANT’ANGELO LODIGIANO, Italy (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday exalted the first American saint, Mother Frances Cabrini, as a model for Christians today to care for migrants in need, as he visited her birthplace during a day trip to northern Italy. Leo, who has clashed...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred a former Louisiana inmate from suing prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs. The justices condemned what happened to the former inmate, Damon Landor. But they...

(RNS) — The 8 a.m. service starts with a litany of gratitude, which unfurls in the chat function of the online Zoom: “Grateful to be awake.” “Grateful for the last day of school.” “Grateful for this morning to pray.” “Grateful for morning minyan.” On the main screen,...

ELIZABETH, N.J. — On a Sunday in March, the Rev. Canon Andy Moore looked out at the empty back-left pews at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, which had once been filled with Haitian immigrants. “We pray in a very special way for our Haitians who aren’t here at this...

(RNS) — After six years as a foster parent with Bethany Christian Services, Stacey Goodson, based in Western Michigan, has served her last foster youth — for now. “I closed my license immediately,” Goodson told RNS. “I’m just not willing to be a part of something that...

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Police charged a third suspect on Friday with an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue that was allegedly directed by Iran. The 20-year-old man was one of three masked offenders who broke into the Adass Israel Synagogue, doused the interior...

(RNS) — In the face of an accelerating U.S. pressure campaign, deteriorating public utilities and economic inefficiency, Cuba’s communist government on Thursday (June 18) announced sweeping economic reforms, the largest privatization since before Fidel Castro’s...

(RNS) — The Texas State Board of Education is preparing to vote next week on requiring schoolchildren in the state to read about a dozen Bible passages and religious stories, stepping into the long-running debate over religion’s — and specifically Christianity’s —...

(AP) — A federal judge ordered immigration officials to release the president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque from detention Thursday, finding that Salah Sarsour has raised a “substantial” claim that he was being targeted for speaking out in favor of Palestinian rights....