RNS | Covering the world of religion.

Mastodon

‘God commands us not to kill’: Faith leaders protest 50 years of executions

Aleja Hertzler-McCain and Chloe Landen

Opinion

The man America forgot to invite to its 250th birthday party

Dirk Smith

Reeling from Venezuela’s earthquakes, churches rush to inspect buildings, distribute supplies

Aleja Hertzler-McCain

On July 4th, Pope Leo asks United States, Europe: Who is your neighbor?

Pope Leo XIV pays tribute at the cemetery and on little Joussef's grave, in Lampedusa, Sicily, southern Italy, Saturday, July 4, 2026, during a one-day pastoral visit to an island that has become a symbol of the risks faced by migrants trying to reach Europe by sea.(Pool Photo/Ciro Fusco, Via AP)

Claire Giangravè

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Standing among the graves of migrants, Pope Leo turned America’s birthday into a pointed appeal for welcoming the stranger.

Latest

The Bible verses dividing Washington: How Matthew 25 became a political litmus test

Jack Jenkins

Photos of the Week: Society of St. Pius X, Venezuela earthquake

Kit Doyle

Four key takeaways from Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission Report

David Katibah

Opinion

Pope Leo applies Catholic social teaching to artificial intelligence

Thomas Reese

Opinion

Pope Leo, come to Silicon Valley

Charles C. Camosy

Charles J. Russo

Texas approves mandatory Bible readings in public schools, reigniting a century-long debate

(The Conversation) — American courts have heard cases over the Bible’s role in classrooms for more than a century. Whether lessons are constitutional depends on their purpose.

Michael Bruening

500 years ago, the first New Testament in English was published – and stirred up a hornet’s nest

(The Conversation) — William Tyndale’s translation, published in 1526, was based on a then-radical idea: Anyone should be able to read the Bible in their own language.

Iqbal Akhtar

Muslims were part of America’s story long before the republic began

(The Conversation) — Muslims were woven into both America’s founding population and its labor force, writes a scholar of Islam on the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Texas approves mandatory Bible readings in public schools, reigniting a century-long debate

Charles J. Russo

(The Conversation) — American courts have heard cases over the Bible’s role in classrooms for more than a century. Whether lessons are constitutional depends on their purpose.

500 years ago, the first New Testament in English was published – and stirred up a hornet’s nest

Michael Bruening

(The Conversation) — William Tyndale’s translation, published in 1526, was based on a then-radical idea: Anyone should be able to read the Bible in their own language.

Muslims were part of America’s story long before the republic began

Iqbal Akhtar

(The Conversation) — Muslims were woven into both America’s founding population and its labor force, writes a scholar of Islam on the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Made possible by Lilly Endowment, Inc.

1	news Asbury Theological Seminary cut by United Methodist Church over same-sex marriage issue
2	news Who belongs in America? Five faith leaders on immigration, identity and America's 250th
3	news How women pastors became public enemy No. 1 in the SBC
4	news Vatican blocks women’s homilies, testing Leo’s view of women in church
5	news Pastor Saeed Abedini, former political prisoner in Iran, accused of abducting daughter

	Saved by the City Eat the Rich! Jesus Had Something to Say About That + Malcolm Foley Katelyn Beaty and Roxanne Stone Katelyn and Roxy talk to Malcom Foley about the insidious legacy of greed on countries, systems and individuals.
	The State of Belief America’s Founding Principles and the Fuxture of Democracy with Constitutional Scholar Jeffrey Rosen Paul Brandeis Raushenbush What the process of founding the United States can teach us today about keeping our democracy alive: insights from the author of "Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton Versus Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America"
	Complexified Philip Reed-Butler, Black AI and the future of healing Rev. Amanda Henderson (RNS) — A theologian and technologist is building Black AI for the inner life, where healing begins with imagination.

A Christian nation? At 250, America is still fighting over what that means

These houses of worship are older than America. How they outlasted wars, schisms and lawsuits.

Watch: What the founders really thought about religion and immigration