Mark A. Kellner
Mark A. Kellner is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Mark A. Kellner
The Slingshot: Duke past; Travel ban protest; Traffic stop
By Mark A. Kellner — October 19, 2017
Denied admission 60 years ago to Duke Divinity School because he was black, a civil rights pioneer calls on the school to confront its past; Muslims and allies protest the latest iteration of Trump's travel ban near White House; and a New York rabbi's traffic stop yields an arrest and a court appearance.
The Slingshot: Sanctuary works; robot blesses; generation gap
By Mark A. Kellner — October 12, 2017
A man who took refuge in a Philadelphia church walks free; A German robot dispenses Lutheran blessings; Amid Evangelical decline, growing split between young Christians and church elders.
The Slingshot: Imam’s invocation; Welby’s conflict; Why pray?
By Mark A. Kellner — October 5, 2017
An imam prays in Congress. The Archbishop of Canterbury isn’t sure what to think about gay sex. A response to those frustrated with the outpouring of prayer after Las Vegas.
The Slingshot: Church service after shooting; Moore’s evangelicalism; Prayer book glossary
By Mark A. Kellner — September 28, 2017
Three days following a deadly shooting, the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ holds worship; Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore holds strong convictions; and the 500-year-old Book of Common Prayer gets a glossary.
The Slingshot: Osteens open doors; Banned teen gives birth; $35 million Mormon manuscript
By Mark A. Kellner — September 21, 2017
Joel and Victoria Osteen's Lakewood Church opens its doors for a local Jewish congregation to hold High Holy Day services. A pregnant teen banned from her Christian high school graduation gives birth. A Book of Mormon manuscript is bought by the LDS Church for $35 million.
The Slingshot: Orthodox Jews for Trump; Catholics and euthanasia; A nun with a chainsaw
By Mark A. Kellner — September 14, 2017
Most American Jews say they oppose President Trump, but Orthodox Jews don't. A Catholic order in Belgium wants to allow euthanasia in its hospitals. And a chainsaw-wielding nun goes viral.
THE SLINGSHOT: Trump voters; Catholic judicial nominee; Cathedral windows
By Mark A. Kellner — September 7, 2017
A new Baylor Religion Survey casts Trump voters as ‘anti-Islam, anti-feminist, anti-globalist.’ The Washington National Cathedral will remove stained glass depicting Confederate generals. A devout Catholic federal judicial nominee faces Senate scrutiny.
The Slingshot: Lakewood Church; Muslims hajj; Presbyterian pastor
By Mark A. Kellner — August 31, 2017
[slingshot_ad name=”Slingshot Banner Ad”] Evacuee Will Sutton, left, holds his 11-month son Jayden at the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, on Aug. 29, 2017. Joel Osteen and his congregation have set up their church as a shelter for evacuees from the flooding by Tropical Storm Harvey. (AP Photo/LM Otero) [slingshot_ad name=”Slingshot Bottom Cube Ad”]
Joel Osteen’s church defends itself after social media storm
By Mark A. Kellner — August 30, 2017
(RNS) — 'I can’t repeat it enough: We never closed our doors. We’re a church, for goodness' sake,' said Lakewood Church spokesman Don Iloff.
State Department to keep anti-Semitism envoy but scrap many others
By Mark A. Kellner — August 29, 2017
(RNS) — Dozens of special envoy positions, including several to the Muslim world, will be cut.
The Slingshot: A church named Lee; Rabbis dump Trump; Sikhs advertise for understanding
By Mark A. Kellner — August 24, 2017
Robert E. Lee's Episcopal parish is in a naming quandry; Jewish leaders say they won't hold a Rosh Hashana call with President Trump; and Sikhs spent $1.6 million to say they're just like everyone else
The Slingshot: Priest’s outspoken son; Mormons’ gay outreach; Texas’ bathroom bill
By Mark A. Kellner — August 17, 2017
The son of a Roman Catholic priest is asking the pope to help those like him. The LDS church supports a LGBT fundraising concert. The Texas’ bathroom bill is flushed – at least for now.
The Slingshot: Pyongyang frees pastor; NJ mosque approved; ‘righteous’ sweating?
By Mark A. Kellner — August 10, 2017
North Korea released Canadian pastor the Rev. Rim Hyon Su from a life sentence; after a $3.25 million settlement, Bernards Township, N.J., okays a mosque's building permit; and sweating in the summer was once viewed as a moral good.
The Slingshot: Hunter out; Lawsuits in; Faith on Etsy
By Mark A. Kellner — August 3, 2017
Orlando megachurch pastor Joel Hunter steps down. Conservative Christian legal groups advocate for their cause. Artisans sell faith-themed items online via Etsy.
The Slingshot: Ambassador Brownback; Transgender fallout; Sci-Fi Mormons
By Mark A. Kellner — July 27, 2017
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback to be nominated U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Religious leaders cheered and condemned President Trump's ban on transgendered persons serving in the military. Mormons are boldly going in to brave new worlds via science fiction.
