Protestant
UMC top court rules disaffiliating clergy don’t automatically lose credentials
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 26, 2023
(RNS) — A Wisconsin bishop had required clergy whose churches were disaffiliating to give up their jobs or their credentials.
In Texas, Republicans push bills aimed at enhancing faith’s role in school
By Jack Jenkins — April 24, 2023
(RNS) — Cantor Sheri Allen, co-founder of the Jewish congregation Makom Shelanu, called the bills a “blatant violation of the separation of church and state.”
Christian nationalists have provoked a pluralist resistance
By Ruth Braunstein — April 21, 2023
(RNS) — Those fighting for our democracy should be making headlines, too.
‘Duck Dynasty’-backed Gen Z Jesus musical ‘His Story’ to debut in Texas
By Kathryn Post — April 21, 2023
(RNS) — Written by then-16-year-old homeschooler Anna Miriam Brown, the show is coming to the stage thanks to Broadway vets and evangelical celebrities.
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary names David Dockery as new president
By Bob Smietana — April 20, 2023
(RNS) — The past few years have been troubled for the prominent SBC seminary, beginning with the controversial 2018 firing of legendary president Paige Patterson.
Judge dismisses lawsuit by Florida United Methodist churches
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 20, 2023
(RNS) — A second lawsuit, by 36 churches in North Carolina, was also dismissed last month.
Most adults in US, 16 other nations say belief in God, morality not always linked
By Adelle M. Banks — April 20, 2023
(RNS) — Pew Research Center released the findings — that also hold true among most of those affiliated with a religion — from its Global Attitudes Survey.
UMC clergy reportedly face complaint, church trial after marrying nonbinary couple
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 19, 2023
(RNS) — The Rev. Paige Swaim-Presley and the Rev. Elizabeth Davidson say they were informed in late February a formal complaint has been filed against them, allegedly for officiating a same-sex wedding.
Former Calvin professor sues after losing job for performing queer wedding
By Bob Smietana — April 19, 2023
(RNS)— Joe Kuilema, who taught at the evangelical college for 14 years, lost his job after officiating a wedding for a transgender former student.
How school choice drives America’s people of faith apart
By Amy Laura Hall — April 19, 2023
(RNS) — Religious freedom arguments are a strategy for undermining public education.
Anglican conservatives meet in Rwanda amid rift over LGBTQ
By Ignatius Ssuuna — April 19, 2023
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — The meeting comes two months after the decision of the Church of England to bless civil marriages of same-sex couples. Clerics from Africa are among those who continue to express concern.
Judge: Mississippi must give religious exemption on vaccines
By Emily Wagster Pettus — April 19, 2023
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — One of the families who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit believe 'God has created humans with functioning immune systems that were well designed to counteract threats,' the lawsuit said, adding that they only seek out medication 'when an intervention is clearly necessary.'
Charles Stanley, TV preacher and Southern Baptist leader, dies at 90
By Adelle M. Banks — April 19, 2023
(RNS) — The author of dozens of books was recognized by people in the grassroots as well as in the highest echelons of American society.
Charges put focus on Jehovah’s Witnesses’ handling of abuse
By Mark Scolforo and Peter Smith — April 19, 2023
YORK HAVEN, Pa. (AP) — In the charges against nine Pennsylvania men, court records state that all the defendants have ties to the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith, though in some cases it’s unclear how their faith might relate to the criminal allegations.
What an ‘Asian American apostate’ had to offer a Christian university after losing his faith
By Kathryn Post — April 18, 2023
(RNS) — A scathing critique of the evangelical culture at a Christian university in pre-Trump America.