Lauren Markoe
Lauren Markoe has been a national reporter for RNS since 2011. Previously she covered government and politics as a daily reporter at the Charlotte Observer and The State (Columbia, S.C.)

Kenyan Islamic leaders speak out against female genital mutilation
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Muslim scholars emphasized that FGM is a cultural — not a religious — practice, and one that goes against Islamic teaching.
The Slingshot: Paige Patterson; Whitefish, Montana; Lutheran bishops
(RNS) — A Southern Baptist leader is called out for his remarks about abused women. How Whitefish, Mont., responded to white supremacists. In one weekend, the ELCA elevates its first two black women bishops.

Crash of small plane kills Jewish seminary’s president
(AP) — The seminary Rabbi Aaron Panken led is the leading institution for the training of rabbis in the Reform movement, the largest stream of Judaism in the U.S.

Another Catholic priest killed in Central African Republic
(RNS) — The Rev. Albert Toungoumale–Baba is the second Catholic priest to be killed in about a month in the CAR.
The Slingshot: Liberty U’s claim; Cardinal Pell’s trial, Sandy Hook’s rabbi
(RNS) — The president of Liberty University doesn’t want to concede his school may not be the largest Christian University in America. The most senior Vatican official to be charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis will stand trial. Sandy Hook’s rabbi runs for office on a gun control platform.

Ugandan faith leaders grapple with accepting Israel’s African refugees
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) – Some Ugandan faith leaders say their nation must accept African refugees facing deportation from Israel, while others counter that resettlement would place too heavy a burden on already overtaxed refugee resettlement efforts.

Paul Ryan doesn’t have a prayer
(RNS) — The House speaker should not capitulate to the most odious and extreme impulses of his caucus. (Commentary)

You can push for public displays of the Bible. Better yet, read it.
(RNS) — Our rampant biblical illiteracy helps explain why those most passionate about pushing the Bible in settings of dubious appropriateness (like a Navy hospital in Japan) often press their case in deeply unbiblical ways. (Commentary)

Cremation plan for late Kenyan politician stirs debate on faith and culture
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Many in this mostly Christian nation view the practice as contrary to their faith and African culture.
The Slingshot: Anti-Muslim crime; Hindu candidates; John Bolton
(RNS) — Anti-Muslim hate crimes spike. Hindu Democrats run for office. The national security advisor’s Islamophobic ties.

Barbara Bush’s old-fashioned religion
(RNS) — Barbara Bush seemed to embody the virtues of womanhood promoted in 20th-century American Protestantism: loyalty, duty and family.

New Bible seeks to connect modern and ancient Israel
JERUSALEM (RNS) — A new Hebrew-English Bible with a distinctly Israeli flavor will be published in honor of Israel’s 70th anniversary.
The Slingshot: Accused atheist; Muslim candidates; Captive pastor
A prominent atheist leader is fired over accusations of sexual and financial misconduct. Muslim Democrats are throwing their hats in the ring. The trial of a North Carolina pastor begins in Turkey.

On the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
(RNS) — Living in America, I escaped the Nazis in those horrendous years. But I am forever haunted by the knowledge that had I been born in Transylvania instead of Pennsylvania, I would likely have been one of the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.

After priest is killed in Congo, clerics say they won’t be intimidated
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — The killing of a parish priest in the Goma Diocese was the second murder of a Catholic priest by militias in the last three years.