Editor’s Picks
Faith leaders blast Trump administration’s renewed use of death penalty
By Jack Jenkins — July 16, 2020
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The outcry comes as the U.S. Department of Justice carried out its second execution this week on Thursday morning (July 16) and is scheduled to perform its third on Friday. These constitute the first uses of capital punishment by the federal government since 2003.
Khyati Y. Joshi argues equal religious freedom in America is an optical illusion
By Yonat Shimron — July 16, 2020
(RNS) — In her new book, she argues Christianity, especially of the white Protestant variety, undergirds the nation’s institutions and practices and establishes a normative baseline from which all other faiths are seen as abnormal.
Willow Creek, Life.Church among churches that received millions in PPP loans
By Yonat Shimron — July 7, 2020
(RNS) — The vast majority of religious organizations listed in the data received between $150,000 and $300,000, but at least two dozen religious organizations received the highest amount of dollars, between $5 million and $10 million.
We have a story to tell: Indigenous scholars, activists speak up amid toppling of Serra statues
By Alejandra Molina — July 7, 2020
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — As Californians once again reckon with their statues of Serra, Native people and Indigenous scholars say it’s time for their voices to be heard and their existence to be recognized.
India’s pioneering transgender activist defends gains in pandemic
By Priyadarshini Sen — July 7, 2020
(RNS) — After helping win a landmark court case for India’s transgender people, Ranjita Sinha has mobilized to counter the community’s drastic loss of jobs and health care during the coronavirus pandemic.
Yes, we rationed care at the height of the pandemic and the elderly paid the price
By Charles C. Camosy — June 18, 2020
(RNS) — With the coming decision about who gets the first doses of lifesaving drugs, we will have the rare immediate second chance to acknowledge our mistake and reverse course.
Liturgy-hungry young Christians trade altar calls for Communion rails
By Kathryn Post — June 18, 2020
(RNS) — ‘Low’ or ‘free’ church Christians, raised on contemporary worship services with praise bands and dim lights, are seeking out ‘high church’ traditions replete with sacramental rituals and ancient liturgy.
Religious conservatives look to the next Supreme Court rulings on religious liberty
By Yonat Shimron — June 17, 2020
(RNS) — They hope to carve out significant wins in a series of cases, including ones dealing with the ministerial exception, abortion and public funding for religious schools.
In Minneapolis, a Somali-owned mental health clinic seeks to heal its community
By Aysha Khan — June 17, 2020
(RNS) — Healing Path Wellness Services in South Minneapolis burned down during protests. But the Somali community the mental health clinic serves needs it more than ever.
Why CrossFit’s founder got crossed up by Floyd protests
By Tara Isabella Burton — June 16, 2020
(RNS) — Instead of capitalizing on the unrest, Greg Glassman espoused the values of the wellness movement's masculine wing, where Horatio Alger does pull-ups with his bootstraps.
Want to make systemic change? Pope Francis has some ideas.
By Claire Giangravé — June 16, 2020
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Since becoming pope, Francis has tried to reform the Catholic Church with a series of broad gestures and systematic, long-term changes.
Judge sentences 80-year-old Catholic activist for breaking into nuclear submarine base
By Yonat Shimron — June 8, 2020
(RNS) — Elizabeth McAlister, a former nun, was sentenced to time already served after she and six other Catholic activists broke into a Navy submarine base in 2018 as part of a symbolic nuclear disarmament action.
My surprising journey to hijab fashion
By Erin Smith — June 8, 2020
(RNS) — At no point did I ever expect that a simple curiosity about other languages and faiths would somehow lead to me becoming the designated hijab stylist on photoshoot sets, writing blog posts about modest dressing or spending my days thinking about innovations for products for women who wear hijab.
Jemar Tisby and Tyler Burns: Black Christians ‘cannot do this alone’
By Adelle M. Banks — June 5, 2020
(RNS) — ‘White evangelical Christians tend to think the problem of racism is primarily how I feel and act toward someone else, not how you vote, who you vote for and what policies you support.’
Remembering the Christianity of Jesus, not empire
By Amy Butler — June 4, 2020
(RNS) — If Jesus were here today he’d be wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt while he held a sign and marched at a protest.
