NEWS STORY
RNS-Jehovah’s-Convention: For another year, the world’s most famous door-knocking ministry will stay home
(RNS) — For the second year, Jehovah’s Witnesses are holding their annual large-scale summer conventions online through August. Their kingdom halls, where congregants would typically meet twice a week, remain closed across the country. Door-to-door preaching has not resumed. By Alejandra Molina. 750 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Jordan-Shiites: Jordan debating whether to open up to Shiite pilgrims
AMMAN, Jordan (RNS) — Jordanians are debating the possibility of opening the Sunni Islam-majority country to Shiite pilgrims long discouraged from visiting the tombs of the relatives of the Prophet Muhammad, most prominently Jafar, Muhammad’s cousin and the brother of Caliph Ali, the first Shiite leader. By Daoud Kuttab. 653 words. (category: i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Cairn-Diversity: Students cry racism as Bible college shutters historic social work program
(RNS) — The first Bible college to open a social work program in the United States shut that program down in May after 55 years, opening a rift with a group of students and alumni who have accused the administration of killing a department that was teaching students to address racism. By Liam Adams. 1,226 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Vatican-LGBTQ: When it comes to LGBTQ issues, what Pope Francis giveth, the Vatican taketh away
(RNS) – While Pope Francis has often shown in his words and personal acts of charity that he is close to LGBTQ individuals, the Vatican as an institution has done little to mold its hard doctrinal line. By Claire Giangravè. 900 words. (category i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-PRRI-Report: Survey: White mainline Protestants outnumber white evangelicals, while ‘nones’ shrink
(RNS) — (RNS) — White Christian decline has slowed. Mainline Protestants now outnumber white evangelicals. New York is home to several of the most religiously diverse counties in the U.S. These shifts and findings are among some of the notable revelations documented in a sweeping and exhaustive survey of the U.S. religious landscape by the Public Religion Research Institute. By Jack Jenkins. 840 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Dingle-Book: She lost her husband in a beach accident. Her book tackles what it takes to heal.
RALEIGH, N.C. (RNS) — After losing her husband in an accident two years ago, Shannon Dingle, a sex abuse survivor, disability activist and mother of six, has written a new book, “Living Brave.” In it, she talks about leaning into grief, being willing to dwell in discomfort, accepting uncertainty, connecting to feelings, expressing hard truths, getting psychological help. By Yonat Shimron. 1,100 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Seioshansian-Oped: Qatar’s Baha’i community and the plight of foreign workers
(RNS) — For believing in a religion that came after Islam, Baha’is have been chronically persecuted in Iran, and more recently, Yemen. But our problems in Qatar are new. The subtle erasure of Baha’is contrasts sharply with Qatar’s efforts to promote the image and practice of tolerance in a country where the vast majority of the workforce consists of foreign workers. By Baher Seioshansian. 971 words. (category: k)