RNS staff
RNS staff is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by RNS staff
Why St. Thomas Becket’s elbow still matters in the 21st century
By RNS staff — May 29, 2016
One might wonder why anyone today should care about an 850-year-old bone.
Outrage in multiethnic Malaysia as government backs Islamic law
By RNS staff — May 28, 2016
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) The move shocked some of Prime Minister Najib Razak's allies and stoked fears of further strains in the multiethnic country.
Hajj row escalates as Iran and Saudi Arabia miss new deal
By RNS staff — May 28, 2016
RIYADH (Reuters) It's the second failure by the rival Middle East powers to strike a deal.
Israel’s first transgender beauty pageant a rare show of tolerance among faiths
By RNS staff — May 28, 2016
TEL AVIV (Reuters) Israel's first transgender beauty pageant brought together contestants from the Holy Land's main faiths in an unconventional show of tolerance and coexistence.
Dalai Lama urges Tibetan unity as political leader sworn in
By RNS staff — May 27, 2016
DHARAMSALA, India (Reuters) The Buddhist spiritual leader criticised an election campaign to elect a political leader that descended into bitter personal rivalries
Egypt Muslims attack Christian woman, houses after affair rumor
By RNS staff — May 27, 2016
CAIRO (Reuters) - Hundreds of Muslims have set fire to homes of Christians in southern Egypt and stripped a 70-year-old woman naked after rumors her Christian son had an affair with a Muslim woman, the local church and witnesses said.
Influential Thai Buddhist monk too ill to face graft charges, say devotees
By RNS staff — May 26, 2016
BANGKOK (Reuters) A stand-off in Thailand between investigators and a powerful Buddhist sect intensified after its influential abbot failed to appear at a police station to answer graft charges because followers said he had fainted.
U.S. to seek death penalty against accused church shooter
By RNS staff — May 25, 2016
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a white man accused of killing nine black parishioners in a racially motivated attack at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, last June.
Bone fragment of murdered archbishop of Canterbury begins English pilgrimage
By RNS staff — May 24, 2016
LONDON (Reuters) A fragment of bone belonging to the murdered archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, has returned to England from Hungary for the first time in 800 years.
US Catholics cautiously hopeful women may one day be deacons
By RNS staff — May 13, 2016
"Any time you begin to break down one barrier, you see others crumble more," said a proponent of women's ordination.
Italy OKs gay civil unions despite strong church opposition
By RNS staff — May 12, 2016
And still no one is happy. Conservatives say they'll push to cancel the law. Supports say, "This is just the beginning."
ACLU sues to block Mississippi law denying services to LGBT couples
By RNS staff — May 10, 2016
Supporters call it a religious freedom law that lets wedding vendors opt out of serving same-sex couples. The ACLU calls it discrimination.
Uncovering ancient Ashkenaz – the birthplace of Yiddish speakers
By RNS staff — May 8, 2016
For the first time, a pioneering tool that converts genome data into ancestral coordinates, is helping to pinpoint the DNA of Yiddish speakers.
Historic Bosnian mosque reopens in move toward reconciliation
By RNS staff — May 7, 2016
The day the Ferhadija mosque was leveled, May 7, is now the Day of the Mosques in Bosnia, where 614 mosques were destroyed during the 1992-95 war.
Netanyahu to host seminar on Jewish history for UN diplomats
By RNS staff — May 6, 2016
JERUSALEM (Reuters) "I was shocked to hear that UNESCO adopted a decision denying any Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, our holiest site," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday (May 6) in a statement.
