Peter Smith
Peter Smith is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Peter Smith
As a landmark United Methodist gathering approaches, African churches weigh their future.
By Peter Smith — April 15, 2024
(AP) — Today, members from four continents vote at legislative gatherings, serve on boards together, go on mission trips to each others’ countries and are largely governed by the same rules.
US Jews upset with Trump’s latest rhetoric say he doesn’t get to tell them how to be Jewish
By Peter Smith and Tiffany Stanley — March 26, 2024
(AP) – This week, Trump charged that Jewish Democrats were being disloyal to their faith and to Israel.
Sex abuse survivors dispute Southern Baptist leadership and say federal investigation is ongoing
By Peter Smith — March 11, 2024
(AP) — The SBC has faced a reckoning over its handling of sexual abuse since a 2019 report by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express News, documenting hundreds of abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches.
Baltimore to pay $275k in legal fees after trying to block far-right Catholic group’s 2021 rally
By Peter Smith — March 11, 2024
(AP) — Church Militant has been known for publishing stories against LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church and strongly criticizing its advocates, among other controversial topics.
Catholic news site Church Militant agrees to pay $500k in defamation case and is expected to close
By Peter Smith — March 5, 2024
(AP) — Church Militant and its sleek newscasts drew a loyal following for years with a mix of fiercely right-wing politics and radically conservative Catholicism in which many of America’s bishops were viewed with suspicion and disgust.
Slain pregnant Amish woman had cuts to her head and neck, Pennsylvania police say
By Mark Scolforo and Peter Smith — March 1, 2024
SPARTANSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Scores of Amish turned out for calling hours Thursday evening at a home in the community.
Chief justice’s Christian reasoning in IVF opinion sparks alarm over church-state separation
By Tiffany Stanley and Peter Smith — February 23, 2024
(AP) — By citing verses from the Bible and Christian theologians in his concurring opinion, Chief Justice Tom Parker alarmed advocates for church-state separation, while delighting religious conservatives who oppose abortion.
What does it mean to claim the US is a Christian nation, and what does the Constitution say?
By Peter Smith — February 20, 2024
Six in 10 U.S. adults said the founders originally intended America to be a Christian nation, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey.
Christian-nation idea fuels US conservative causes, but historians say it misreads founders’ intent
By Peter Smith — February 20, 2024
Many conservatives and Republicans embrace the idea of Christian national origins, even as many reject the “Christian nationalist” label.
Greece just legalized same-sex marriage. Will other Orthodox countries join them any time soon?
By Dasha Litvinova and Peter Smith — February 16, 2024
Roughly 200 million Eastern Orthodox live primarily in Eastern Europe and neighboring Asian lands, with about half that total in Russia, while smaller numbers live across the world.
Who was St. Brigid and why is she inspiring many 1,500 years after her death?
By Peter Smith — January 29, 2024
The commemorations come a year after Ireland began honoring her with an annual public holiday — the first Irish woman to be recognized with one.
US pastors struggle with post-pandemic burnout. Survey shows half considered quitting since 2020
By Peter Smith — January 11, 2024
Median in-person attendance has steadily declined since the start of the century, the report said, and with fewer younger participants, the typical age of congregants is rising.
One fourth of United Methodist churches in US have left in schism over LGBTQ ban. What happens now?
By Peter Smith — December 15, 2023
The vast majority are conservative-leaning churches responding to what they see as the United Methodists' failure to enforce bans on same-sex marriage and the ordaining of openly LGBTQ persons.
Families had long dialogue after Pittsburgh synagogue attack. Now they’ve unveiled a memorial design
By Peter Smith — December 7, 2023
PITTSBURGH (AP) — In the design, a walkway leads visitors into garden memorial with 11 sculpted forms of open books, each representing one of the victims.
Timekeepers no more, rank-and-file Jehovah’s Witnesses say goodbye to tracking proselytizing hours
By Peter Smith — November 27, 2023
For the first time since 1920, leaders of the Jehovah's Witnesses have removed the hours-reporting requirement for rank-and-file adherents.
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