Yonat Shimron

Yonat Shimron is an RNS National Reporter and Senior Editor.

All Stories by Yonat Shimron

Faith, medical leaders collaborate to get COVID-19 vaccine in arms of more people

By Yonat Shimron and Adelle M. Banks — February 18, 2021
(RNS) — ‘A really wonderful facet of this work is the multifaith cooperation that we’re seeing already,’ said White House official Melissa Rogers.

As Biden floats immigration plan, Edith Espinal leaves 3-year stint in sanctuary

By Yonat Shimron — February 18, 2021
(RNS) — The 43-year-old Mexican native was allowed to go home on the same day President Joe Biden unveiled his immigration overhaul to Congress.

American Jews are taking a hard look at racism in their midst

By Yonat Shimron — February 12, 2021
(RNS) — The challenge for white American Jews is to understand that they can be both targets of white supremacy and also accomplices.

Martin Gugino committed to struggle, despite grand jury dismissal

By Yonat Shimron — February 12, 2021
(RNS) — 'There’s a great deal of work that needs to be done,' said the 76-year-old Catholic peace activist on hearing that assault charges were dropped against two Buffalo police officers. 'It’s one more setback.'

Hershel Shanks, who made biblical archaeology widely available, dies

By Yonat Shimron — February 8, 2021
(RNS) — As founder of the Biblical Archaeology Review, Shanks helped bridge academic scholarship with the lay public’s appetite for answers to questions about key archaeological and historical events from the Bible.

A Catholic scholar weighs Biden’s future with Vatican and US bishops

By Yonat Shimron — February 8, 2021
(RNS) — The Vatican may be breathing a sigh of relief on Joe Biden's election. But the second Catholic president faces significant headwinds from American bishops, writes Massimo Faggioli in a new book.

David French on Christian nationalism and evangelicals’ existential angst

By Yonat Shimron — February 3, 2021
(RNS) — The conservative writer said Christian believers need to be reminded of the toxic effects of fear.

Duke Divinity School dean tapped as Belmont University president

By Yonat Shimron — February 1, 2021
(RNS) — L. Gregory Jones, longtime dean of Duke Divinity School, will become the new president of Nashville's booming, nondenominational Belmont University.

Some Southern Baptist pastors are calling Kamala Harris ‘Jezebel.’ What do they mean?

By Yonat Shimron and Emily McFarlan Miller — January 29, 2021
(RNS) — Southern Baptist pastors are sharply critical of Vice President Kamala Harris. Now some are taking their insults to biblical proportions.

Their hopes dashed by a Texas judge, immigrants living in churches wait for a reprieve

By Yonat Shimron and Jack Jenkins — January 29, 2021
(RNS) — Now that a Texas judge has barred part of President Biden's deportation moratorium, immigrants living in church sanctuary are searching for solutions. Thirty lawmakers want to help.

Survey: Americans most likely to say pandemic has boosted their faith

By Yonat Shimron — January 27, 2021
(RNS) — Nearly half of white evangelicals in the U.S. (49%) said their faith grew stronger due to the coronavirus outbreak — more than any other group, according to a new Pew Research survey.

For many schools, the Master of Divinity degree is moving online for good

By Yonat Shimron — January 26, 2021
(RNS) — Duke Divinity School will begin offering a hybrid Master of Divinity degree with online classes and one-week in-person intensives — cementing what has become a growing trend among most free-standing seminaries.

5 faith facts about Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Southern Jew with a passion for racial justice

By Yonat Shimron — January 21, 2021
(RNS) — He wrote a letter to the Atlanta Jewish community saying his Jewish upbringing instilled in him ‘a conviction to fight for the marginalized, the persecuted and the dispossessed.’

With new executive order, this immigrant is leaving church sanctuary after 3.5 years

By Yonat Shimron — January 21, 2021
DURHAM, N.C. — Dozens of others who took sanctuary in churches after former President Trump’s aggressive deportation policies are now checking with their lawyers to see if it might be safe for them to leave.

In Biden’s Cabinet, Catholics and Jews dominate

By Yonat Shimron — January 19, 2021
(RNS) — One group not represented in Biden’s Cabinet picks? White evangelicals, the group most loyal to President Donald Trump.
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