News
JewBelong goes digital — and hot pink — in campaign to sound alarm on antisemitism
By Yonat Shimron and Renée Roden — July 13, 2021
(RNS) — Seven such billboards have been flashing at Times Square for more than a month. Beginning this week, they are going up in four other cities.
Southern Baptist youth pastor and National Guard chaplain suspended after arrest on solicitation charges
By Bob Smietana — July 13, 2021
(RNS) — Fairfield Baptist Church in Tennessee says it is shocked by the arrest of the church's youth minister and will cooperate with authorities.
US cites China, Myanmar, Ethiopia in genocide report
By Matthew Lee — July 13, 2021
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Monday renewed genocide allegations against China for repression of Uyghur Muslims.
Collapsed condo: Weighing how to honor dead at ‘holy site’
By Bobby Caina Calvan — July 13, 2021
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — The question is swirling across the ruins of the Champlain Towers South: What will become of the ground that bears so much pain?
Game changer: How mahjong helped Jewish and Asian Americans overcome racism
By Menachem Wecker — July 13, 2021
(RNS) — Today, a new book on mahjong and its cultural journey in the US suggests that there is much to learn from the game’s history, particularly how to put the rising anti-Asian and anti-Jewish hatred of our time in context.
Paganism, gods and goddesses aside, is the most LGBTQ-affirming faith in the US
By Heather Greene — July 12, 2021
(RNS) — But some pagans say more visibility for trans and gay members of a largely white, mostly heterosexual community is needed.
Amid Catholic opposition, states are legalizing composting of human remains
By Alejandra Molina — July 12, 2021
(RNS) — Washington, Colorado and Oregon are now among the US states that have legalized the process of converting bodies into soil, a procedure the Catholic Church said fails to show 'respect for the body of the deceased.'
A new resource for combating Christian nationalism sees it as a ‘distortion of the gospel’
By Yonat Shimron — July 12, 2021
(RNS) — A three-session curriculum offers churches a resource for sermons or discussion groups about the ideology it calls a 'distortion of the gospel of Jesus and a threat to American democracy.'
Four new bishops — and first biracial bishop — elected to AME Church
By Kathryn Post — July 12, 2021
(RNS) — The African Methodist Episcopal Church elected four new bishops on Saturday, July 10, the final day of the 2021 General Conference.
Bosnia commemorates 26th anniversary of Srebrenica massacre
By Eldar Emric — July 12, 2021
SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Nineteen newly identified victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre were honored and buried Sunday in Bosnia.
Family loses appeal in lawsuit over priest’s funeral remarks
By Associated Press — July 12, 2021
TEMPERANCE, Mich. (AP) — A priest who criticized a teenager's suicide during his funeral is protected by the First Amendment.
SBC president Ed Litton announces task force to oversee Executive Committee abuse review
By Bob Smietana — July 9, 2021
(RNS) — At their annual meeting in Nashville last month, Southern Baptists directed their new president to appoint a task force looking into claims that Baptist leaders mishandled abuse allegations.
Photos of the Week: Eid preparations; papal surgery
By Kit Doyle — July 9, 2021
(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo selection includes preparations for Eid al-Adha, surgery for Pope Francis and more.
Descendants of enslaved people join dig on former Jesuit plantation
By Renée Roden — July 9, 2021
(RNS) — Vickie White Nelson, 49, has deep roots in southern Maryland. Her ancestor, Regis Gough, was enslaved there on a plantation owned by Jesuits.
Billy Graham’s 1940s cottage in North Carolina is listed for sale at $600,000
By Bob Smietana — July 9, 2021
(RNS) — The Grahams lived in the cottage during Billy Graham's rise to fame in the 1940s.
