Kimberly Winston

Kimberly Winston is a freelance religion reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

All Stories by Kimberly Winston

Christians, Yazidis need more than escape: Catholic Relief official in Iraq

By Kimberly Winston — August 19, 2014
(RNS) Catholic Relief Service's Kris Ozar says, "We need to continue to remind ourselves of the plight of the Iraqi people."

The ‘Splainer: The fuss over ‘Black Jesus’

By Kimberly Winston — August 8, 2014
(RNS) Conservative critics call "Black Jesus" racially and religiously offensive. But it's not the first time artistic depictions of Jesus have gotten people all riled up.

Richard Dawkins: Atheism’s asset or liability?

By Kimberly Winston — August 7, 2014
(RNS) "I don’t think (Dawkins) has done more harm than good to the atheist movement, but the balance has been shifting towards harm," atheist blogger Adam Lee said.

Satanists’ challenge to Hobby Lobby ruling may face legal hurdles

By Kimberly Winston — July 31, 2014
(RNS) Satanists' attack on the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision with a letter protesting "informed consent" abortion laws as a burden to their religious beliefs may be a toothless challenge.

Special liturgy atones for outbreak of ‘The Great War’

By Kimberly Winston — July 23, 2014
(RNS) A newly commissioned liturgy to commemorate the centennial of World War I is as much about atonement as it is about remembrance.

The ‘Splainer: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and religious burial customs

By Kimberly Winston — July 22, 2014
(RNS) For many of the families of the 298 victims aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the release of the bodies has come too late to complete the burial customs of their various religions.

IRS agrees to monitor churches for electioneering

By Kimberly Winston — July 21, 2014
(RNS) - Freedom From Religion Foundation has reached a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over electioneering in churches, a violation of their tax-exempt status.

World War I at 100: New books examine the battle of beliefs behind the ‘Great War’

By Kimberly Winston — July 18, 2014
(RNS) “If you do not understand the messianic and apocalyptic imagery used by all sides, and how wide-ranging those images were among all classes, all groups, all nations, you cannot hope to understand the war," scholar Philip Jenkins says.

Hobby Lobby protesters ‘Knit a Brick’

By Kimberly Winston — July 17, 2014
(RNS) The Secular Coalition for America wants anyone upset by the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling last month to knit or crochet rectangles, or “bricks,” to shore up what the coalition sees as the crumbling wall of separation between church and state.

Humanists win right to solemnize their own weddings in Indiana

By Kimberly Winston — July 14, 2014
(RNS) “It is irrational to allow humanists to solemnize marriages if, and only if, they falsely declare that they are a ‘religion,’” Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote for a federal appeals court.

The ‘Splainer: Who is the new caliph on the block?

By Kimberly Winston — July 1, 2014
(RNS) The last caliph reigned from the seat of the Ottoman Empire -- that’s Turkey to you -- until he was deposed in1924. Since then many Islamic groups have called for the re-establishment of the caliphate. So how big is the new caliphate, and what does it all mean?

The cross on Mount Soledad can stay — for now

By Kimberly Winston — June 30, 2014
(RNS) Both sides in a ongoing legal controversy over a cross on public land in San Diego will have to wait some more.

The ‘Splainer: RFRA and the Hobby Lobby case

By Kimberly Winston — June 30, 2014
(RNS) What is this RFRA of which the Supremes speak? Stay with us and there’s ice cream, cake, a puppy and even hallucinogenic drugs in it for you.

Nantucket’s ‘Greater Light’ house holds clues to island’s Quaker past

By Kimberly Winston — June 25, 2014
NANTUCKET, Mass. (RNS) An eclectic house on this tourist island tells the story of two women who expressed Quakerism's "inner light" in converting an old barn to their dream house.

Atheist to offer invocation in N.Y. town at the center of public prayer case

By Kimberly Winston — June 23, 2014
(RNS) “I am going to ask the council to understand the principle that this country was founded on,” said Dan Courtney, a member of the Atheist Community of Rochester. “That the government was founded by the people and it needs to represent all the people regardless of their religious beliefs.”
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