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.)
All Stories by Lauren Markoe
Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup: Catholic Wares * The Messy Middle * Mystery Priest Revealed!
By Lauren Markoe — August 13, 2013
Must-haves from the Catholic Marketing Network's annual trade show. Evangelicals who are ambivalent about homosexuality. And the "mystery priest" who appeared at a near-fatal Missouri car crash turns out to be . . .
Thursday’s Religion News Roundup: Francis Frustration * Snake Handler TV * Statue Defaced
By Lauren Markoe — August 8, 2013
Traditional Catholics are unsettled because Pope Francis isn't speaking out against abortion and gay marriage. Snake handlers get their own reality show. And a Jackie Robinson statue is defaced with swastikas.
Ethicist Shaun Casey to oversee religious engagement for State Department
By Lauren Markoe — August 7, 2013
WASHINGTON (RNS) The State Department's new point man on religious engagement is a professor of Christian ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington and a former adviser to President Obama's campaign and other Democrats on outreach to religious voters.
Can a Hebrew charter school teach the language but not the faith?
By Lauren Markoe — August 7, 2013
WASHINGTON (RNS) A new Hebrew language public charter school in Washington raises the same questions facing other such schools around the country: How do you teach Hebrew without teaching Judaism?
Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup: Pope’s Gay Words * Cathedral Vandalized * Eric Metaxas
By Lauren Markoe — July 30, 2013
What did Pope Francis mean when he refused to judge gay priests? Green paint splattered at Washington's National Cathedral. Is Eric Metaxas the new Chuck Colson?
Court: Law designating ‘Israel’ as birthplace unconstitutional
By Lauren Markoe — July 24, 2013
(RNS) A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. has ruled unconstitutional a Congressional law allowing Americans born in Jerusalem to designate Israel as their birth country on their passports.
Anti-Semitism on downward slide but still rampant online
By Lauren Markoe — July 24, 2013
(RNS) The growth in online expressions of anti-Semitism may help explain a decrease in incidents of vandalism, where "bigots are more likely to take to the Internet to express themselves anonymously, rather than acting out in a public setting.”
Wednesday’s Religion News Roundup: Mormon Boot Camp * Ramadan Smartphone * Mohel Union?
By Lauren Markoe — July 24, 2013
Some Muslims are using smartphones in their Ramadan observances. A look inside a Mormon missionary boot camp. And will European mohels form a union?
Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup: Rio Explosives * Russell Moore * Ugly Churches
By Lauren Markoe — July 23, 2013
A pipe bomb is safely detonated at a shrine to be visited by Pope Francis. What's on Russell Moore's iPod? And talk about ugly churches.
Five questions for transgender chaplain Cameron Partridge
By Lauren Markoe — July 19, 2013
(RNS) Episcopal chaplain Rev. Cameron Partridge talks about his journey from being a woman to a man, the limits of transgender "before-and-after" stories and why Harvard Divinity School and Anglicanism feel like home.
Report: Americans hold different views of what “religious” means
By Lauren Markoe — July 18, 2013
(RNS) There is a lopsided divide in America about what it means to be a religious person, with a majority believing that it's about acting morally but a strong minority equating it with faith.
Wednesday’s Religion News Roundup: Pastor Strawberry * Sudan’s intolerance * Forgoing the popemobile
By Lauren Markoe — July 17, 2013
DarrylStrawberry loves the Bible more than the game. Christians in northern Sudan face deportations, arrests. Uncle Frank will ditch the popemobile in next week's Catholic World Youth Day.
Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup: Skipped Miracles * Concealed Racism * Nude Tennis
By Lauren Markoe — July 16, 2013
Are miracles really necessary for sainthood? Are concealed weapons a new form of racism? Is it OK for a devout Catholic to pose nude?
Tisha B’Av: An unloved Jewish holiday gets a makeover
By Lauren Markoe — July 12, 2013
(RNS) Tisha B’Av, many rabbis say, can be a hard holiday to sell, with its commemoration of the most depressing events of Jewish history. But many of those same rabbis are trying to revive interest in Tisha B'Av, with new rituals and practices to which modern, nontraditional Jews can better relate.
Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup: Ramadan Blues * Women Bishops * Satan Worship
By Lauren Markoe — July 9, 2013
Ramadan can be a lonely time for converts to Islam. The Church of England moves to ordain women bishops. Satan worship spreads in northeast India.
