Lauren Markoe
Lauren Markoe has been a national reporter for RNS since 2011. Previously she covered government and politics as a daily reporter at the Charlotte Observer and The State (Columbia, S.C.)
All Stories by Lauren Markoe
The Dead Sea Scrolls discovery — still riveting after 70 years
By Lauren Markoe — October 5, 2017
(RNS) — 'Biblical Manuscripts dating back to at least 200 BC, are for sale,' read a small ad in The Wall Street Journal, seven years after the discovery of the scrolls.
Some think interfaith dialogue goes nowhere. A veteran rabbi begs to differ.
By Lauren Markoe — October 3, 2017
JERUSALEM (RNS) – 'No one living in Northern Ireland, South Africa or Bosnia-Herzegovina 30 or 40 years ago believed their conflicts would end, but they did,' said Rabbi Ron Kronish.
The Slingshot: Vegas church; Archbishop’s offer; Abortion switchover
By Lauren Markoe — October 3, 2017
A rabbi says Trump has better things to do than pray. A Filipino cleric promises sanctuary for those who speak out about drug war killings. An abortion clinic falls into the hands of those who oppose the procedure.
Commuting to Nairobi, the train becomes a church
By Lauren Markoe — October 2, 2017
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Self-styled preachers unofficially turn two coaches into church each day, ministering to a mobile congregation that might not otherwise attend a service.
Kosher? Historic ruling lets Israeli diners decide
By Lauren Markoe — September 26, 2017
JERUSALEM (RNS) — The court’s kashrut ruling comes at a time of mounting legal challenges to the ultra-Orthodox religious establishment’s control over everything from Jewish marriage and divorce to who is considered a Jew and who isn’t.
The Slingshot: Travel ban redux; Pushy in prison; Yom Kippur unplugged
By Lauren Markoe — September 26, 2017
Critics call Trump’s new travel ban as anti-Muslim as ever. An inmate says she can’t escape Christianity behind bars. An Orthodox rabbi will lead Yom Kippur services in a beer garden.
The Slingshot: Wheaton’s troubles; Vatican mystery; Secret services
By Lauren Markoe — September 20, 2017
Five Wheaton College football players face felony charges for a hazing incident in which they allegedly pretended to be Muslim extremists. A missing Vatican teenager’s case is revived. A Texas synagogue feels safer keeping the location of its High Holy Day services under wraps.
The Slingshot: Pastors’ spouses; Florida’s flood; Ad man’s folly
By Lauren Markoe — September 12, 2017
Marriage to a pastor has its upsides, but also its financial and social challenges. RNS columnist Jeffrey Salkin says Florida now understands the story of Noah. The Australian lamb industry has commissioned a commercial offensive to many Hindus.
First cathedral for Mother Teresa is consecrated in Kosovo
By Lauren Markoe — September 5, 2017
PRISTINA, Kosovo (RNS) — The consecration Tuesday (Sept. 5), which falls on the one-year anniversary of her canonization in Rome, was long-awaited by the small but active Catholic community in Kosovo.
The Slingshot: Trump’s evangelicals; Faith behind bars; New Jesus movement
By Lauren Markoe — September 5, 2017
RNS takes a close look at the influence of the evangelicals advising Trump. A Virginia judge says inmates can practice a religion their jailers call a gang. Muslims and Jews sue Denny’s and KFC over bacon.
At Sunday services, messages of hope after Harvey’s wrath
By Lauren Markoe — September 4, 2017
(AP) — Gov. Greg Abbott declared Sunday a "Day of Prayer" and urged residents to be steeled by their beliefs at a time of crisis.
Nigerian clergy demand compensation for churches destroyed by Boko Haram
By Lauren Markoe — August 30, 2017
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — 'Churches that have been destroyed should be rebuilt by the state governments,' said the Rev. Felix Omobude, the national president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria.
An Orthodox Jewish woman takes the helm of Chicago Divinity School
By Lauren Markoe — August 29, 2017
(RNS) — For Laurie Zoloth, every word and deed, from academia to social action to raising chickens in her backyard, is seen through the prism of Deuteronomy 16:18-20 — 'Justice, justice shall you pursue.'
The Slingshot: Religious freedom rising; Arpaio pardon offending; 3,000 ministers marching
By Lauren Markoe — August 29, 2017
Religious freedom office at State Department to expand. Cardinal blasts Trump on Arpaio pardon. Thousands of ministers march for racial justice.
A new Mormon offshoot movement is growing, but can it last?
By Lauren Markoe — August 28, 2017
(Salt Lake Tribune) — Denver Snuffer’s Remnant movement, which plans to canonize a new set of scriptures in Boise this week, is drawing away Mormons with the mantra: 'God can talk to you, too.' But will these freewheeling fellowships last?
