Religious Articles

JERUSALEM (RNS) — Twenty of Anava Marcus’ relatives were scheduled to fly to Israel from Australia and South Africa last week to celebrate her bat mitzvah during Passover, which begins on Wednesday (April 1). But instead, Anava will celebrate her 12th birthday — a...

(RNS) — For most people, being slammed to the pavement by a group of police officers and violently handcuffed in front of a screaming crowd would be a traumatic experience. When that situation befell the Rev. Michael Woolf last November as he was protesting outside an...

NEW YORK (RNS) — Hundreds gathered at Central Park’s Columbus Circle entrance on Saturday morning (March 28) for an interfaith vigil ahead of New York City’s “No Kings” march to protest the Trump administration.  The Rev. Paul Raushenbush, president and CEO of...

MONACO (RNS) – A highlight of Pope Leo XIV’s one-day trip to Monaco was his meeting with young Catholics in the country, including those who represent a surging number of catechumens, or people converting or returning to the faith and preparing to receive the...

MONACO (RNS) — In a tiny European country where 1 in 3 residents are millionaires, Pope Leo XIV called for the responsible use of wealth and condemned the “idolatry of power and money,” delivering a moral appeal from one of the world’s richest enclaves. “Every talent,...

(RNS) — Braden Peters, a streamer who goes by Clavicular, posted a recent video last week announcing he would broadcast his life 24 hours a day for a month on Kick, where he has about 250,000 followers. “I live in a luxury condominium in downtown Miami, the...

(RNS) — The New York City Council passed a bill Thursday (March 26) calling for buffer zones around places of worship in an attempt to protect them from rowdy protesters. But the bill that passed with a solid majority, 44-5, with one abstention, was a watered-down...

NEW YORK (RNS) — In October 2021, two months after Matthew LaBanca married his husband, he was fired from his job at a Queens Catholic elementary school, St. Joseph Catholic Academy.  Also fired from his role directing music at Corpus Christi Church in Queens,...

(RNS) — Seven years since first airing, the mega-hit biographical Jesus drama “The Chosen” is a full-fledged franchise. The evidence? An annual multi-day convention (Chosen Con), merch (hoodies, coloring books, jewelry), the fandom (over 308 million viewers) and now,...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, hosting his first monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon since the Iran war began, prayed Wednesday to have “every round find its mark.” “Every month it is fitting to be right here,” he told the gathered...

(RNS) — Businessman Prakash Buchireddy grew up in small villages near Tirupati, India, a hillside pilgrimage site surrounded by lush green mountains and a Hindu temple once known to give potted plants as prasad, or sacred offerings. These self-sustaining villages of...