Adelle M. Banks

Adelle M. Banks, production editor and a national reporter, joined RNS in 1995. An award-winning journalist, she previously was the religion reporter at the Orlando Sentinel and a reporter at The Providence Journal and newspapers in the upstate New York communities of Syracuse and Binghamton.

All Stories by Adelle M. Banks

Pope Francis to visit US churches of history, grandeur and power

By Adelle M. Banks — September 15, 2015
(RNS) He'll make stops at prominent churches that have drawn the faithful and the curious for decades. From the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, here are a few of the churches on Pope Francis' itinerary.

Keep faith-based hiring discrimination, religious leaders tell Obama

By Adelle M. Banks — September 11, 2015
(RNS) The request comes less than a month after a coalition of religious and secular organizations sent Obama a letter saying the current policy will tarnish his legacy of fair and equal treatment for all Americans.

Southern Baptist mission board to cut as many as 800 positions

By Adelle M. Banks — August 27, 2015
(RNS) The International Mission Board of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination is running out of cash reserves.

Critics petition Obama to abolish faith-based hiring bias

By Adelle M. Banks — August 21, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) Signatories of the new letter say a 2007 memo is being cited by some government-funded groups to refuse medical care to some sexual abuse victims or discriminate against LGBT employees.

Black churches bucking the trend of decline

By Adelle M. Banks — August 13, 2015
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (RNS) A recent Pew Research Center survey showed that historically black denominations are not losing their share of the U.S. population. Why is that?

A year after Ferguson, a practical theology emerges around ‘Black Lives Matter’

By Adelle M. Banks — August 7, 2015
(RNS) As the “Black Lives Matter” movement has grown, it has been accompanied by practical theologies of people who feel called to act on their faith in pursuit of racial justice.

50 years after Voting Rights Act, black churches fighting voting restrictions

By Adelle M. Banks — August 6, 2015
(RNS) Fifty years ago, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act. Religious and civic groups are now fighting to restore its key provisions.

White House proposes rules on faith-based social services

By Adelle M. Banks — August 5, 2015
(RNS) The rules are designed to protect the religious freedom of needy people who receive social services from government–funded religious programs.

Evangelicals back carbon reduction plan

By Adelle M. Banks — July 30, 2015
(RNS) The letter from evangelicals says that 230,000 "pro-life Christians" have contacted the Environmental Protection Agency in support of the plan.

Religious groups react to Boy Scouts’ vote to drop ban on gay adults

By Adelle M. Banks — July 28, 2015
(RNS) A sampling of religious response to the Boys Scouts of America’s drop of its ban on gay adult leaders.

Boy Scouts drop ban on adult gay leaders

By Adelle M. Banks — July 27, 2015
(RNS) The policy change represents the end of a long and bitter struggle over whether to accept gay members that began more than two years ago when it allowed gay youths to participate, but not adults.

White House honors 12 faith leaders as climate-change ‘champions’

By Adelle M. Banks — July 21, 2015
(RNS) Their projects range from a zero-waste synagogue in Boulder, Colo., to global development work after natural disasters.

Black clergy walk a fine line between religious liberty, discrimination

By Adelle M. Banks — July 17, 2015
(RNS) Though several black denominations oppose same-sex marriage, many also object to religious exemptions in nondiscrimination laws.

Religious groups weigh support for Boy Scouts after vote to end ban on gay leaders

By Adelle M. Banks — July 14, 2015
(RNS) Some faith leaders said continued support for the BSA would hinge on whether religiously affiliated troops would be allowed to choose their own leaders.

Adventists stay the course, vote to deny women’s ordination

By Adelle M. Banks — July 8, 2015
(RNS) Despite the "no" vote, several U.S. conferences of Seventh-day Adventists have ordained women in recent years.
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