Jill Lawless

Jill Lawless is an author at Religion News Service.

All Stories by Jill Lawless

The British government wants to define extremism. Critics say it risks creating more division

By Jill Lawless and Sylvia Hui — March 15, 2024
LONDON (AP) — The move is in response to a surge in reports of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate speech and what authorities call an increase in radicalization in Britain since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The Church of England aims to raise more than $1 billion to address its past links to slavery

By Jill Lawless — March 5, 2024
LONDON (AP) — The fund was established as part of efforts by the Anglican church to reckon with its historic complicity in the trans-Atlantic slave trade

Church of England leader says a plan to send migrants to Rwanda undermines the UK’s global standing

By Jill Lawless — January 30, 2024
LONDON (AP) — If approved by Parliament, the law will allow the government to “disapply” sections of U.K. human rights law when it comes to Rwanda-related asylum claims and make it harder to challenge the deportations in court.

At Irish shrine, Biden meets priest who gave Beau last rites

By Darlene Superville, Jill Lawless, and Colleen Long — April 17, 2023
The priest is a former U.S. Army chaplain and was formerly assigned to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where Beau died in 2015 from brain cancer at the age of 46.

Some Anglican bishops reject leader Welby over gay marriage

By Jill Lawless — February 20, 2023
LONDON (AP) — The synod’s decision was a compromise measure that came after years of wrangling about the church’s stance on homosexuality.

Census: Christians a minority in England; non-religious grow

By Jill Lawless — November 30, 2022
LONDON (AP) — Fewer than half the people in England and Wales consider themselves Christian, according to the most recent census — the first time a minority of the population has followed the country's official religion.

Ruth Ozeki’s ‘Book of Form and Emptiness’ wins Women’s Prize

By Jill Lawless — June 16, 2022
LONDON (AP) — A professor of English at Smith College in Massachusetts, Ozeki is also a filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest, and her novel was inspired in part by Buddhist philosophy.

Phone call shows brother pleading with Texas hostage-taker

By Sylvia Hui, Jill Lawless, and Danica Kirka — January 20, 2022
LONDON (AP) — British police are continuing to support U.S. authorities with their investigation into Saturday’s hostage incident. Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British citizen, took four people hostage at a Texas synagogue.

Kardashian West helps fly Afghan women soccer players to UK

By Jill Lawless and David Keyton — November 18, 2021
A plane chartered by the reality star and carrying more than 30 teenage players and their families, about 130 people in all, landed at Stansted Airport near London.
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