(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo selection includes protests over the killing of George Floyd, Santa Muerte followers in Mexico, and more.
Hindu women perform rituals during a prayer ceremony on the banks of the river Brahmaputra in Gauhati, India, Friday, June 5, 2020, to rid the world of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Tear gas floats in the air June 1, 2020, as police move demonstrators away from St. John’s Church, across Lafayette Park from the White House in Washington, D.C., during protests over the death of George Floyd. The demonstrators were removed in order for President Donald Trump to walk to St. John’s Church for a photo-op. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump holds a Bible as he stands outside St. John’s Church across Lafayette Park from the White House on June 1, 2020, in Washington. Part of the church was set on fire during protests on Sunday night. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Sister Quincy Howard, center, a Dominican nun, protests the arrival of President Donald Trump at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, Tuesday, June 2, 2020, in Washington, D.C. Howard was one of many demonstrators present said they were dismayed by Trump’s visit to the historic St. John’s Church across from the White House the day before, when he held up a Bible after authorities had cleared the area of peaceful protesters. “I’m here in protest,” says Howard, “of violence, of inciting violence, of systemic racism and using religion as a shield.” Protests continue over the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Conscientious objectors from 15 countries — some dressed in convict uniforms — make the peace sign and carry letters spelling “Pace” (peace) during a demonstration in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, Oct. 30, 1971. The demonstrators were protesting severe jail sentences given to young men in Italy and Spain who had refused military service because of their conscientious objection to war. The demonstrators staged a sit-down on the steps of St. Peter’s and briefly barred access to the Basilica. Paul J. Hoffman of Philadelphia, and Mark Rivers of Springfield, Vermont, carry the letters “P” and “A.” RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society
The Rev. Zachary Hoover, left, executive director of LA Voice, participates in an evening vigil in remembrance of George Floyd and in support of Black Lives Matter, Sunday, May 31, 2020, in Pasadena, California. RNS photo by Alejandra Molina
Seth Rather, a missionary with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, looks at his smartphone in his apartment in Brigham City, Utah, May 27, 2020. After hastily bringing home 26,000 young men and women who were serving in foreign countries due to the coronavirus, the church has begun sending many of missionaries out again with a new focus on online work, church officials told The Associated Press. Missionaries now stay inside and on their smartphones most of the day trying to find new converts or bolster the faith of current church members. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
A child blows cigar smoke, meant to be cleansing, onto statues of the “Santa Muerte,” or Death Saint, outside an altar to her in Mexico City’s Tepito neighborhood, Monday, June 1, 2020 . Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, thousands of devotees, few wearing face masks despite the dense crowd, made the monthly pilgrimage Monday to pray or give thanks to Santa Muerte, one of several unofficial folk saints worshipped in Mexico. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Neighbors help return a giant figure of the “Santa Muerte,” or Death Saint, to a home after it was displayed in the street to celebrate the saint’s monthly festival day, which drew thousands of devotees despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, in Mexico City’s Tepito neighborhood, Monday, June 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
An Indian Hindu woman, covering her face as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, performs rituals around a Banyan tree on Vat Savitri festival in Ahmedabad, India, Friday, June 5, 2020. Vat Savitri is celebrated on a full moon day where women pray for the longevity of their husbands. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Children walk past a fence filled with red cloth, tied by devotees while praying for their wish to be fulfilled, in Katra town, the base camp for the pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi shrine, about 45 kilometers from Jammu, India, Friday, June 5, 2020. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) has started drills for standard operating procedure for the pilgrimage to the cave shrine. The Hindu pilgrimage was suspended in mid-March due to the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
Twelve Dominican nuns from North Guilford, Conn., were the first Catholic religious to be invited to the State House in Nairobi by President and Mrs. Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, on June 8, 1965. This historic picture shows, in front row, Mother Mary Kathleen, head of the American community of nuns in Kenya, President Kenyatta and his wife Ngina, whose brother is a priest. The convent was the first cloistered community of nuns in East Africa. After two weeks of becoming acquainted with Kenya and its people, the American Sisters were cloistered in a walled wing of the seminary until completion of a convent. RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society
Sanatan Dharma, left, and Vivek Malik participate in an outdoor darshan, kirtan, arati, and take-out prasadam on Sunday, May 31, 2020, at the Braj Mandir temple in Holbrook, Massachusetts. RNS photo by Marc Vasconcellos
