Alejandra Molina
Alejandra Molina is a National Reporter covering Latinos and religion in the West Coast. She is based in Los Angeles. Previously, she was a reporter for the Southern California News Group where she covered cities, immigration, race and religion for newspapers like The Orange County Register, The Press-Enterprise in Riverside and The Los Angeles Daily News.
All Stories by Alejandra Molina
Tribes ask US Supreme Court to hear case over destruction of sacred land in Oregon
By Alejandra Molina — October 6, 2022
(RNS) — The sacred site at issue is known as Ana Kwna Nchi Nchi Patat (the ‘Place of Big Big Trees’), an acre of land that consisted of a burial ground, campground, old-growth trees and an ancient stone altar.
Survey: Catholics, Hispanics, young people most likely to voice climate concerns
By Alejandra Molina — October 5, 2022
(RNS) — Additionally, American Catholics were found to be five times more likely to express that climate change is a shared responsibility than their non-Catholic counterparts.
Nonreligious women of color convene to talk Christian nationalism, reproductive rights
By Alejandra Molina — September 29, 2022
(RNS) — ‘It cannot all be focused on church and state separation. That’s not going to work for people of color, specifically women of color,’ said one organizer of the Women of Color Beyond Belief conference.
California legalizes human composting bill against opposition by Catholic bishops
By Alejandra Molina — September 20, 2022
(RNS) — California is now among the U.S. states that have legalized the process of converting bodies into soil, a procedure the Catholic Church said fails to show 'respect for the body of the deceased.'
As the religiously unaffiliated rise, a new atheist podcast network launches in Los Angeles
By Alejandra Molina — September 19, 2022
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — A new podcast platform hopes to tap into a rapidly expanding audience of young, secular millennials.
In ad blitz, watchdog group projects political heft of nonreligious Americans
By Alejandra Molina — September 16, 2022
(RNS) —The campaign includes billboards featuring portraits of residents of the swing states of Michigan, Louisiana, Missouri and others, and the legend 'I’m an atheist and I vote' along highways in their respective regions.
La Luz del Mundo leader, Naasón Joaquín García, faces new lawsuit in Los Angeles
By Alejandra Molina — September 12, 2022
(RNS) — From the time they were young children, the plaintiffs 'were routinely coerced' to believe García’s 'wishes and desires were direct orders from God,' according to the complaint.
Nearly 200 religious colleges deemed ‘unsafe’ for LGBTQ students by Campus Pride
By Alejandra Molina — September 8, 2022
(RNS) — 'Campus Pride envisions campuses and a society free of anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice, bigotry, and hate,' said Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer.
Apaches urge rehearing in fight to preserve sacred site in Arizona
By Alejandra Molina — September 6, 2022
(RNS) — ‘It affects Indian country as well as all religious organizations,’ said Apache Stronghold founder Wendsler Nosie Sr.
California congressman demands more transparency from health care sharing ministries
By Alejandra Molina — September 6, 2022
(RNS) — ‘These are businesses … masquerading as health plans that somehow follow biblical principles,’ said U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman.
Faith-based and other relief efforts underway to assist Pakistan flood victims
By Alejandra Molina — August 31, 2022
(RNS) — ‘The humanitarian situation is terrible and could deteriorate without immediate international intervention,’ said Asif Shirazi, Islamic Relief’s country director in Pakistan.
In making McElroy a cardinal, Pope Francis elevates a champion for ‘pastoral’ cause
By Jack Jenkins and Alejandra Molina — August 26, 2022
(RNS) — The San Diego cardinal-to-be will be an ally for a pope who has long advocated for the church to change its priorities without changing its teaching.
Washington state seeks dismissal of SPU’s suit claiming religious rights violations
By Alejandra Molina — August 23, 2022
(RNS) — ‘The First Amendment does not provide religious organizations with such sweeping immunity that it is unconstitutional for the government simply to ask them for information,’ Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said.
Arkansas senator agrees to unblock atheist constituents on Twitter and Facebook
By Alejandra Molina — August 18, 2022
(RNS) — An atheist advocacy group sued Republican state Sen. Jason Rapert, arguing he violated its members’ freedom of speech by blocking their viewpoints on his official Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Report: Nonreligious LGBTQ people face heightened stigma, conceal their beliefs
By Alejandra Molina — August 17, 2022
(RNS) — A new report details the extent to which nonreligious LGBTQ people experience both religious oppression and anti-LGBTQ sentiment.
