Religious Articles

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....

RICHMOND, Va. (RNS) – From 1830 to 1860, tens of thousands of enslaved people disembarked ships at Richmond’s Manchester Docks, an entry point into a bondage system that built Virginia’s wealth and shaped the city’s history. Shackled together, the enslaved people...

(RNS) — 5.4 million people became refugees in 2025. With the global total eclipsing more than 35 million refugees — not including the 69 million internally displaced persons — resettlement remains a vital lifeline for the most vulnerable communities. For more than...

(RNS) — Though Pope Leo XIV still enjoys high levels of support from U.S. Catholics, partisan polarization is growing, according to a new poll released by Pew Research Center on Thursday (June 18). About three-quarters (78%) of U.S. Catholics expressed favorable views...

AUSTIN, Texas (RNS) — In 2016, 89-year-old Opal Lee walked from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., in hopes of establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday. Partly due to her efforts, it became one in 2021. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when the...